End Near For Ocean Island Jobs

The mining and shipment of phosphate at Ocean Island will end late in 1978 or early in 1979. The British Phosphate Commissioners have advised their GEIC and Chinese employees on the island of this.

The general manager of the BPC, in a notice said the commissioners, appreciating the concern employees felt about their future, intended to in troduce a scheme of severance pay for those who remained in their service on the island as long as they were wanted. Details were expected to be announced on June 1.

Payments will take into account the job of each employee and the length of service. The scheme is based on the expectation that all employees will carry on as in the past, and that the employees and management will work together to solve problems rising in the final stages of operations.

The management will give as much advance notice as possible of termination so that each employee will have time to make plans for his future. During the final years of operation, the commissioners plan to main tain the present standards of living as far as possible, and to continue working the deposits in the best possible way so that the GEIC, the Banabans and the BPC employees will all benefit.