Strike ends at Freeport's Grasberg mine
thejakartapost.com
A workers' strike at Freeport-McMoRan's Grasberg mine in Papua over a pay and benefits dispute ended on the fourth day, with the company agreeing Saturday to raise the pay of workers
The agreement was reportedly made after representatives of the workers raised their demands directly with Freeport chief executive James Moffet in the United States via a teleconference at 9 p.m. Saturday
The workers requested their present basic salary of Rp 1.6 million (approximately US$174) per month on average be raised to Rp 3.6 million
On Saturday, both parties agreed upon the average salary being raised to Rp 3.1 million
A source involved in the talks said late Saturday that a written agreement would be signed by representatives from Mimika regency, Mimika Legislative Council, the company and the Tongoi Papua group that represented the workers in the talks
"The workers will return to work on Saturday night. They will travel to the mine in Tembagapura on buses supplied by the company," the source said in Kuala Kencana at the headquarters of PT Freeport Indonesia, just outside the town of Timika
On Friday, several agreements had been made in the talks, including establishing a Papua Affairs department and replacing several company officials
The strike, which started Wednesday, helped push world copper prices to a seven-month high
Freeport, which produces more than 500,000 tons of copper annually and is the country's largest source of tax revenue, said the strike did not disrupt copper output at the mine
Freeport Indonesia spokesman Mindo Pangaribuan said the situation was calm and the company was continuing mining and milling at reduced rates
He said the company has also continued to ship concentrates according to the existing schedule in accordance with available production and inventories
The company, he said, remained committed to continually training its native Papuan employees, including increasing the number of native Papuan employees occupying senior positions within the organization
In the last 10 years, the number of native Papuan workers in the company has increased from 800 in 1996 to more than 3,000 at the start of this year
Critics have accused Freeport of not giving enough back to Papuans and of allegedly causing pollution. Many have also argued that military protection of the site has led to human rights abuses. These claims have been disputed by the company. |
