Tag: Timika

STATE LOSING Rp 30 TRILLION BECAUSE OF FREEPORT

JUBI, 16 July 2011

Member of Commission IV of the Indonesian Parliament, Markus Nari, has reported that Indonesia has suffered the loss of Rp 30 trillion as a result of Freeport Indonesia ‘s failure to work on the basis of a licensing permit to operate within forestry areas known as Regulation in lieu of Law (Perpu) Ijin Pinjam Pakai Kawasan Hutan, despite two official requests from the Indonesian forestry minister.

Commission member Markus Nari, made this statement during a visit to Timika, to see the tailings waste spilling into the Ajkwa River. He pointed out that all mining companies which operates within forestry regions must be in possession of an IPPKH. ‘The company has been pressed twice by the forestry minister to obtain this license but has until now failed to do so. Instead of being requested for a third time, the company should be sent a very strong warning,’ he said.

According to information received by JUBI, Freeport Indonesia is using of 202,000 ha of land, much of which is adjacent to the Lorenz National Park. There are  altogether thirteen companies operating within these protected forestry areas, including Freeport.

Nari said that he had received reports from local communities during his visit to the area that the forests had been damaged, while silt had affected the depth of the river and the nearby sea.

He said that the team from parliament and the forestry ministry  had paid close attention to Freeport’s utilisation of forestry areas,  and had seen the impact of the tailings in silting the estuary and the sea.

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Tensions Increase Between PT Freeport Indonesia Employees, Authorities

From Joyo

The Jakarta Post [web site]

July 11, 2011

Tensions between native Papuan workers, who come from seven various tribes, at PT Freeport Indonesia and police escalated on Monday after the workers blocked the access road heading to the mine.

According to Andre, a PT Freeport Indonesia employee detained in Tembagapura, Papua, the tension between the workers and police had started on one of roads leading to the mine.

“The authorities were heading up to the mill with several pipe operators to deal with the stockpile that had started to overflow,” Andre said as reported by tempointeraktif.com.

However, native Papuan workers physically blocked the group, eyewitnesses reported.

Tembagapura Police chief Adj.Comr. Sudirman denied that there were problems in the area. “The situation is safe,” he said.

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RNZI: Difficult conditions remain for Freeport’s Papua workers‎

RNZI Posted at 07:32 on 14 July, 2011 UTC
Striking workers at Freeport-McMoran’s gold and copper mine in Indonesia’s Papua province have returned to work after their union said the firm agreed to its demands in the latest round of talks.
The estimated 7-thousand workers had been demanding higher wages and were protesting against the dismissal of six union leaders.
Their eight-day strike crippled operations at the remote Grasberg mine, which contains the world’s largest recoverable reserves of copper and the biggest single gold reserve. Johnny Blades reports that Freeport’s Papua staff work under uniquely difficult conditions:
Freeport management has granted the reinstatement of the sacked unionists, and has agreed to further negotiations on wage rates.
Nick Chesterfield of West Papua Media Alerts says no real concessions have been made to the workers who are said to be paid up to 10 times less than what other Freeport workers around the world earn.
“People who are working significant hours, and their welfare is not being looked after. They’re only earning about a dollar-fifty (US) an hour for extremely dangerous conditions. They wanted their pay to be raised to three dollars. Freeport are out there, making massive amounts of profit and not giving anything back to the workers or the people.”
Not all employees at Freeport were happy with the industrial action.
One non-striking worker who wishes to remain unnamed warns that any wage increases would incur a cost for the local community.
“It will be impact to other sub-contractors for Freeport. They will lose their jobs because their company cannot pay for the high salary in their company like Freeport. And the other people in Timika – like police, like local government, community – will get a problem because for meals, for transportation, for gasoline, the price will rise up like that.”
Freeport workers have recently been demanding guarantees of safety at Grasberg.
An Indonesian human rights activist, Andreas Harsono, says the deaths of two staff in an attack in April are still fresh in workers’ memories.
“They also had a strike last year, demanding better security. The problem with security in Freeport is not always coming from the West Papua guerilla fighters. Sometimes it also comes from Indonesian security forces. The Indonesian military police used to be bought earlier this year but the ones who shot (workers) at Freeport mine were actually three Indonesian soldiers.”
Andreas Harsono hears many complaints from Freeport personnel about the conduct of the Indonesian security forces around the mine.
There are 3,000 of these forces in the area and the soldiers tend to act as a law unto themselves.
“The solders sometimes go beyond their duties like selling protection, involved in illegal alcohol sales, prostitution, and of course hunting, because it is so difficult to control the soldiers in the jungle and mountains around Freeport.”
For the strike to end, the union wanted Freeport’s Indonesia CEO Armando Mahler to be included in negotiations over pay.
Union leaders say Mr Mahler will be involved intermittently in pay talks, which are due to start next week
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Freeport Workers willing to meet and speak directly to James R. Moffett and Richard C. Adkerson

THOUSANDS WORKERS of PT.Freeport Indonesia, Privatization and Contractor Strike

Statement by Frans Bernhard Okoseray, PUK FSP KEPmuSPSI PT Freeport Indonesia

July 9, 2011

In preparation for the Joint Working Agreement negotiations on the Welfare PT.Freeport Indonesia thousands of workers, there were problems in the Organization of Trade Unions of the Regional Leadership FSP KEP SPSI and SPSI PT Freeport Indonesia’s Trade Union Committee, the Chairman and Board Member in charge of PUK SPSI PTFI solve the problem.

At the Chairman of the Board PUK SPSI PT Freeport Indonesia and resolve the internal problems of the organization, the Management Department of Industrial Relations PT.Freeport Indonesia issued a
Violation Call Work.

Team SPSI PTFI PUK, led by Chairman Sudiro, invitation and clarifies the issue.

In the absence of good faith on the part of Management PT.Freeport Indonesia, to conduct negotiations of the Joint Working Freeport, after the union SPSI PUK PTFI solve problems of organization and filed a Request for Collective Labor Agreement Negotiations, Department of Industrial Management PT.Freeport Indonesia convey Disciplinary Action Letters Termination of Employment and laid-Chairman and Board SPSI PUK PUK PTFI the Union FSP KEP SPSI deliver Notice of Strike Action Peace to the Leadership Company PT.Freeport Indonesia, from June 4 to 11 July 2011.

On July 30, 2011 The meeting was held in the building between the Union Bappeda Mimika PUK FSP KEP SPSI PT Freeport Indonesia, Chairman of the SPSI Branch, Regional and Central and Time States Interagency Committee established by the Chairman of the Workers Union Local FSP KEP SPSI (Nurhaidah), Head of Department of Labor Mimika regency, Assiten Mimika District III Secretary and Management PT.Freeport Indonesia.

In the meeting of the Central Executive FSP KEP SPSI Workers Union issued a decision letter from the post of Chairman of Dismissal Nurhaidah Regional Leadership FSP KEP SPSI.

The meeting resulted in 3 (three) things:
1. Troubleshooting Internal Organization
2. Troubleshooting layoffs given to the Chairman and Administrator SPSI
3. And Revocation of Letters Strike

Stage of completion:
1. Night On July 30, 2011 issue of Internal Organization has been completed with each of the Chairman of FSP KEP SPSI
2. On 1-2 July 2011 meetings were held with the Head of Department of Labor Mimika. In the meeting request of Trade Unions to Revoke Management PTFI the Termination Letter is given to the Chairman of PUK SPSI PT Freeport Indonesia and board members, and recognize the existence of Sudiro as Chairman of PUK SPSI elected democracy by Freeport Workers with board members to conduct the Joint Working Deliberations PT.Freeport Indonesia the period 2011-2013. If the request is accepted by Management, the Mail Strike in Disconnect. The willingness of the parties PTFI Management is to lose the status of Termination of Letter of Warning to a 3 (three), whereas the Union offer a Warning Letter 1 (one), in bidding between the two sides between the Unions and Management PT Freeport Indonesia, the Head of Department of Labor Work offers a Warning Letter 2 (two), the Offer will not be received by the Management PTFI, so that the two sides, namely the Trade Unions and Management PTFI SPSI PUK declared there was no agreement, resulting in strike action of workers in accordance with the Notice.

With distrust Workers Union of Management PT.Freeport Indonesia, so in today’s day meeting Wednesday, July 6, 2011 at the Administration Building of Kuala Kencana and Freeport as well as thousands of workers who struggle to walk from Tembagapura to Timika, the entire Workers’ demands and requested that the Supreme Leader Freeport McMoran James R. Moffett and Richard C. Adkerson soon came to Timika in Papua to meet and talk with the PUK SPSI PT Freeport Indonesia under the leadership SUDIRO Chairman.

On July 4, 2011 6:00 Thousands of workers had gathered at the Bus Terminal Bus Tembagapura waiting to escort workers to Timika. At 08:00 Hour Management PT.Freeport Indonesia will not provide bus transport, so that thousands of workers took the decision to walk away. In as far as 40 mile trip, many workers are thirsty, hungry, and tired. On the day evening Management PTFI send two buses to transport workers, but workers will be transported back to Tembagapura below, so that workers do not want to ride the bus and the workers told the other workers there apabilah workers no longer able to walk because of fatigue can increase the bus to return to Tembagapura.

Workers who thirst and hunger in the support by the Escort (PTFI Security Guard Unit) and Executive Board members Trade Unions and the PUK led by Union Chairman Sudiro (PUK SPSI PTFI).

Seeing the conditions that do not allow for workers who are tired, tired and sore feet that already then, at 18:00 Board of Trade Unions under the leadership of Chairman PUK SPSI Sudiro lobbied several parties to urgently provide transportation PTFI Management Bus.

At about 22:30 three (3) buses imported from Tembagapura to transport workers still on the trip and 15 buses imported from mile 28Timika to transport thousands of workers who had gathered at the check point Mile 50.

With tears and blood that comes out of the thousands of workers who walk as far as 80 km from Tembagapura to Timika, then we ask Mr.James R. Moffett and Mr.Richard C. Adkerson must come to Timika in Papua, to meet and talk with us. Any strike action PT.Freeport Indonesia thousands of workers have been extended to July 18, 2011.

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Thousands of Freeport Indonesia mine workers start 7-day strike

Grasberg mine
Image via Wikipedia

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/04/us-freeport-indonesia-strike-idUSTRE76309R20110704

By Samuel Wanda
TIMIKA, Indonesia | Sun Jul 3, 2011 10:27pm EDT

(Reuters) – About 8,000 workers at Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc’s Indonesian unit kicked off a seven-day strike on Monday, a union head said, in a move that could potentially disrupt operations.

Freeport said it was not anticipating any impact on production at the mine it claims on its website contains the world’s largest single gold reserve.

Freeport’s Indonesia unit runs the Grasberg mine in the remote Papua province, where a separatist insurgency and struggle over resources has lingered for decades.

The workers have called for a re-negotiation of their working contract, demanding a wage rise from $1.5 to $3 per hour, since they said other Freeport workers around the world are paid at least $15-30 per hour, a union official said.

“We see that from eight companies Freeport owned, Indonesia is the biggest contributor in terms of revenue … We deserve something more,” Virgo Solossa, the organisational head of Freeport Indonesia’s Labor Union, told Reuters by telephone.

“We are not going to rally, we are just going on a strike, sitting tight doing nothing,” Solossa added.

Thousands of workers marched from Timika city to Kuala Kencana, the Freeport town complex, on Monday morning, although many have yet to reach the Freeport complex since roads are being blockaded by police.

“We are not anticipating any impact to production,” Freeport’s Jakarta-based spokesman Ramdani Sirait said in an emailed statement, in response to a question on potential disruption to gold and copper output.

“The management calls all employees to keep working … the company sees there is no legitimate justification for any form of strike, therefore it is unlawful because it is not due to failed negotiation nor the company’s unwillingness to negotiate,” Sirait said.

Freeport, which also has mines in North America, South America and the Democratic Republic of Congo, expects its copper output to fall 17 percent this year to about 1 billion pounds by weight.

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