Tag: Trade union

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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Breaking News: Strike at Freeport’s Grasberg Mine Ends

Grasberg mine
Image via Wikipedia

 http://www.tempointeractive.com/hg/nasional/2011/07/12/brk,20110712-346056,uk.html

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:A week long strike that left Freeport Indonesia’s Grasberg mine in Papua shuttered and paralyzed has come to an end. Freeport Indonesia’s spokesman Ramdani Sirait confirmed at midnight that an agreement had been reached with the PT Freeport Indonesia union to end the strike which began on July 4 and led to a suspension of mining and milling activities.

“Under the agreement, negotiations for the upcoming collective labor agreement, scheduled for renewal in October 2011, will commence. The agreement provides that employees will begin reporting to their positions on Tuesday, July 12, 2011,” Ramdani said in a text message, received by TEMPO English Edition at 12. a.m. on Tuesday,

“The agreement was the result of collaboration by representatives of the union, the Mimika Regency Legislative Council (DPRD) and PTFI.”

The strike ran from July 4 till July 11 at the mine, as leaders of the workers’ labor union had refusing to negotiate, pointing out that any sort of compromise was only a possibility with US-based Freeport chairman James Moffett. The Grasberg mine is one of the world’s biggest sources of copper and gold.

A total of 8,000 of the 19,500 workers employed at the Grasberg mine would continue this strike , according to labor union leaders last Saturday evening, until they knew their wages had been increased sufficiently. Previous media reports have pointed out a demand for an increase from $1.50 to $3 per hour.


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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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Freeport: Workers warn management of strike action next week

JUBI, 25 June 2011
The local branch of the union of energy and mining workers at
Freeport-Indonesia announced on Friday 24 June that it had set a
deadline of 4 July for its decision to organise a strike at Freeport.

The intention to take strike action was announced by the chair of the
Freeport branch, Virgo Solossa.

‘We are keeping the door open for the management to recognise our
legitimate demand for talks but if the management makes no response, the
strike will go ahead.’

Since the weekend all the workers on the low-land and high-land company
premises have been wearing black arm bands as a sign of the death of
industrial partnership.which the company has until now praised.

The cause for the strike action is that a number of members of the union
are threatened with dismissal for allegedly being absent from work.

‘This is an act of discrimination and intimidation against our right as
leading members of the union. We have no intention of allowing this to
happen, and give the management until 3 July. If they fail to response,
then any question of industrial partnership will be regarded as
dead.,’said Virgo.

The action will involved the 8,000 workers at the company.

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