Freeport Union spokeperson, Tri Puspita (IST)
Jayapura, Jubi – Freeport’s labor union rejected a company’s statement that a planned mass strike by thousands of mining workers at the Freeport mining area for a month – from 6 November to 6 December – would be a violation of the Labour Agreement (PKB).
PT Freeport Indonesia’s Vice President for Corporate Communication Daisy Primayanti has said such a mass strike would be illegal because it violated the agreement.
“I clarified that it is a mass strike, not illegal. What did they mean by illegal strike? She only referred to the regulation on the failure of negotiation, but we referred the Labor Law No. 13/2003 which states that a strike is allowed with a week’s notification before its implementation,” the spokesperson of the union PUK Revolusi Mental, Tri Puspita told Jubi on Thursday (30/10).
He said the PKB actually included the clauses on Workplace Safety and Security for the workers, but that the company’s management was defaulting and failed to apply provisions in the contract.
He said so farthe company has not taken action on the incident at Big Gossan and Grasberg open mining area, which killed 32 workers.
Tri Puspita said the union has met the contract’s clauses, such as to hold an audience with related management’s officials, locally and nationally. However, there has been no progress, she said.
“If the management fails to provide a solution as ofl the deadline, we will carry out the strike,” he said.
Earlier, the Monitoring and Investigation Chairman of the National Human Rights Committee Natalis Pigai said the commission has provided two recommendations to be fulfilled by Freeport on several incidents that occurred in the mining area.
First, it’s related to the enforcement of internal discipline or Administrative Sanction to responsible manager in accordance to the regulation issued by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources No. 555/1996. Second, five years sentence for the responsible management due to the default to provide the protection and safety for their workers.
‘Two recommendations have been submitted to the Freeport’s management in the United States and Indonesia. Then we forwarded the crime charges to the police, because they have the authority to conduct the investigation. Currently I am waiting the law enforcement from the police,” Natalis Pigai told Jubi by phone on Monday (27/10). (Yuliana Lantipo/rom)
