Mon, October 31 2011 22:56 | 220 Views
Timika, Papua (ANTARA News) - PT Freeport Indonesia said it was ready to refer its dispute with workers affiliated to the All-Indonesian Workers Union (SPSI) to the industrial relations court if its latest pay raise offer was not enough to satisfy them. Source
The company`s spokesman, Ramdani Sirait, said here on Monday if negotiations with the trade union failed the company would take the case to the industrial court (PHI) as mandated by the manpower law.
"We will continue to try to settle the case based on sensible reasons which are negotiable but we are also ready to settle the dispute through the PHI as mandated by the Indonesian law if agreement is not reached," he said.
He made the statement in connection with the trade union`s decision to reject Freeport`s latest offer to raise the workers` wages by 30 percent as forwarded during a bipartite meeting facilitated by the Mimika administration since Friday (Oct 21) to Thursday (Oct 27).
Ramdani said PT Freeport had held negotiations with the company`s SPSI unit`s leadership with good will and revised its offer upward several times to reach a just and reasonable deal.
The wage increase package offered by PT Freeport was the best in the manpower market in Indonesia, he said.
PT Freeport`s last offer was Rp11 million per month as gross income for lowest level workers including regular scheduled overtime pay and other bonuses and Rp19 million per month for A5 level workers.
He said although the trade union had already revised its demand the latest offer was a raise of 400 percent from the present wage level.
"The workers` latest demand was Rp28 million for lowest level workers and Rp78 million for highest level workers," he said.
Ramdani said PT Freeport continued communicating the basic reasons for its pay raise offer to the union`s board members but so far no fair and reasonable agreement had been reached.
He said PT Freeport still had to carry out its operations in the midst of the difficulties caused by the decision of the workers to strike that had also led to riots.
"We regretted and mourned the death of one person and those who were wounded and also the damage to property that occurred during the strike," he said.
Mimika district head Klemen Tinal confirmed PT Freeport had filed a PHI application in Jakarta to settle the dispute.
If within the next 60 days no agreement was reached, the company would use the collective labor agreement for 2009-2011 according to the law.
"This is a fact not an imagination and therefore serious consideration must be done. Do not be idealistic but also consider your families," he said at the meeting with PT Freeport management and SPSI representatives and other parties concerned here on Saturday.
He said the goodwill of PT Freeport to raise the workers` wage by 30 percent was extraordinary as before it only agreed to a raise of 22 percent in two years.
"I ask all sides to think of the consequences of the prolonged negotiations. If it continues the law mandates a return to the previous labor agreement which does not reflect the objective condition at present. Do not let certain party make the situation become like that. Do not let the idea of one person to hurt a lot of others," he said.
In connection with the continuation of negotiations between the management and SPSI, the Mimika district administration asked the two sides to immediately make a written report about the stand towards the offer of a 30 percent raise and submit it to the office on Tuesday (Nov 1) at the latest. (*)
Editor: Aditia Maruli
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http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/77141/govt-urged-to-audit-freeport-indonesia
5) Govt urged to audit Freeport Indonesia
Mon, October 31 2011 22:02 | 153 Views
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - A non-governmental organization (NGO) here has urged the government to conduct an audit on PT Freeport Indonesia`s finances in connection with the company`s failure to care for the welfare of its employees and local community members.
"I recommend an immediate audit of PT Freeport Indonesia by a presidential team or a team from the House of Representatives (DPR) as this problem is very serious in view of the number of employees that reaches 22,000 excluding their family members that reach tens of thousands. My proposal is to set up a special committee to ensure the serious handling of the problem," the coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), Hariz Azhar, said here on Monday.
He said not only Freeport workers but also local community members especially the six tribes living in the Timika region had experienced injustices and not enjoyed any welfare.
Therefore, he said an "extraordinary" team needed to be set up to evaluate and find out why PT Freeport Indonesia had failed to improve its workers welfare and to meet its social corporate responsibility obligations.
He said the team was also expected to be able to determine why security authorities had failed to unveil the many shooting incidents that had happened in the region and caused insecurity among the local people as well as Freeport workers.
The team should also be able to ascertain whether Freeport had paid been paying its taxes properly considering that convicted tax man Gayus Tambunan had mentioned the company`s name in his case.
"That must be uncovered and the investigation must be continued," he said.
The Freeport case has happened many times raising a question if the government really wants to settle it, he said.
"Seeing the sheer number of its workers and their family members this is a national problem, a patriotism problem. So if the government wants to prove its nationalism, support the workers," he said.
He said if it is PT Freeport that the government supports it will be the government that is anti-nationalist," he said.
Kontras along with TLBHI and the Cooperation Forum of Papua Non-Governmental Organizations had earlier condemned PT Freeport for having used the police as a shield against its own workers.
It also criticized the company for refusing to sign a new collective labor agreement with the workers and also ridiculed the police for giving an ultimatum to the workers to stop their strike.
He said the strike was called because the workers wished to improve their welfare by changing provisions in the collective labor agreement including raising their wages, YLBHI deputy chairman Alvon Kurnia Palma said.
Based on Law Number 21 of 2000 labor unions have the right to conclude collective labor agreements with employers and Article 27 states labor unions are obliged to protect and defend their members from human rights violations and fight in their interest and the welfare of their members and families.
Alvon said the profits made by the company had been very huge while only a small part of it had been given to the workers. In view of that it was logical that the workers had asked for a raise.
The Mimika police chief, Deny Edward Siregar, had ordered the Freeport workers to stop their strike at Check Point I at Mile 28, Mile 27 and Gorong-gorong in Timika and open access so far blocked by the workers.(*)
Editor: Heru
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