18 July, 2011
A branch of ICEM Indonesian affiliate FSP-KEP (SPSI), the Trade Union of Chemical, Energy, and Mine Workers (CEMWU), ended an eight-day strike on 13 July against US-based Freeport-McMoRan at the Grasberg copper and gold mine in eastern Papua province on New Guinea Island. Some 10,000 of the mine’s 18,000 workers downed tools on 4 July after management refused to hear wage demands of the PT Freeport branch of FSP-KEP, instead firing six trade union leaders.
In the negotiated end to the strike that included the union, managers, and local government representatives, Freeport-McMoRan agreed to reinstate the six with backpay for duration of the strike and to also pay the 10,000 strikers their wages over the eight days.
4 July March to Kuala Kencana
Grasberg Managing Director Armando Mahler also agreed to fully recognise the democratically-elected leaders of PT Freeport, and to commence full negotiations toward a new collective agreement on 20 July. Union miners are seeking a doubling of their pay from the equivalent of US$1.50 per hour to US$3. Of Freeport-McMoRan’s eight global mining enterprises, Grasberg is the company’s biggest profit contributor, but also pays the lowest salaries.
The company said it was losing US$23 million per day due to the strike. In the opening day of the strike, thousands of miners marched from Timika city to Kuala Kencana, the company’s mining town complex, where they were met by hostility from company security teams.
Grasberg is the world’s largest gold mine and third largest copper mine. The open-cast mining operations sit atop a peak of the Puncak Jaya, Indonesia’s highest mountain. The company has a history there of providing only a small fraction of revenues for development, which in part has caused political friction between ethnic Melanesian Papuans and the Indonesian provincial and federal government authorities.
In non-related Indonesian news regarding the 2004 Social Security law, a key ruling was made by the National Court of Central Jakarta on 13 July. The court found the Indonesian President, Vice-President, eight Ministers, and the Head of Parliament all guilty of failing to implement the national law. The court called on the defendants to implement the legislation immediately.
National Court, Central Jakarta
The law represents a significant step towards improving the lives of ordinary people in Indonesia. However, the government of General Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has failed to properly implement the legislation. The Social Security law demands programmes to cover five major policy areas: health insurance, employment injury, old-age, pensions, and death benefits. Employers are obliged to enroll their employees in the Social Security schemes and to jointly pay the contributions.
The three large national trade union confederations KSPI, KSPSI, and KSBSI are united in support of this important reform legislation. A final decision is expected to be made on 22 July.