24 October, 2011
Efforts to resolve the six-week Indonesian mine strike by FSP-KEP (SPSI), the Chemical, Energy and Mine Workers’ Union (CEMWU) against Freeport-McMoRan continue today on the local level, but agreement is not likely. Meanwhile, 10,000 strikers continue to block the lone access road to the world’s largest gold mine and third largest copper mine – Grasberg, operated by PT Freeport Indonesia.
The company suspended all production one week ago due to the supply road being blocked and a ruptured pipeline that carries copper concentrate from the mine, 4,000 metres high in the Sudirman Range, to the port city of Timika. Production resumed on 19 October, but union sources say it has not exceeded 30%.
On 21 October, dialogue did occur between the SPSI/PT Freeport union, 5 company officials, and the Tinal family, which administers the local Mimika regency, but Grasberg miners of Papua province, New Guinea Island, are no closer to a 2011-12 wage agreement than they were three weeks ago.
Family of Petrus Ayamiseba after 10 October Killing
Talks, however, took place today at the Rimba Hotel in Timika, some 200 kilometres from the rich Grasberg gold and copper deposits.
Next week the ICEM will dispatch a team to Indonesia to meet with striking SPSI members of the CEMWU and officials involved in the strike. That team will consist of mineworkers’ leaders from Australia, Africa, and Europe.
Two weeks ago, on 10 October, one union member was shot and killed and another died five days later after a group of miners tried to enter a transit terminal in Gorong-Gorong at Milepost 28 to board a bus to assist the blockade. Local police shot indiscriminately into their backs as they entered the bus depot.
Killed instantly was Petrus Ayamiseba, while Leo Wandagau died in his home in Timika on 15 October from a wound to his back caused by a rubber bullet. Eight other strikers were wounded. A three-member committee from Indonesia’s Human Rights Committee was sent to the area last week to investigate.
There have been two other instances in which gunfire killed at least six people, but the ICEM has been unable to discern if these shootings are related to the strike. A 13-member delegation of Indonesian parliamentarians also visited Timika on 20 October in search of answers to resolve the strike.
Leo Wandagau on 10 October; he died 15 October
The ICEM is convinced that a resolve will not happen until US-based Freeport-McMoRan instructs its Grasberg managers to lift its pay proposal for 2011 and 2012. Management’s most recent offer – three weeks ago – would grant a 15% pay hike in 2011 and 10% in 2012. The company also wants the union to acknowledge that the strike is illegal and issue a formal apology to the company.
FSP-KEP (SPSI) of CEMWU has lowered its demands to an average of US$7.50-an-hour. PT Freeport Indonesia has split unionised miners into non-staff and staff, with non-staff numbering 8,512 and staff 2,574. Non-staff now average earnings of US$2.13-an-hour and US$368 monthly, while staff has average wages of US$3.54-per-hour and US$613 monthly.
The union is also seeking a better savings plan programme than what PT Freeport Indonesia has on the table. In addition, workers are seeking payment of their wages during the strike, which started on 15 September, payment which management made during an eight-day warning strike in July. They also seek the return of all workers to their jobs. Hundreds of miners have been either terminated or “relieved from duty” since the mid-September strike started.
The ICEM will continue to support FSP-KEP (SPSI) at PT Freeport in its quest for wage justice, dignity, and a proud return to their jobs in the remote highlands of Papua province.