Breaking News: Strike at Freeport's Grasberg Mine Ends

Breaking News: Strike at Freeport's Grasberg Mine Ends

Jakarta, 12 July, 2011 - 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.

ENDS

© Scoop Media