KPC workers end strike, lift blockade

JAKARTA (JP): Striking workers at coal mining company PT Kaltim Prima Coal (kPC) ended their five-week strike on Saturday and lifted the blockade that had led to temporary closure of the company's operation in the Sanggata regency, East Kalimantan, an executive of the company said.

"They've cleared the mining site and we're now checking whether any of the heavy vehicles used for the blockade suffer from damages," KPC representative for Jakarta Bambang told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.

He said the workers agreed to lift the blockade after meeting with Muchtar Pakpahan, the chairman of the Indonesian Prosperity Labor Union (SBSI), which organized the strike.

Bambang said that KPC would resume operation by Saturday evening.

The striking workers took the company by surprise last week when they unexpectedly backed away from an earlier agreement to end the strike.

Prerequisite for the agreement was to resume negotiations on the workers' demands, which include a 15 percent salary increase and the reinstallment of daily allowances.

Bambang said that with the workers' decision to end the strike, negotiations could resume on July 31 in Jakarta.

However, he was cautious about predicting that the mining site would remain in operation, considering the unpredictable behavior of the workers.

KPC stopped operations on Tuesday last week for the second time in less than five weeks because of fruitless negotiations.

Negotiations at the Ministry of Manpower in Jakarta between KPC and SBSI faltered last week.

Bambang rejected the notion that a misunderstanding between negotiators in Jakarta and the workers on site caused them to back away from their initial agreement to end the strike.

"They (the striking workers) simply have no respect for rules," he said.

Bambang said earlier that SBSI should honor the deal it had made with KPC, and that disagreements within SBSI were of no concern to the company.

He also criticized the 150 striking workers for enforcing their will on the company, as they represented only a minority of KPC's working force of 2,600 people.

Losses

The company has reported losses of US$ 1.4 million a day, equivalent to 50,000 metric tons of coal, due to the blockade.

It further said that the government was losing up to Rp 3 billion (US$337,000) a day in royalties and tax revenue.

KPC is jointly owned by giant Anglo-Australian mining company Rio Tinto and British-American oil and gas company BP Amoco PLC.

Asked whether he suspected the involvement of foreign anti- mining movements in the dispute, Bambang said he saw no indications of such an influence.

He was responding to a statement by Minister of Mines and Energy Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who blamed foreign anti-mining movements for many disputes between mining firms and local residents or workers.

The minister said he found indications of covert activities aimed at shutting down Indonesian mining operations.

However, Bambang admitted that the KPC dispute might be under the observance of foreign non-governmental organizations (NGO).

"I've seen members of foreign NGOs accompanying the striking workers during negotiations," he said.

But the foreigners took no active part in the talks, they merely observed the process he added.

Meanwhile executive of the Indonesian Mining Association (IMA) Paul L. Coutrier shares the minister's suspicion of a foreign anti-mining movement.

"IMA suspects the same, the only reason why we haven't spoken out before, is because there is no proof of such a movement," he said.

In the case of KPC, Coutrier said, the strike clearly benefited the company's competitors.

Coutrier said it was reasonable that many coal producing countries resented Indonesia because of its success in exporting coal.

According to him, Indonesia managed within 10 years to raise its coal production to the present level of about 70 million tons from only 10 million tons.

He noted that competitors might sponsor anti-mining movements in Indonesia through the involvement of NGOs.

But he added that NGOs were essential in the mining industry to maintain checks and balances.

"This is a democracy, people should be able to express their opinion as a means to check and balance," he said.

However, he said that any disputes with mining companies should not force a company to close down its operation.

Even with charges of environmental damage, surrounding communities and the government are still economically dependent on mining operations.

"Especially in these hard times, we cannot afford to loose income and employment," he explained.

Coutrier suggested that NGOs should provide scientific evidence before making allegations. (bkm)