Editorial: Freeport Workers Are Being Irresponsible
December 12, 2011
Freeport workers and tribesmen during the strike at the giant mine in Timika, Papua. (Antara Photo/File)
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484119Jojakarta
The minimum wage rate is a valid point. Set by the govt and escalate up the job ladder
Second to claim parity with other countries is silly. The Toyota workers in Jakarta earn as a min $180 approx pm v those in Japan who earn $3000 - Are you saying all Toyota workers should get parity? or any others for that matter. No of course not it is nonsensical and it would destroy our economy at one shot.
This has been made into a political issue and FP are fighting. If FP fold then be prepared for more national action and I ask you can Indonesian business afford a 200% wage rise? We cannot and would relocate Many Indonesian companies are getting out of Indonesia as a prime base. Think why?
I am not denying a decent wage BTW - but there must be sense and whoever is pulling the strings knows until now there has been no sense - Ask who stand to gain and you will see the wood for the trees
jusdogin
You forget the fact that PTFI workers have to have the same qualifications with other Freeport workers in other countries. Yet, they received almost nothing. The minimum wage by the government is irrelevant!
Jo
I think you out of touch man - 6 jt basic a month is 6x the min wage already.
severance 50 mill - yes I think thats fair, in fact dude compare that the most private sector in Indonesia for unskileld and its very gud, only the govt offices get better deals I bet
Im not saying they dont deserve good money man but it looks like they are being used and meanwhile dey are not getting a pay
I was shocked to read this editorial. It was bias and favoured PTFI only. The union staged rallies and extended their strike because they were not treated properly by PTFI. Look PTFI spokesman always said that the workers could go home with 17 million Rupiah a months, while actually their basic salary is only 6 millions (700USD). They could go home with 10 million if they work for 14 hr per day...7 days a week!
And the severance they get after serving 25 years is only 50 millions Rupiah or (6000 USD). Do you think it is fair??? I can't believe that a newspaper of this caliber could come up with this junk editorial!
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It has now been four months since workers at Freeport-McMoRan’s Grasberg mine in Papua decided to strike, demanding higher pay. Despite the company’s efforts to forge an agreement, the workers’ union plans to extend the strike for another month, to Jan. 15.
This is both highly irresponsible and extremely selfish. Not only will the ongoing strike hurt Indonesia’s image as an investment destination, it directly hurts the workers as they have not been paid for the past three months. We wonder if union leaders are able to guarantee the workers that their families will be looked after if the mine is forced to shut down permanently due to the ongoing strike.
The damage the strike is doing to the local economy is also immeasurable. As the workers are not being paid as long as they remain on strike, they are unable to buy goods from local stores, which in turn are facing severe losses. Multiply these losses across the region and you have the basis of a crisis that will have far-reaching ramifications.
Juli Parorrongan, the spokesman for the union representing Freeport workers, has said that the workers “want to encourage further discussion aimed at settling the problem as soon as possible.” Why then is he extending the strike for another month?
The union had originally demanded a 20-fold pay rise to $30 an hour from the current $1.50 to $3 an hour. Not only is this demand ludicrous, it smacks of greed. No company in the world, no matter how profitable, would be able to afford such a drastic increase in the salary of its workers.
While we fully endorse a fair and equitable wage for all workers, the fact is that Grasberg’s 8,000 workers are already the best-paid in the country. A truck driver with a number of years of experience at Freeport last year earned Rp 16 million ($1,775) a month, higher than what many white-collar workers take home in Jakarta and other major cities.
Furthermore, it is not appropriate to compare pay scales in Indonesia with other countries, given different conditions and standards of living. Under the current wage demands of the union, a truck worker would take home Rp 73 million a month!
The country cannot be held hostage by a union that is neither responsible nor rational.
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