Badak NGL reaches agreement with protesting workers

The Bontang-based liquefied natural gas producer PT Badak NGL Co. in East Kalimantan managed to reach agreement with protesting workers over demand for higher salary, thus avoiding some 1,500 workers from staging a demonstration, the local Metro Balikpapan daily reported.

The agreement was reached during a negotiation facilitated by the local Bontang administration and police department on Wednesday. The workers were represented by the SBSI labor union.

The protesting workers are hired by one of Badak?s contractor called PT Carana Bunga Persada. The workers had demanded for a higher salary, to be equal with the government-sanctioned minimum wage level.

On Wednesday Badak agreed to the demand, instructing its contractor to raise the salary level or would risk an early termination of contract.

The protesting workers had also demanded the contractor to cancel an earlier decision dismissing two of their colleagues. Badak also approved the demand.

Thousand of the protesting workers were scheduled to hold a massive demonstration Thursday. But with the Wednesday agreement, the planned demonstration had been put on hold.

?We have to cancel the rally because all our demands have been fulfilled during the meeting (on Wednesday),? said Maxi WS, secretary of the Bontang unit of SBSI labor union.(*)