Berau Coal, workers still disagree on pay rise

Workers carrying out loading and unloading activities for East Kalimantan-based coal miner PT Berau Coal still disagreed with the company management on their demand for a rise in their pay, local daily Kaltim post reported on Tuesday.

Berau?s management on Monday refused to raise the amounts received by its workers in a meeting attended by company executives, officials from the local office of manpower, and Berau regency council members.

Previously, company leaders and the workers had negotiated for 12 times with the laborers keeping pressing the company management to give them no less than Rp708 (US=Rp9,085) for loading and unloading each metric ton of Berau?s goods. The workers complained they had so far received only Rp303 per metric ton, compared with the Rp1,113-Rp1,523 received by similar workers in other parts of East Kalimantan like Tarakan and Samarinda.

Meanwhile, Berau Coal?s management said they could increase the workers? wages to no more than Rp609 per metric ton of goods. They said it was a big enough amount.

The company?s executives also argued that drastically raising the workers? wages could incite laborers doing other work to force the company to raise their wages.

Berau Coal operates coamines in Berau regency, East Kalimantan, producing some seven million tons of subituminious coal annually.

Publicly listed heavy equipment maker PT. United Tractors is the majority owner of Berau Coal. Other shareholders are Armadian Tri Tunggal and Japan trading house Nissho Iwai. (*)