Bukit Asam signs employment agreement with workers

State-owned coal producer PT Batubara Bukit Asam (PT BA) has recently signed a common employment agreement with the company?s workers in a bid to improve productivity and to strengthen relations between labors and the management, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Saturday.

PT BA?s president R.A. Sunardi said in the weekend that the agreement, known as KKB, would replace the company?s employment regulation, which had so far been used as the base of the industrial relations within the coal mining company.

He hoped the introduction of the common agreement would encourage more participation from workers in the production activities. ?With the KKB, workers should be more professional and have higher productivity,? he added.

Sunardi said that the more stable relations between workers and the management as the result of the introduction of the new work agreement would make Bukit Asam more attractive to investors.

PT Bukit Asam, which operates a major coal mining in Muara Enim, South Sumatera, is one of several state companies which have been put in the government?s privatization list.

The government planned to sell up 49 percent stake in the South Sumatera-based coal producer to help plug the state budget deficit. The divestment will be carried out through an initial public offering or direct placement to strategic investors.(*)