KPC accused of insulting parliament

The United Development Party (PPP) faction of the East Kalimantan House of Representatives accused coal giant firm PT Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC) to have insulted the parliament.

Faction head Ridwan Suwidi said on Friday that the parliament had been insulted by KPC's earlier statement that the House had intervened in the negotiation process between the company and its protesting employees.

"We can't accept the statement," he was quoted by the local Kaltim Post daily as saying.

Ridwan said that the parliament was trying to resolve the problem through negotiation, not making intervention.

He said that the parliament had asked KPC to fulfill some of the demands of the protesting employees because they were reasonable, but the House had also appealed to the employees to accept that only some of the demands could be fulfilled.

"But the hard headed management of KPC had ruined the negotiation efforts by the parliament. And the funny thing is that KPC accused the House of making intervention.

"I have already asked the parliament Speaker to react including possible law suit against for insulting the parliament," Ridwan said.

Ridwan said that there seemed to be efforts to turn around facts by blaming the protesting employees, the House and the East Kutai administration over the current problem.

Some 200 protesting employees of KPC have staged a strike since June 14 and blockading certain key production facilities causing the company to stop production. But after rounds of negotiation facilitated by the parliament and East Kutai administration, the protesting employees agreed to end the blockade on June 25, allowing the company to resume production.

But the last round of talks in the parliament ended with a deadlock as the two disputing sides failed to reach agreement. The employees then resumed the blockade last week.

Representatives of the protesting employees reached on Wednesday an agreement to end the blockade with the KPC management in a negotiation facilitated by the Minister of Labor Affairs in Jakarta.

The agreement was also signed by chairman of the SBSI labor union Muchtar Pakpahan.

The protesting employees were grouped in the SBSI.

But until Friday the protesting employees still blockade the company's facilities.

Sources said that Muchtar had traveled to Sangatta in East Kalimantan on Friday to meet the protesting employees and to socialize the results of the Jakarta agreement.

Muchtar's visit is expected to end the blockade. The protesting employees had earlier demanded the presence of Muchtar to explain to them the result of the Jakarta agreement. (*)