KPC employees stage demonstration in Sangatta

Friday, March 30 2001 - 04:00 AM WIB

Around 100 employees of East Kalimantan coal mining giant PT Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC) who are also members of the SBSI labor union staged a demonstration on Thursday in the front of the East Kutai parliament building to protest the dismissal of their colleagues and the recent attack on the SBSI local office by members of the FPPS youth organization.

KPC is equally owned by Anglo American energy giant Beyond Petroleum (BP) and Anglo Australian miner Rio Tinto.

The local Kaltim Post daily said that the rally was relatively peaceful with local police seen guarding the local parliament building. The paper said that some of the demonstrators were allowed to meet deputy speaker of the East Kutai parliament Alex Rahmanu.

Head of the SBSI Sangatta unit Sam Karta protested the attack made by the FPPS youth organization to shut down the SBSI office. Sam said that SBSI was a legal labor organization, and the attack was an act of legal violation. He called on the police to make a probe.

Sam also protested the unilateral dismissal of 10 KPC employees who happen to be a member of the SBSI labor union. He said that holding a demonstration was the right of employees protected by the law, and the company could not dismiss the employees.

Several youth organizations have lambasted the SBSI labor union which has often organized labor strike and rally including by blocking company assets which affect production.

The youth organizations have demanded the local administration to get rid of the SBSI union from the East Kutai area.(*)

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