KPC workers agreed to end strike

The workers of coal mining company PT Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC) agreed on Saturday to end their weeks-long strike and promised to resume works on Sunday.

?They agreed to resume works starting 6.30 a.m. tomorrow (Sunday),? KPC?s spokesperson Nunik Maulana told Petromindo.Com.

Chaerullah, secretary of the team representing the workers, confirmed the statement.

According to Chaerullah, the workers agreed to resume works after the management agreed to withdraw sanction threats aginst the workerss during negotiations mediated by East Kutai regent Mahyudin. The coal mining firm is based in Sangatta, East Kutai

?Difference remains over the goodwill payment, but the issue will be discussed by the workers, the management and the regent,? Chaerullah said.

The workers initially went on strike on Aug. 29, demanding a goodwill payment or bonus from company shareholders Rio Tinto Indonesia and BP PLC in the wake of their decision to sell their combined stake in the firm to PT Bumi Resources for $500 million. In the beginning, the workers demanded a bonus amounting to 15 percent of the acquisition deal, but during negotiations, they kept lowering their demand until they finally accepted the $6 million offered by the management.

Eearly this week, the workers agreed to resume works. But after resuming works for about three hours on Wednesday , the about 2,300 workers of East Kalimantan-based PT Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC) went on strike again upon finding a letter from the management informing that the latter would impose sanctions on workers who had failed to return to work as of Sept. 12 and the goodwill payment was subject to income tax.

Chaerrullah and Nunik said that during the Saturday negotiations, the management agreed to withdraw the sanction theats and the workers agreed that they would not get salary over the strike period.

Nunik noted that once the workers resumed works, it would take some time for KPC to reach its normal level of production.

?It will take a week to reach the normal level of production,? she said.

Because of the strike, KPC temporarily halted production, as most of the striking employees were from that division. The strike reportedly caused an estimated daily loss of $500,000 and prompted the company to declare force majeure on its obligation to buyers last week.

The government has reportedly lost Rp 17 billion ($2 million) in potential royalty revenues due to the strike.(Godang)