Newmont denies hiring illegal workers
Monday, June 19 2000 - 03:45 AM WIB
PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara has denied the government's charge that the United States-based gold mine operator hired illegal foreign workers in its mine site in Batuhijau in West Nusatenggara (NTB) province, Bali Pos reported on Monday.
The company's senior manager for foreign affairs, Robert Humberson, said that the company had never hired foreign workers illegally because such practice would not only harm its relations with the government but it would also damage its reputation.
He said that the company had instead reduced the number of the foreign staff to 175 people from more than 300 people during early stage of its operation late last year. "All the foreign workers have followed the existing legal procedures," he said.
Director general for labor development at the Ministry of Manpower, Din Syamsuddin, said that the American gold mine operator had illegally hired foreign staff to support its mining activities in Batuhijau because many of the expatriates working in the company did not possess working permits.
"Many Newmont foreign workers use their tourist visas when working in the company," Syamsuddin said,
Humberson said that the company employed about 4,000 workers during the early stage of its production, and about 60 percent of them were recruited from villages located near the mining site. Number of the workers is now about 3,000 people.
Environment
Meanwhile the local office of the government-sanctioned environmental impact management agency (Bapedal) has also questioned the operation of the mining company's submarine disposal system at the nearby sea.
The agency said that Newmont had never reported the existence of its waste disposal system since the company carried out its trial production activities late last year. The mining company, which officially inaugurated its gold mine in Batuhijau on Saturday, should report the activities of its waste disposal at least once in three months, he said.
The company's waste disposal system, located in the nearby sea, has been widely criticized for the lack of safety standards. The local non-governmental organizations feared that if the company went ahead with its waste disposal system, it will not only cause pollution at the sea but will harm the future of the local fishermen who mostly still rely on fish catch to support their families.
Newmont said recently that the company had paid about Rp 20 billion in royalties for the gold production during the January to March.
M. Jabir, a member of the province's legislative council, however said that the local legislators had not been informed about the existence of the royalty. "The governor should disclose the royalties transparently to the public so that the people will understand how much the company," he added. (*)