Petrosea yet to reach agreement with workers on severance pay package

The management of JSX listed engineering, construction and mining contractor PT Petrosea Tbk still has not reached an agreement with its employees in East Kalimantan on severance pay package for laid off workers, local daily Kaltim Post reported on Tuesday.

Representatives of Petrosea?s workers met with its executives at the West Kutai regency council (DPRD) on Monday in the presence of council members. Again, the workers demanded that that severance pay package for laid off workers be based on the decree of the Minister of Home Affairs which had been issued in 1990 and Law No. 22 Year 1957. Meanwhile, Petrosea?s executives insisted that severance pay package for laid off workers must be based on the labor contract Petrosea?s workers had signed in April 2001, which the executives said as going in line with Law No. 22 Year 1957.

The workers had set forth their demand to Petrosea?s leaders when they met on Nov. 16. The company management had earlier planned to lay off a number of workers, but Kaltim Post did not say how many workers would be laid off. They worked at PT Gunung Bayan Pratama?s coal mining site in Jempang district in West Kutai.

On Monday, 32 workers of Petrosea marched to DPRD to air their protest. Some of them were unexpectedly allowed to attend the council?s hearing with officials from the West Kutai regency manpower office. The hearing focused on the labor dispute at Petrosea.

Negotiations between the workers and Petrosea?s executives were scheduled to take place again on Tuesday (today) in the presence of council members.

Petrosea, which is a subsidiary of Australia?s Clough Engineering Group, also works for several mining firms including PT Kaltim Prima Coal, PT. Bukit Baiduri Enterprise and Freeport Indonesia. It is also engaged in construction of oil and gas facilities in Indonesia. (*)