Riau governor urges Caltex to provide jobs to protesters

Following a series of protests and violent incidents staged against PT Caltex Pacific Indonesia in Riau province, the local governor says he will urge the oil company to give jobs to the demonstrators.

Locals have in recent weeks occupied some of Caltex's rigs and vehicles, demanding they be given jobs. The company is unwilling to hire them because they lack requisite skills.

Riau Governor Saleh Djasit on Saturday said he will ask Caltex to provide employment for at least 75 residents of Simpang Kopar village, which is in Rokanhilir district.

"We hope PT Caltex will give them long-term employment, not just temporary job," he was quoted as saying by berpolitik.com.

Saleh on Saturday met with Caltex executives for nearly three hours in a bid to resolve the series of recent protests.

He said Caltex is keen to provide employment to locals. But there's one small problem. Caltex isn't looking to recruit any new personnel at present.

Saleh declined to mention what kind of jobs the locals may get.

The governor said locals are still holding six vehicles owned by Caltex and two rigs.

"Each rig can produce oil worth Rp2 billion [US$225,000]," he said, suggesting that Caltex should convey some money to finance the development of local human resources.

Several non-governmental organizations have blacklisted Caltex due to its environmental record.

"Of the many companies in Riau, Caltex tops the list when it comes to environmental pollution," said Hery Khahurifan, secretary general of the Institute for Indonesian Forest Studies (LPHI).

LPHI said last week Caltex had breached environmental laws by detonating explosives to look for oil reserves in Riau.

Khahurifan said his group will sue Caltex at the International Court of Justice in the Hague, because of the severe environmental damage. (*)