SBSI labor union warns Police not to intervene in KPC labor strike
Tuesday, July 4 2000 - 03:30 AM WIB
Chairman of the SBSI labor union Muchtar Pakpahan said that the East Kalimantan Police had been intervening in labor strike organized by the employees of coal giant firm PT Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC).
Muchtar warned in a statement as quoted by the local Kaltim Post daily that the direct intervention was a violation to the ILO Convention which had been ratified by Indonesia.
He said that the Police was trying to prevent other employees to join their friends in the demonstration and tried to disperse the demonstration by closing down the access road for the supply of basic needs for the demonstrators.
He said that he would report this to the National Police Chief.
Muchtar also lambasted public statements of East Kalimantan Police Chief Brig. Gen. Bachrumsyah for tending to provoke instability in the Sangatta area by raising the issue of labor.
He said that Bachrumsyah, the former police chief in the troubled Aceh province, was trying to create a "second Aceh."
Muchtar also lambasted the local office of the Ministry of Labor Affairs of taking the sides of KPC management in the labor dispute. He regretted the statement of the ministry saying that the demonstration was illegal.
He also accused KPC of trying to create a conflict between the local informal leaders and the protesting employees.
Some KPC employees, which according to SBSI reaches 600 (compared to only 150 claimed as earlier by KPC), has been demonstrating for a higher salary and better welfare program since June 14. The demonstration had caused disruption in the coal production and over the past 15 days KPC has to stop operation.
SBSI said that more employees want to join their friends in the demonstration but the management has been making threat to avoid them from joining the protest.
Meanwhile, director general of mining Surna T. Djajadiningrat was quoted by the Republika daily as saying that KPC risked a penalty for failing to fulfill its coal sale contract with foreign buyers.
Surna also said that this concern could be a bad precedence for the country's coal export.
Separately, KPC personnel manager Bambang Subiantoro said that several overseas buyers from Japan, Taiwan and the U.S. had made claims against KPC for the delay in the delivery of the coal. (*)