SHOOTING AT FREEPORT MUST BE INVESTIGATED

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Oct 11 (ANTARA) - The shooting incident during a clash between demonstrating PT Freeport workers and patrolling police in Mimika, Papua, that claimed the lives of one Freeport worker and one police on Monday should be investigated.          "The police chief should make an immediate effort to investigate thoroughly the shooting incident and violence that occurred on October 10, 2011," Coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) Haris Azhar said.         One of the demonstrating workers and one police officer were killed in the clash between gun-shooting police and rock-throwing demonstrators.      The incident happened after thousands of Freeport employees along with their spouses and children had marched from the All Indonesia Labor Union (SPSI) office at Jalan Perintis Kemerdekaan Timika Indah to the Gorong-gorong bus Terminal.          It was reported that demonstrating workers, who tried to prevent other workers from going to work at the terminal, demanded that the management should temporarily stop its operation until the strike case is solved and demand for employee salary increase met.          The management of Freeport regretted the occurrence of the incident. "We learned that a group of workers who were holding a rally and other individuals were marching from the office of All Indonesian Workers Unions (SPSI) for Freeport to the Timika bus terminal to disturb the departure of PT Freeport's employee buses who want to return to work," PT Freeport Spokesman Ramdani Sirait said.         According to Ramdani, the demonstrating workers forced their way into the terminal but police blocked their access that caused the group to act aggressively.          Haris Azhar said  that Kontras urged Police Chief Timur Pradopo to investigate the clashes between Freeport workers and police, and criticized the shooting of the Freeport workers who were trying to hold negotiations with PT Freeport management.          According to the non-governmental organization, the workers held the rally on Monday in protest against the management policy which recruited new workers to replace those who were holding demonstrations.          Freeport workers have been on strike since September 15, 2011 to demand for an increase in their salary, asking the management to agree with a new wage system in a new joint labor agreement (PKB).         Kontras was of the view that the shooting and violence constituted an intervention and threat by police to the industrial relations dispute which was protected by Law No. 13/ 2003 on manpower affairs.          Kontras said that the government, particularly the ministry of manpower should play a role in ensuring the basic rights of workers based on the law, including their rights to stage a strike based on article 137 of the law.          In the meantime, Manpower Minister Muhaimin Iskandar said his ministry had tried to mediate the workers problem with the management of PT Freeport..          "We will continue to provide assistance in overcoming problems at Freeport from the manpower aspect by involving negotiators between the workers union and the company's management. We hope that the   industrial relations dispute would soon be settled, and would no longer claim another victims," the minister said.          The minister said that the government has tried to mediate the workers union and the management to negotiate workers' demand in their joint labor agreement (PKB).          He said that the two sides had met three times at the office of manpower minister to discuss their dispute. "The tree-time mediation was not yet able to bring them into an agreement so that the case was taken to the industrial relations court," the minister said.          In that way, the minister said, the industrial relations dispute would be overcome and all parties involved would restrain and seek for the best solution without using violence that would even disadvantage all parties.          The labor dispute at Freeport began with differences between workers and the management over the wage system to be included in the new PKB. The differences appeared during negotiations to draw up a new KPB for the 2011 - 2013 period.          The negotiations on the PKB lasted for 30 days from July 20 to August 19, 2011, which were later extended by seven days until August 26, 2011.          But because the workers union and the management failed to reach an agreement, the government fielded a tripartite plus team composing of representatives from the government (ministries of law, manpower, energy and mineral resources and police) businessmen (national executives of Apindo) and workers to have direct dialogs with the representatives of workers.          In the meantime, Chief Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa hoped that Monday's incident at PT Freeport would not escalate and a solution would be found so that the problem would be settled.          "I hope Freeport would settle it well through negotiations with workers. The solution, namely win-win solution, should be found," the coordinating minister for economic affairs said.          Hatta said that if the problem protracted it would cause losses to the company, workers and the country as a whole.  "If not settled well it would cause more losses to the company, workers and Indonesia," the minister said.          Therefore, Manpower Minister Muhaimin Iskandar is sending a special team to Timikia, Papua to carry out persuasive approaches and to help defuse tension at PT Freeport.          "We are sending a team to Freeport to help overcome the problem there. The team is in charge of seeking solutions to the problem in the manpower aspect. The aspects that are related to the legal and political aspects will be handled by police,"   Muhaimin Iskandar said here on Tuesday.           The minister said that the team was sent to the field especially to slacken tension and to calm down workers and to coordinate with the local manpower service and other related parties.***3*** (T.A014/A/HAJM/23:10/a014) 11-10-2011 23:25