New strike hits Freeport’s Indonesian mine

Hundreds of workers at Freeport-McMoRan’s Indonesian mine have gone on strike demanding better pay, the US firm said on Wednesday, in the latest industrial action to hit the operation.

Some 1,100 workers, employed by contractors and not directly by the company, downed tools on Tuesday at the Grasberg mine in eastern Papua province, one of the world’s largest gold and copper mines, Freeport’s Indonesian unit said.

A three-month strike over wages by thousands of workers directly employed by Freeport crippled production at the mine in 2011 and only ended once the firm agreed to a huge pay hike.

Workers from contractors Jasti Pravita, Osato Seike and Srikandi Mitra Karya, were involved in the latest action, according to Freeport.

They were mostly construction workers hired to work on an expansion of the mine, their union said.

“The strike of course could slow down Freeport Indonesia’s activities, but we don’t anticipate any direct impact to the overall mining operation and production,” the company said in a statement.