The dispute that started early in May at the giant Grasberg copper and gold mine in West Papua, owned by Freeport McMoran, has continued to escalate with more than 3,000 workers now having been sacked. At the same time as these dismissals, Freeport McMoran is in discussions with the Indonesian government over the terms of its mining lease. This dispute is also having repercussions for workers at a copper smelting plant in East Java, where the company has used the Grasberg strike as an excuse to dismiss hundreds of workers. In industrial disputes involving such global giants like Freeport McMoran, industrial action by workers in other Freeport McMoran mines around the world would be the most powerful actions to take.
The dispute that started early in May at the giant Grasberg copper and gold mine in West Papua, owned by Freeport McMoran, has continued to escalate with more than 3,000 workers now having been sacked. At the same time as these dismissals, Freeport McMoran is in discussions with the Indonesian government over the terms of its mining lease. This dispute is also having repercussions for workers at a copper smelting plant in East Java, where the company has used the Grasberg strike as an excuse to dismiss hundreds of workers. In industrial disputes involving such global giants like Freeport McMoran, industrial action by workers in other Freeport McMoran mines around the world would be the most powerful actions to take.
