IndustriALL Global Union again urges Freeport to negotiate with CEMWU SPSI rather than continue down its current path of conflict, which is devastating the families and communities of the over 4 thousand workers fired for striking at its Grasberg mine in West Papua, Indonesia.

The fundamental source of the conflict is Freeport’s refusal to negotiate. In Freeport-McMoran's August 28 statement, the company makes the incredible claim that “there were no legitimate labor matters over which to negotiate" in the furlough that Freeport unilaterally imposed on its Indonesian employees, provoking the strike. The company however admitted in an August 10 meeting with IndustriALL that the furlough reduced workers’ compensation by about 30% and weakened their job security. Those are legitimate labor matters...