An Indonesian mining commentator says Freeport McMoran Copper and Gold is showing little respect for the rights of workers at its Grasberg mine in Papua region.
About 12,000 of Freeport's Papua 23,000 workers have been on strike since mid-September, demanding better pay, at the massive gold and copper mine.
Freeport's Chief Executive Richard Adkerson has indicated the strike has caused a production shortfall.
However the company failed to attend a meeting with government and union officials yesterday.
The Mining Advocacy Network's Siti Maimunah says that Freeport's silence on the matter is putting it offside with Indonesia's public.
"Then government gets mandated from the people to control the Freeport mine. But it's not working. At the moment in Indonesia, they just keep silent. The labour is not just getting support from the labour groups around Indonesia but also from the local communities, the indigenous people."
Siti Maimunah
