14 Dec 2011

Freeport Indonesia workers likely to return to work Saturday

4:05 pm on 14 December 2011

Workers at Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold's mine in Indonesia's Papua region are expected to return to work on Saturday, ending a three-month strike which has crippled production.

The US based firm and the workers' union are expected to sign a pay deal within days, with Freeport agreeing to a rise of 37 percent over two years.

The union field coordinator Hengki Binur says they have agreed as part of the pay deal to get workers back on the job on Saturday.

But he says they also want a guarantee from Freeport that the strikers will not face any problems when they return to work.