Freeport Indonesia workers to extend strike for a month – union

Workers at Grasberg (File image)

JAKARTA, June 21 (Reuters) – Thousands of mine workers at the Indonesian unit of Freeport-McMoRan Inc will extend their strike for another month to protest against layoffs, a union official said on Wednesday.

Up to 6,000 workers will remain on strike, Freeport Indonesia union industrial relations officer Tri Puspital told Reuters, putting Freeport’s plan to ramp up output at risk.

Workers started a strike in May after Freeport laid off around 10 percent of its workforce, while the miner negotiates a new mining permit with the government.

(Reporting by Bernadette Christina Munthe; Writing by Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Susan Thomas)