Aida Ulim, Jayapura – PT Freeport Indonesia workers who were laid off (PHK) in 2017 are demanding that the company immediately fulfill their rights, and convey the Inspectorate's findings to the Papuan House of Representatives (DPRP).

This demand was conveyed by representatives of 3,274 former Freeport Indonesia workers accompanied by the Papuan Legal Aid Institute (LBH) when they met with the DPRP at the parliament building in Jayapura city on Thursday November 20.

The coordinator of the workers' representatives, Anton Awom, said that they met with the DPRP to convey the Inspectorate's findings and express objections to the handling of the layoffs which have never been fully resolved.

According to Awom, this is not the first time these former workers have complained to the DPRP. A similar meeting was held in 2022 but up until now there has still been no significant follow-up.

"We came today to the DPRP because this year we received three reports from the Inspectorate, related to acts of maladministration and code of ethics violations and a ratification by officials from Papua province and Timika regency", said Awom.

Awom said that they received a copy of the first inspection note issued in December 2019, and Freeport's response to the note in January 2020.

"However, PT Freeport's response did not match the contents of the note and was never implemented. Freeport should have resolved this problem between December 16 (2019) and January 28, 2020, so that our rights should have been paid back and the layoff status revoked. The workers' salaries and other payments have to be obtained. But none of that has been fulfilled", he said.

Awom said that up until now the relevant department has not issued a second inspection note. It was for this reason that they party came to the DPRP to ask lawmakers to use its authority to supervise and encourage the Labour Office (Disnaker) to order Freeport to implement the contents of the note.

"Even if, for example, Freeport does not implement the note, the Disnaker with its authority should issue a second inspection note. If it continues to be ignored, it could lead to labour crimes", he said.

Awom said that they also suspect maladministration and abuse of authority by supervisory officials, because they did not check PT Freeport's responses properly and correctly. As a result, inappropriate answers were considered correct and this will harm the former workers for years.

He said that in the inspection note there were two important points. Firstly, problem resolution must be carried out through Law Number 2/2004 on the resolution of industrial relations disputes, and before there is a permanent decision from a judicial institution the company is obliged to implement Article 155 Paragraphs 1 and 2 which regulates layoff procedures.

"Meaning that if it complies with procedures, it means it is legal without a judicial ruling. The layoffs should be null and void. However, to this day Freeport has not registered this matter with the Industrial Relations Court. How can the labour inspector state that the note has been answered, when there is no evidence that the company is carrying out its normative obligations", he said.

The former workers are worried that their rights will continue to be ignored and that victims will continue to suffer because so far the number of workers who have died since they were laid off is more than 135.

Therefore, it is hoped that the DPRP and related parties can help test and examine this first inspection note and PT Freeport's response to assess whether the actions were right or wrong.

Meanwhile, DPRP Deputy Speaker II Mukri M. Hamadi said that in responding to the workers' problem they would summon the Labour Office, the Inspectorate and other supervisory parties to a meeting.

"We will carry out a follow-up, we will schedule the next meeting with the agencies mentioned earlier to discuss this together", said Hamadi.

According to Hamadi, the DPRP will also coordinate with the Central DPR to convey this information so that they can discuss the issue together.

"The DPRP is open to opportunities to coordinate with the prosecutor's office if necessary. However, the DPRP cannot legally interfere directly with the legal process. We can only check to what extent the reports have been processed", he said.

[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Pekerja Yang Di-PHK Tuntut Freeport Penuhi Hak Para Buruh".]

Source: https://jubi.id/polhukam/2025/pekerja-yang-di-phk-tuntut-freeport-penuhi-hak-para-buruh/