Hundreds Rally in Aceh Gasfield to Demand Extension of Contracts

Residents of Indonesia's Aceh province now fear unemployment in the midst of war and military rule. Oil giant ExxonMobil, which employs about 3000 people in the rebel province, announced that it will not be renewing contracts with up to 1200 workers "due to declining gas production and substantially reduced activities." Amidst the instability of military activity and martial law, Acehnese workers are rallying and demanding that ExxonMobil extend contracts at least until the government’s military operations end. However, instability is likely a primary concern for ExxonMobil as well, and current cutbacks may well be rooted in the same security concerns that prompted the corporation to close area operations for four months in 2001. – YaleGlobal

Hundreds Rally in Aceh Gasfield to Demand Extension of Contracts

Wednesday, June 25, 2003

JAKARTA (Agencies): About 1,000 workers at a major gasfield in the war-torn province of Aceh rallied on Wednesday to demand an extension of their work contracts which will expire this month.

The rally was tightly guarded by soldiers who are assigned to guard the ExxonMobil premises in North Aceh, a district where separatist rebels of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) have been very active, Antara news agency said.

It quoted a local union official as saying that workers demanded that ExxonMobil assure them that their contracts would be extended at the Arun field, at least until the current military operation against the rebels ends.

Bill Cummings, a spokesman at ExxonMobil's Jakarta office, said the protesters are employed by four contractors providing manpower and related services for ExxonMobil. The companies' contracts are due to expire on June 30.

"Due to declining gas production and substantially reduced activities, ExxonMobil will tender services under two new contracts at reduced levels," Cummings said.

He said production at the gasfield is declining to just 113 Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) cargo ships last year compared to 220 in the early 1990s. At the same time, many of the capital projects have been completed and few new projects are anticipated," he added.

Cummings estimated that the two new contracts being tendered will engage up to 1,200 fewer workers than the current ones.

A local trade union officials said ExxonMobil was employing some 3,000 people under the current contracts.

Aceh has been put under martial law since May 19 when the government launched a major attack on the rebels.

ExxonMobil closed its Arun operations for four months in 2001 due to security concerns.

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