Construction Of Abandoned Freeport Employee Housing

Photo: Special

JAKARTA - PT Bintang Timur Sejati (PT BTS) asked PT Freeport Indonesia (PFTI) to immediately resolve the housing dispute subsidy for the Home Ownership Program For Employee (HOPE) program. PT BTS also brought this issue to the Timika District Court in early October 2023, after PTFI repeatedly violated the joint work agreement (PKB), some of which were the fulfillment of home users (users) and the always late down payment.

This subsidized housing program itself is a collaboration between PTFI and the Head of the Working Unit, Energy & Mining Chemical Workers Union, All-Indonesian Workers Union (PUK SP KEP SPSI) PTFI and PK Federation of Energy Mining Confederations of All-Indonesian Trade Unions (FPE KSBSI) PTFI and PT BTS. This program is contained in Article 44 paragraph 55 PKB XX PTFI 2017-2019 period.

In the PKB, 1,200 housing units with several types will be built, ranging from type 45, 54, 60, and 72, to 2023. For the construction of this house, the HOPE team formed chose PT BTS as the developer.

However, in the process of building the SP KEP SP SPSI PTFI and PK FPE KSBSI PTFI did not run according to the cooperation agreement.

In early 2019, the HOPE team came to the housing marketing office of PT BTS on Jalan Budi Utomo Baru, Kamoro Jaya Village, Wania District, Mimika, Central Papua. However, PT BTS considers the PTFI HOPE tender process to be too convoluted. PT BTS also assessed that the housing procurement project for PTFI employees was too large or did not own land and money. Based on these matters, PT BTS said that it would resign from this tender on the occasion of a meeting held at the Rimba Papua Hotel.

After PT BTS was elected as the winner of the HOPE tender, immediately made an agreement in front of a notary for land payments, with the agreement paid for two years, in which if there is a delay, a fine of two percent per month from the remaining debt will be imposed.

In 2020 or the first year of HOPE, the HOPE (SPSI, SBSI, and PTFI) team could not meet the quota of providing users with 300 employees for 300 housing units per year, when in the first year only 141 users could be provided. In addition, the down payment payment payment payment provided by the company takes approximately two weeks.

Entering 2021 or the second year, the agreed target also cannot be met and even decreased from the first year, which was 117 users, with the process of paying down payments given by the company taking longer

This condition got worse when entering 2023, when the financial condition of PT BTS was getting worse, the fewer HOPE users and the length of DP payments, BTS sent a letter to PTFI management to immediately provide a solution.

On this basis, the Director of PT BTS Michael Hay brought this dispute to the realm of law, by filing a lawsuit to the Timika District Court with case number 84/Pdt.G/2023/PN TIM on October 5, 2023.

"It is hoped that PTFI will pay the remaining 347 plots of land already in the name of PT BTS to be paid according to NJOP in the last year," said Michael.

This is done so that PT BTS can cover debts at banks so that they are not burdened with interest every month, and the rest will be used by PT BTS to buy cellphone building materials.

"After that, PT BTS received information that PTFI rejected all PT BTS requests without considering the losses that PT BTS experienced for more than three years, which were actually the actions of the PTFI team, so PT BTS submitted to the management of PTFI to take legal action," he said.

According to him, within three years that have been passed to survive the HOPE program with all the losses and problems faced, PT BTS has been disappointed because PTFI, who came to PT BTS to participate in the tender in the state of PT BTS, repeatedly conveyed its inability.

"Because it has no land and capital, which provides the lure and promises that this program will run smoothly and safely, so that in the end BTS feels its position has been weakened in the HOPE program agreement, which is indicated to have been regulated and determined in such a way by PTFI," said Michael.