Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura, Papua – Freeport's operations at the Grasberg mine in Papua are being hampered, the company confirmed on Monday, as hundreds of upset employees were blocking access to the facility.

"It is true that we have received a report that some employees have staged a protest this morning," Freeport spokeswoman Daisy Primayanti told the Jakarta Globe.

Angry workers from seven mining areas in Papua were blocking the access to the mine to express their disappointment with Freeport management, accusing the company of firing and suspending a number of their colleagues for going on a strike recently.

The protest on Monday cut off completely the supply of food for miners still underground. "The access to the mine... has been interrupted," Daisy said.

The spokeswoman added however that there was no unsafe situation at the mine as a consequence of the blockade and that management was communicating with the protesters. Freeport Indonesia is a local unit of US mining giant Freeport-McMoRan.

Source: http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/workers-block-access-grasberg-mine-labor-dispute/