NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Violence and intimidation by employees at Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.'s (FCX) Indonesian unit has disrupted the company's efforts to resume normal operations there after last year's three-month strike, the company said. A strike at Freeport's Grasberg copper and gold mine, one of the world's largest, ended in December with an agreement for a pay increase, paving the way for about 8,000 workers to gradually return to the job. At least eight people were killed in violence triggered by the strike. "Certain of the returning workers have engaged in acts of violence and intimidation against nonstriking workers and supervisory personnel," Eric Kinneberg, a spokesman for the Phoenix-based company, said in an emailed statement. Freeport's Indonesian subsidiary "is complying with the terms of the recent collective labor agreement with its union," Kinneberg said. He added that the company was working with union and government officials to resolve the issues with the returning workers. Freeport, the largest publicly traded copper mining company, reported last month that its fourth-quarter earnings fell 59%, largely because of production lost during the strike. The company invoked contract terms allowing it to suspend shipments from Grasberg in October. -By Matt Day, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-4986; matt.day@dowjones.com
