Unmet promises, foreign workers: Chinese firms in Indonesia face bumps in the Belt and Road
- Ramping up investment in the Southeast Asian nation under Beijing’s signature infrastructure initiative is not without its challenges
- These include disputes with communities holding land suitable for development, as well as perceptions they are hiring too many Chinese workers
But six years later, the 58-year-old claims no one from Longkotan village has been hired by the firm, a joint venture between the Beijing-based conglomerate China Nonferrous Metal Industry’s Foreign Engineering and Construction and Bumi Resources Minerals, a subsidiary of Indonesian coal-mining giant Bumi Resources.
“My son has graduated and has repeatedly applied for a job with the company, but was not accepted,” he said, explaining that while no one from the village had been hired as a permanent worker, there were dozens of daily casual jobs such as lifting stones and digging that paid an average of US$7 per day.
Sihaloho and the 108 residents of the village have repeatedly demanded that Dairi Prima Minerals keep its promise to prioritise locals, even forming a union to emphasise their position, but they have been told the firm does not yet have the funds.
“I feel like I have been tricked by the company,” he said.
In South Tapanuli regency – where a US$1.5 billion Chinese-backed hydropower plant is being constructed by North Sumatra Hydro Energy, with Chinese state-owned company Sinohydro as project leader – Derlan Hutabarat, 68, has similar complaints.
“I have sold 10 hectares of my land to the company, but until now my son has not worked for them,” said the resident of Aek Batang Paya Village, who added he had been told young people in their village would be employed by the firm after the sale.