Indonesia’s nickel sector under scrutiny as Chinese workers allege inhumane working conditions
- Three Chinese workers say they have ‘suffered’ from breathing problems, and faced restrictions to their freedom in Indonesia’s nickel-mining hub of Sulawesi
- Many investments by Chinese companies often overlook workers’ rights and environmental impacts, says a lawyer from the firm representing the miners
One of the workers put up with the poor conditions for six months before finally quitting over declining health, the law firm said in a statement.
The industrial estate in question, known as IMIP, was founded by China’s Tsingshan Holding Group, one of the world’s largest producers of nickel, and Indonesian miner Bintang Delapan. The estate started operating in 2015, mainly to process nickel for use in stainless-steel production.
In their complaint, workers said they suffered “respiratory problems, memory loss, rapid heartbeat, and so on, because the factory is filled with dense smoke and it is difficult to breathe”.
They said employees were also forced to work more than 12 hours a day, and had no holidays and rest days. Workers from China were not allowed to leave the IMIP compound, had their passports withheld, and had difficulty communicating with those around them due to language barriers, the report said.
“There are many work accidents, many of the Chinese workers witnessed or experienced it themselves. They cause serious injury or death, and they happen almost every week at IMIP,” Airlangga Julio, a lawyer from the firm, told This Week in Asia.