Indonesia: Workers protest at China-owned smelter after deadly fire, 27 December 2023

Dozens of workers on Wednesday protested at a China-owned nickel smelter complex in Indonesia’s Central Sulawesi province after a weekend fire killed 19 people, exposing safety issues in the fast-growing industry.

About 100 workers demanded the closure of all smelters in the Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) until a full investigation into Sunday’s fire was completed, but the demand was rejected by an official at the industrial complex.

“We demand a thorough investigation of the work accidents that have occurred at IMIP,” Rizky Akbar, the leader of the protesting workers at the steel plant, told BenarNews.

“We also urge a 20% increase in wages for workers. Provide fair compensation to workers and temporarily halt nickel production before there is a comprehensive evaluation.”

IMIP spokesman Dedy Kurniawan said the company would enhance safety measures.

“However, it is not possible to shut down all smelters in the IMIP area,” he told BenarNews.

“After a dialogue with the protesters, they understood this and dispersed.”

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Between 2019 and 2023, more than 30 workers have died at two nickel plants with majority Chinese ownership in Morowali and North Morowali regencies, according to a mining watchdog.

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In 2022, more than 42,000 Chinese were working in Indonesia, accounting for about 44% of all expatriates in the country, according to the Ministry of Manpower.

One protesting worker, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisal, criticized the poor occupational safety conditions at the complex.

“[A] fter the incident, we are afraid to work. We don’t want to become victims because of the poor safety at the company,” the worker told BenarNews.

“We want assurances that our lives are not worth only 600 million rupiah (U.S. $42,000),” he said, referring to the amount of money the company offered to the families of the workers who died in the fire.[...]