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"‘Production first, safety later’: inside the world’s largest nickel site" 26 November 2024

Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP)— the world’s largest nickel processing site which is majority-owned by China’s Tsingshan —has grown rapidly since an Indonesian ban on the exports of nickel ore took effect in 2020...

But workers say the success has come at a cost. In interviews with the FT, more than two dozen workers at nine companies in the IMIP complex alleged widespread lax safety practices, inadequate protective equipment, and poor communication between Indonesian and Chinese workers — resulting in unsafe working conditions and frequent accidents. Their accounts are backed up by three labour unions representing 12,000 workers. 

Nickel facilities in Indonesia recorded a total of 114 incidents that resulted in 101 deaths and 240 injuries between 2015 and the first half of 2024, according to data compiled from media reports by non-profit group Trend Asia. Nearly half of those deaths occurred at IMIP...

“Production first, safety later,” said a worker at Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel, another Tsingshan unit operating at IMIP...

A worker at coal producer Risun Group located within IMIP said that some staff try to hide accidents as they are penalised through pay cuts or warning letters...Risun did not respond to a request for comment.

“Posting work accidents [online] is seen as leaking company secrets,” said one ITSS employee. A second ITSS worker said that targets can only be reached if they do not take breaks. Another worker said he was not allowed to do overtime — seen as essential to cover living costs — as retaliation for joining a union...

Tsingshan and the Indonesian ministry of manpower and the ministry of investment & downstreaming did not respond to requests for comment. Eternal Tsingshan, the unit of Tsingshan that oversees ITSS and Indonesia Ruipu Nickel & Chrome Alloy, also did not respond.

IMIP’s spokesperson Dedy Kurniawan said the industrial park complies with all Indonesian laws and regulations. IMIP and its tenants have made “several efforts” to reduce accidents, he said...

Chinese migrant workers, who reportedly account for about 13 per cent of the total workforce, live in dormitories within the IMIP compound, and have their passports confiscated and movements restricted, according to China Labor Watch and Indonesian workers...