Indonesia’s decision to partner China to realise its ambition in growing its nickel-refining sector is under scrutiny after three Chinese workers filed a rights complaint over their alleged inhumane working conditions in the nickel-mining hub on the island of Sulawesi.

Jakarta-based AMAR Law Firm & Public Interest Law Office is representing the unnamed workers, who had “experienced a lot of suffering in physical, psychological, financial, and their dignity as human beings while working in the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP)”.

In a statement provided by spokesperson Dedi Kurniawan to This Week in Asia, IMIP said that one of claimants in the report to Komnas HAM “worked for a company that produces cathode precursors for EV batteries … in Konawe, not in the IMIP area. [...] When a labour rights violation occurs within the complex, IMIP said that “the responsibility for the incident is attached to the respective company where they work. The company also denied that they prioritised production over work safety.“Safety and health are the first priority.[...]”

The companies, Tsingshan Group and PT IMIP did not respond to BHRRC's request to comment.