In recent days, local workers had demanded more job security, but they did not receive the support of their foreign colleagues and the violence began. Gunbuster Nickel Industri is owned by a Chinese tycoon who promised big investments in Indonesia. Experts and residents fear further unrest.
Jakarta () – Today Gunbuster Nickel Industri (Gni) reopened its doors, a nickel smelter located in the northern region of Morowali, where a protest broke out in recent days and two Indonesian workers and one Chinese were killed in clashes. Thanks to the massive intervention of the security forces, the situation was brought back under control: “Security units took action against those responsible,” said Didik Supranoto, police chief of Central Sulawesi province.
While Jakarta sent a special team to investigate the incident, home videos of the violence went viral on social media, some of which show Indonesian workers blaming the government for “giving too much” to the Chinese.
On January 14, factory workers belonging to the National Union of Workers had met with the company, to which they presented eight demands. Among them, the application of safety procedures in the workplace, the provision of personal protective equipment, the suspension of salary deductions and the rehiring of union members fired for going on strike. In December two Indonesian workers died in industrial accidents.
However, as no agreement was reached between the parties, the Indonesian workers went on strike: as they did not find the support of their Chinese colleagues, clashes between local and foreign workers began. They assaulted part of the machinery inside the factory, but the police reported that some dormitories of the Chinese immigrants were also set on fire. Gni employs 11,000 Indonesian workers and 1,300 foreigners, police said.
The smelter, run by Chinese businessman Tony Zhou Yuan, belongs to Jiangsu Delong Nickel Industry, a company that also carries out mining and refining operations in the Xiangshui Industrial Economic Area (China). It opened its doors in 2019 and was officially inaugurated by Indonesian President Joko Widodo two years later. It is estimated that the investment for the creation of three plants in the north of Morowali will exceed 8,000 million dollars, with a forecast of employment of at least 27,000 workers. President Jokowi – as he is known in Indonesia – has always welcomed Chinese immigrants and investment, but according to expertsthis episode, combined with historical anti-Chinese sentiments and high unemployment, risks unleashing further violence in other parts of Indonesia.
Anton, a local resident who has been working in the mining industry for more than 10 years, told that “in northern Morowali there are at least 15 smelting plants that use advanced technology and employ thousands of workers.” With increasing demand for batteries in the international market and the huge nickel deposit in Central Sulawesi province, “smelter construction has been Indonesia’s priority,” he added. “If the battery industry fully develops, it will be a gigantic mining industry, but with some serious challenges to face, such as the social discrepancy between domestic and foreign workers,” Anton continued, expressing his personal opinion. “When a feeling of social envy is expressed out loud, it means that possible mob violence is also imminent.”
