AFP – Hundreds of Indonesian workers protested against conditions at a Chinese-funded nickel-processing plant where an explosion killed at least 18 people and injured dozens more over the weekend.
The accident occurred last Saturday morning as workers repaired a furnace at a plant owned by PT Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel (ITSS) in the Morowali Industrial Park on Sulawesi island.
Sulawesi is a hub for the mineral-rich country’s production of nickel, a base metal used in electric vehicle batteries and stainless steel. China’s growing investment in the sector has stoked unrest over pay and working conditions.
Demonstrators gave a list of 23 demands to management, according to a letter sent to police by unions representing the workers.
The demands included that smelters be better maintained, health clinics be improved to deal with emergencies and Chinese workers be required to learn the Indonesian language.
“No production is worth a life!” protesters shouted through loudspeakers, video footage of the demonstration showed.
Among those killed in the blast was Muhammad Taufik, a 40-year-old welder who left behind a wife and two children.
“The family is grieving, he was the breadwinner,” Taufik’s cousin Parlin Hidayat told AFP, adding that ITSS had given the family compensation worth IDR600 million (USD30,625) after the accident.
