Bloomberg News | December 27, 2023 |
The deadly blast at a furnace run by PT Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel has triggered an investigation at the Sulawesi police headquarters, pictured here. (Image by the Government of Indonesia, Picryl.)
Workers at a Tsingshan Holding Group plant in Indonesia staged a demonstration and demanded new working conditions after an explosion on Sunday that killed at least 19 people.
The deadly blast at a furnace run by PT Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel — which is controlled by the Chinese group — has triggered a police investigation and a halt to the firm’s operations. Tsingshan is the world’s biggest nickel producer and one of Indonesia’s largest foreign investors.
On Wednesday, about 100 workers gathered at Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park — the site of the blast — to call for better compensation to victims’ families, according to the park’s spokesperson Dedy Kurniawan. Protestors have since dispersed, he said.
Unions also issued a list of more than 20 demands to the industrial park and Tsingshan’s management. Those include a requirement that foreign staff should learn Indonesian, as well as calls for improved pay and health benefits, and better emergency preparedness. The list, seen by Bloomberg News, was issued by five labor organizations including the Confederation of All Indonesian Trade Unions.
The fatal accident at the Tsingshan furnace is the most serious in a number of incidents in Indonesia’s burgeoning nickel industry, which is the world’s biggest after a decade of massive investment spearheaded by Chinese firms.
Tsingshan has 3 million tons of stainless-steel capacity at the Morowali site, which is made using nickel smelted from Indonesian ore. It’s not clear how much steel or nickel capacity was being utilized prior to Sunday’s halt. Tsingshan has separate facilities in other parts of Indonesia.
Nickel on the London Metal Exchange rose Wednesday, its first day of trading since Dec. 22. The metal gained 2.4% to $16,905 a ton.
Rising toll
There have been tense relations between local communities and Chinese workers and management at nickel plants. In January of this year, two people died in violent clashes at a plant belonging to another Chinese company.
The death toll from Sunday’s explosion climbed to 19 on Wednesday after one worker succumbed to heavy injuries, according to the Central Sulawesi regional police. Forty more remain in intensive care.
The fatalities included eight Chinese nationals, Mao Ning, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said at a regular press briefing Wednesday in Beijing. China will work with Indonesia to deal with this accident, she said.
Indonesia’s Ministry of Manpower is investigating the cause of the disaster and will take legal steps against the company if it’s found to have violated work, health or safety regulations, state news agency Antara reported.
(By Fathiya Dahrul, Chandra Asmara and Claire Jiao)
Death toll at Indonesia smelter fire rises to 18, operation halted
Reuters | December 26, 2023 |
The nickel smelter furnace where fire broke out is located in Sulawesi (pictured) and it is owned by a unit of China’s Tsingshan Holding Group. (Reference image by Midori, Wikimedia Commons.)
The death toll from a fire at an Indonesian nickel smelter has risen to 18 as of Tuesday from 13 on Sunday, local police said, while operations at the smelter remain suspended as authorities investigate the cause of the incident.
Fire broke out early on Sunday morning at a nickel smelter furnace on Sulawesi island owned by Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel (ITSS), a unit of China’s Tsingshan Holding Group.
Indonesia, the world’s biggest nickel producer, has banned unprocessed nickel ore exports while promoting major investments in smelting and processing, but several fatal accidents have hit the sector in recent years.
President Joko Widodo, while identifying nickel processing as a priority for economic development, has called for improved safety and enhanced monitoring of environmental standards.
Central Sulawesi police spokesperson Djoko Wienartono said on Tuesday that the victims included eight foreign workers, and that the police are still investigating the cause of the fire. China’s foreign ministry said four Chinese were among the initial 13 confirmed dead.
A spokesperson for the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park where the plant is located, Dedy Kurniawan, said on Tuesday that operations would remain suspended during the investigation.
(By Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Edmund Klamann)
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