ASIATODAY.ID, JAKARTA – The Indonesian government has openly emphasized that Indonesia is ready to become a world economic power through the downstreaming of natural resources. One of the industries that is currently booming in the country is the nickel industry.
However, the nickel industry in Indonesia, which is predominantly controlled by China, is facing accusations from the United States (US), which believes that forced labor has occurred in the nickel industry in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.
The Indonesian Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Bahlil Lahadalia, denied this. According to him, such accusations are a black campaign aimed at damaging Indonesia’s reputation.
However, Bahlil admitted that 85 percent of the nickel processing industry in Indonesia is still controlled by foreign investors, of which Chinese investors are the biggest ones.
“It’s not true that there is forced labor, I can confirm that. When I was still Minister of Investment, I went down to monitor the nickel industry every month. This is just a black campaign,” stressed Bahlil, Friday, October 11 2024.
According to him, many other countries feel they are greater than Indonesia, but are actually not greater.
“In foreign countries, they think everything is the greatest. Sorry, they are not better than us,” he continued.
Bahlil believes that with its wealth of natural resources, Indonesia can become a country with high per capita income. In this way, it is hoped that it can enter the list of the top 10 developed countries.
“In the future, Indonesia will be a country with high per capita income, high GDP and we will be able to become number 10 in terms of GDP,” he concluded.
Forced Labor Accusations
The United States alleges that forced labor has occurred in the nickel processing industry in Indonesia. This practice is accused of ‘polluting’ the world’s critical mineral supply chain. Nickel refining facilities in Indonesia have been established in a number of places from Sulawesi to North Maluku.
Allegations regarding forced labor practices in the Indonesian nickel industry were revealed by the Deputy Under Secretary for International Labor Affairs, US Department of Labor, Thea Lee, at the Washington Foreign Press Center on Thursday, September 5 2024.
For information, Lee, on this occasion, revealed the findings of the report “Worst Forms of Child Labor and List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor”.
Meanwhile, the country of Indonesia was mentioned when Lee explained the trend regarding the increasing number of important minerals produced using child labor or forced labor.
“The second trend I want to highlight is the increasing number of essential minerals produced using child or forced labor. “There are currently 12 on the list,” said Lee.
Initially, Lee explains the practice that occurs in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Bolivia of mining important minerals such as cobalt, copper, lithium, manganese, tantalum, tin, tungsten, and zinc. Child or forced laborers are said to toil in small-scale, poorly regulated mines, performing dangerous tasks such as digging tunnels, transporting heavy loads and handling toxic substances. Then, a similar thing also happened in Indonesia, namely in the critical mineral nickel.
“Forced labor pollutes other critical mineral supply chains, including aluminum and polysilicon from China, nickel from Indonesia, and cobalt, tantalum and tin from the Democratic Republic of Congo,” said Lee.
It was revealed that the workers faced various violations. This includes excessive and involuntary overtime, unsafe work, unpaid wages, fines, dismissal, threats of violence, and debt bondage.
Meanwhile, it was informed that the global footprint of forced labor and child labor has expanded. Since 2022, the list has grown from 159 items in 78 countries, to 204 items in 82 countries and territories.
The expansion highlights that current public and private sector efforts to address labor exploitation are not keeping pace with evolving global manufacturing trends, placing workers at risk of child exploitation, forced labor, or repression for attempting to form a union.
When discussing solutions, on the same occasion, Marcia Eugenio, Director of the Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor and Human Trafficking (OCFT) discussed that what can be recommended is to focus on improving legislation, law enforcement and social protection. However, this goes back to accountability and asking for responsibility from those who actually carry out exploitation.
“In many cases, it is companies that actually profit from the exploitation of children and vulnerable adults,” he said. (AT Network)
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