ASIATODAY.ID, JAKARTA – The Indonesian government through the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment will take firm action against PT Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel (ITSS), owner of the nickel smelter that exploded in the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP), Central Sulawesi.
The Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, directly chaired the coordination meeting which was attended by the Minister of Manpower, Ministry of Industry, Chief of the TNI General Staff, Central Sulawesi Police Chief, National Police Security Maintenance Agency, and regional stakeholders.
Luhut asked all related ministries or institutions to handle this problem seriously.
“I want to remind you that our country has clear and strict regulations. “Anyone who violates it will face the applicable law,” said Luhut as quoted in a press release, Friday, December 29 2023.
From the latest report, this incident has resulted in the deaths of 19 people, 11 Indonesian workers and 8 Chinese workers. Apart from that, 29 were seriously injured, and 11 had minor injuries.
Based on the results of the visit of the Coordinating Ministry Team for Maritime Affairs and Investment, the handling of victims who were still being treated had been carried out well, including evacuating the victims being treated to Makassar and Jakarta. Apart from that, the company has also provided compensation of IDR 600 million for victims who died, apart from compensation from BPJS.
Regarding the investigation into the cause of the accident, since December 25 2023, a team from the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment, the Ministry of Manpower, and the Ministry of Industry, the Military Resort Command, the Regional Police, the Resort Police and the Military District Command as well as the regional government have been deployed to the location to carry out initial treatment and in-depth investigation.
From the results of the initial investigation, there were indications that actions violated the System Operational Procedures (SOP) that had been established by the company, resulting in accidents and fatalities. However, for the final conclusion, Luhut asked the Central Sulawesi Regional Police Chief to complete the investigation within two weeks and requested firm action from the Police against any identified legal violations.
“I ask the police to act quickly and firmly if there is evidence of violations by the company. “A similar incident at GNI last year has been a lesson that we are serious about enforcing the law for worker safety,” he said.
As is known, the government has also conducted an in-depth investigation into the fire incident that occurred at PT Gunbuster Nickel Industry (GNI) last year, and currently the case file is in the process of being submitted to trial by a team of investigators from the Ministry of Manpower.
Furthermore, Luhut underlined that the government is committed to improving Industrial Governance, especially in the aspects of Occupational Safety and Health (K3) and the Environment.
In the next two weeks, Luhut will hold a follow-up coordination meeting to review the results of the investigation and ensure that corrective steps in industrial management and work safety in Indonesia have been implemented effectively.
“The company must take full responsibility for the consequences of this incident, and we will ensure justice for the victims and their families,” he stressed. (AT Network)
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