Fatalities, Work Accidents, Union Suppression and Worker Criminalization: The Fate of Indonesian and Chinese Workers at the PT GNI Nickel Smelter Pt5

By Permata Adinda and Muammar Fikrie for Project Multatuli, May 26, 2023

BECOMING AN OFFICIAL for the only workers’ union at PT GNI is a strange thing. And the challenge became even tougher after the “clash” between groups of workers on January 14, 2023.

Before being named a suspect, Mr. Minggu Bulu was the only National Workers Union (SPN) official at PT GNI still living in North Morowali district, even though his employment contract had been terminated by the company’s management. The other officials of the union had already returned home or sought refuge outside of North Morowali. Some of those whose contracts had been terminated found work elsewhere.

Mr. Minggu Bulu took on daily work at Baoshuo Taman Industry Investment Group (BTIIG) in Topogaro village about 37 miles or a 1.5-hour motorbike ride from his home in Tompira village. At the same time, he had to respond to police calls and visit the workers who had been named suspects at the Morowali Utara police station.

He expressed feeling overwhelmed handling everything alone. “From the time they were arrested until they were prosecuted, I handled everything. From finding their family contacts to providing encouragement and support,” he said. “But when I became the target, I was at a loss. How could I handle my friends when I was thinking about myself?”

The families of the suspects contacted Mr. Minggu Bulu to ask about the progress of their children’s and siblings’ detention. “Honestly, I was confused about how to answer them.”

Those family questions would be more appropriate if directed to lawyers, Minggu Bulu said. But, on the other hand, access to the North Morowali police station was also a long way away. The workers’ legal team came from the Central Sulawesi provincial capital city Palu, which is about 250 miles from North Morowali. From Palu, they needed to take a one-hour flight to Morowali, then drive for 1.5 hours by car or motorbike to reach the police station. Another option was a 10-hour journey by land. As a result, the legal team couldn’t have serious access to or visit the workers.

“After I passed the family contacts on to the lawyers, I couldn’t do anything else. Because how could I provide encouragement when I also needed support?” Minggu Bulu said.

Until now, the National Workers Union (SPN) does not have a branch leadership executive in North Morowali. The SPN officials at PT GNI still coordinate with the SPN branch leadership executive in Morowali or directly with the national executive in Jakarta. The journey by land from Morowali to North Morowali takes three hours.

In Morowali, the SPN branch executive is responsible for over 3,000 union members, all of whom work at the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP). The SPN is one of the largest unions in Morowali, so its officials are not always able to coordinate closely with the SPN members at PT GNI in North Morowali.

The Morowali SPN branch executive was established in 2017. The executive have to oversee an industrial area with over 80,000 workers. Mr. Katsaing, former Chair of the Morowali SPN branch executive, who is now running for office through the Indonesian Labor Party, compared his past experience organizing coal mine workers in Kalimantan with workers at IMIP.

“In coal mining, the organizational scope is small, and the level of understanding of the organization is already good. At IMIP, the workers are still beginners. The ratio is 75:25. 75% of workers are beginners, and 25% are experienced. The beginner workers don’t know what a union is,” explained Katsaing, adding that educating them about organization takes a long time, especially because of the tight work schedules in the smelter industry.

In his view, the SPN officials at PT GNI are in a tight spot. The organization was established in 2022 but it has already faced a variety of workplace accidents and other labor issues. In this context the company is attempting to dismantle the union.

“Membership administration is still unsatisfactory, the newly established union is already being disrupted and preoccupied with dissolution issues from the company,” said Katsaing.

Mr. Minggu Bulu and Mr. Amirullah acknowledged the difficulty of building and maintaining the union. The company is trying to dismantle the union, also known as union busting, so only a few of the thousands of PT GNI workers dare to join the union. In addition, not all members pay dues as union operating funds. As a result, officials use their personal funds.

Mr. Amirullah said he had spent around Rp5 million of his personal funds on union activities. “My savings for 10 years,” he said. “For operational requirements. Printing costs. Form printing. When friends get together, they always buy coffee, cigarettes, all sorts of things. All gone!”

“But, well, it’s the consequence of the struggle. If you want to vent, who do you complain to?” (Continued..)

This article is based on https://projectmultatuli.org/kematian-kecelakaan-kerja-pemberangusan-serikat-kriminalisasi-nasib-pekerja-indonesia-dan-tiongkok-di-industri-smelter-nikel-pt-gni/.

Featured image credit: Tropical Rainforest in Indonesia By Rhett Ayers Butler https://www.butlernature.com/2022/01/04/whats-the-outlook-for-tropical-rainforests-in-2022/

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• https://bisnis.tempo.co/read/1814128/perusahaan-smelter-nikel-dari-cina-ini-profil-pt-tiss-morowali-dan-pt-gni
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• https://money.kompas.com/read/2023/10/02/153100126/ciptakan-lingkungan-kerja-harmonis-pt-gunbuster-nickel-industry-gelar-seminar?page=all
• https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN2J60NW/