Two workers including a Chinese were killed at a nickel factory in Indonesia during riots after a protest over working conditions, authorities said on Monday.
The clashes broke out on Sunday evening on the Indonesian island of Celebes, on the territory of the Gunbuster Nickel Industry (GNI) factory, a local subsidiary of the Chinese group Jiangsu Delong Nickel Industry.
Indonesia, very rich in nickel, has seen in recent years a rapid development on the island of Celebes of nickel mines and processing plants of this essential mineral to manufacture stainless steel and batteries for electric vehicles.
A 30-year-old Chinese worker and an Indonesian were killed in Sunday’s clashes, Celebes Center police spokesman Didik Supranoto told AFP, without giving details.
Local workers on strike to protest pay and working conditions clashed with law enforcement when they attempted to enter the factory and set machinery and vehicles on fire, he said. for follow-up.
“There were disorders because they entered by force on the territory of GNI” despite the security personnel, noted the spokesman.
“They engaged in anarchist acts, burning and destruction. From there clashes broke out between the striking workers and the workers who were inside.”
At least 71 people were arrested after the riots, including 17 suspected of property damage, the spokesperson said in a statement.
Hundreds of police had to be deployed around the factory after the clashes, according to local media.
“We express our deep condolences after the protests that degenerated into chaos (…) because these incidents affected not only the company but also the neighboring community,” GNI said in a statement.
The activity of the factory, inaugurated in 2021 and which has a production capacity of 1.8 million tonnes of nickel, has been suspended, said the police spokesman.
The nickel reserves on the island of Celebes, crucial for Indonesian ambitions to develop a sector ranging from the extraction of ore to electric vehicles, have attracted the interest of Chinese groups and the world’s largest car manufacturers.
The American giant of electric vehicles Tesla is in negotiations for significant investments in the sector, according to the Indonesian authorities.