Labota was once a fishing village, but today it has been subsumed into a sprawling city centred around IMIP, with 50 factories sprawling across nearly 10,000 acres worth $15 billion.
Built as a joint venture between Chinese and Indonesian industrial companies, Indonesia’s Manpower Ministry said that IMIP had 28,000 employees in 2019 and 43,000 in 2020. That number has now grown to around 66,000.
Roughly 6,000 workers from China live in dormitory blocks. After the afternoon shift ended at 5pm, Chinese workers left the nickel ore processing complex or smelter of Obsidian Stainless Steel in Morosi, Konawe Regency, Southeast Sulawesi.
Some were dressed casually or were in uniform, while others were neatly dressed, and a few others looked shabby and covered in mud. They headed straight for a makeshift market or to eat at the Chinese restaurant on the roadside in front of the smelter.
Investigations have revealed the widespread exploitation of Chinese workers in some of the nickel factories, where they are forced to work long hours with little pay, and enjoy few workers’ rights. China Labour Watch recently found illegal contracting practices, workplace injuries and deaths, dangerous conditions, abuse, and an overall culture of silence, are commonplace.