"Dust Money", 4 Dec 2024, The Gecko Project

Ujang arrived at our meeting still in his Obsidian Stainless Steel uniform, [...] works at the coal burner that powers the facility, [...] The dust clings to everything. Even outside the facilities the air is thick and rasps the throat. Inside, it’s hazardous, but Ujang’s only protection is a thin paper mask, [...] His chest feels tight all the time [...].

Injuries are common at Virtue Dragon, he says. [...]

Corroborating this is difficult as the company threatens to punish workers if they post on social media about incidents at work, [...]

Jiangsu Delong did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

[...] Indonesia’s Ministry of Manpower rules make it compulsory for safety officers to be Indonesian nationals. That, however, is rarely observed in practice, according to workers and unions.

After the deadly explosion at ITSS in December 2023, two Chinese employees were named as suspects in a police inquiry into the accident. [...] the pair, who allegedly oversaw the repair crew caught up in the accident, were registered as members of the finance department.

Tsingshan Holdings Group, owner of ITSS, did not respond to several requests for comment.

Social media posts [...] apparently made by Chinese workers at other Jiangsu Delong companies in Indonesia, complain of delayed wages and poor living conditions [...]. 

In May, workers confronted managers at Gunbuster Nickel Industry claiming that their wages hadn’t been paid for five months. Workers were allegedly then threatened with arrest. In one video posted on Chinese social media at the time, workers confronted a supervisor wearing a Gumbuster uniform, who said he “had no money” to give them. [...].

Gunbuster’s owner, Jiangsu Delong, did not respond to several requests for comment.