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US says ‘forced labor’ designation for RI nickel won’t prompt sanctions
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Employees of nickel company PT Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) head home after work in Konawe, Central Sulawesi, on April 14, 2023. (AFP/Riza Salman)
T
he United States Department of Labor has added Indonesian nickel to a list of commodities it “has reason to believe” involve forced labor, but the US Embassy says inclusion on the list, which also suspects child labor in the archipelago, does not imply sanctions.
The findings, made public on Sept. 5 in a 330-page report compiled by the department’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), also include alleged forced labor in the production of crude palm oil (CPO) from Indonesia and child labor practices in seven distinct commodities.
A US Embassy spokesperson told The Jakarta Post on Sept. 12 that the findings carry “no sanctions or trade implications”.
The report lists 82 countries suspected of child or forced labor practices in the production of 204 kinds of goods.
“The [list’s] primary purposes are to raise public awareness about forced labor and child labor and to promote efforts to address them,” said the spokesperson.
The report is published annually, but Indonesian nickel, a commodity Jakarta has championed in recent years as a cornerstone of the country’s industrial development, particularly for building an electric vehicle industry, was only included with the 2024 update.
The spokesperson said the ILAB concluded that some Chinese migrant workers were working under conditions of forced labor in Indonesian nickel industrial parks.
