Faisal Basri Reveals that Indonesian Smelters are Flooded with Chinese Foreign Workers, Their Salary Translucent Rp. 54 Million

Faisal Basri Reveals that Indonesian Smelters are Flooded with Chinese Foreign Workers, Their Salary Translucent Rp. 54 Million

Senior economist Faisal Basri said that the number of foreign workers (TKA) in nickel smelter projects in Indonesia was booming. He also said that many of the foreign workers in nickel smelters were not experts. 

In fact, some of them only work as cooks, security guards, statisticians, and even drivers. Most of the foreign workers come from China

Faisal also highlighted the salary gap that Chinese foreign workers get with local Indonesian workers. According to him, the foreign workers are paid a high salary of up to Rp. 54 million, while local workers are only paid the minimum wage. 

"One of the Chinese smelter companies, said Faisal Basri, pays a salary of between Rp. 17-54 million. Meanwhile, the average Indonesian worker is only paid much lower or in the range of the minimum wage," explained Faisal Basri in his notes on his personal blog faisalbasri.com, seen Tuesday (15/8/2023). 

Faisal Basri also said that these foreign workers only use visit visas, not work visas. By holding a visit visa status, it is possible that these Chinese workers do not pay income tax. 

"As a result, state losses arise in the form of labor contributions of US$ 100 per worker per month," explained Faisal Basri. 

Faisal Basri also assessed that the added value flowing into the national economy from these smelters was no more than around 10%. This is because almost all of the nickel smelters are owned by Chinese businessmen, because of the tax holiday facilities, not even one percent of the profit goes to the country. 

Not to mention, almost one hundred percent of capital comes from Chinese banking, so that almost all of the interest income flows to China. 

The added value enjoyed by Chinese smelter companies is getting bigger because Chinese smelter companies buy nickel ore at super cheap prices. Faisal Basri said that he was very generous in setting the nickel ore price much lower than the international price. 

Faisal Basri Ungkap Smelter RI Dibanjiri TKA China, Gajinya Tembus Rp 54 Juta

Ekonom senior Faisal Basri mengungkapkan tenaga kerja asing (TKA) di proyek smelter nikel di Indonesia membludak. Dia pun mengatakan banyak di antara TKA di smelter nikel yang bukan tenaga ahli.

Bahkan, di antaranya ada yang cuma berprofesi sebagai juru masak, satpam, tenaga statistik, hingga sopir. Kebanyakan tenaga kerja asing tersebut datang dari China

Faisal juga menyoroti kesenjangan gaji yang didapatkan TKA China dengan pekerja lokal Indonesia. Menurutnya, para TKA itu digaji besar hingga Rp 54 juta, sedangkan tenaga kerja lokal cuma digaji mentok di upah minimum.

"Salah satu perusahaan smelter China, kata Faisal Basri, membayar gaji antara Rp 17-54 juta. Sedangkan rata-rata pekerja Indonesia hanya digaji jauh lebih rendah atau di kisaran upah minimum," jelas Faisal Basri dalam catatannya di blog pribadi faisalbasri.com, dilihat Selasa (15/8/2023).

Faisal Basri juga mengatakan TKA ini hanya menggunakan visa kunjungan, bukan visa pekerja. Dengan memegang status visa kunjungan, bisa jadi pekerja-pekerja China itu tidak membayar pajak penghasilan.

"Akibatnya muncul kerugian negara dalam bentuk iuran tenaga kerja sebesar US$ 100 per pekerja per bulan," beber Faisal Basri.

Faisal Basri juga menilai nilai tambah yang mengalir ke perekonomian nasional dari smelter-smelter ini tak lebih dari sekitar 10%. Pasalnya, hampir semua smelter nikel milik pengusaha China, karena dapat fasilitas tax holiday, tak satu persen pun keuntungannya itu mengalir ke Tanah Air.

Belum lagi, hampir seratus persen modal berasal dari perbankan China, dengan begitu pendapatan bunga juga hampir seluruhnya mengalir ke China.

Nilai tambah yang dinikmati perusahaan smelter China semakin besar karena perusahaan smelter China membeli bijih nikel dengan harga super murah. Faisal Basri bilang sangat bermurah hati menetapkan harga bijih nikel jauh lebih rendah dari harga internasional.