About 10,000 workers in the piping industry in danger of losing jobs

Because of the entrance of cheap foreign pipes into the country's oil and gas industry, around 10,000 workers in eight steel pipe companies are in danger of losing their jobs as their companies could not compete with imported pipes, Jakarta-based daily Kompas reported on Monday.

In a bid to protect their workers, the Association of Indonesian Steel Pipe Producers (Gapipa) has filed an anti-damping complaint to the Indonesian Anti-Dumping Committee against steel pipes imported from China and Malaysia.

Gapipa secretary general Untung Jusuf said in statement over the weekend that Gapipa also filed another anti-dumping complaint against pipes imported from India, Brazil and Europe.

Untung expressed his concerns over the oil and gas bill, currently being deliberated by the House of Representatives, that frees import duties for imported pipes for projects belonging to state oil and gas company Pertamina and its contractors.

"This really burdens local pipe industry, especially in facing competition from imported pipes for oil and gas projects belonging to Pertamina. Moreover, if we want to export our pipes to other countries, we have to pay the duties," he said.

Untung, therefore, urged the government and the House of Representatives to revise the oil and gas bill, and slap import duties to imported pipes. (*)