Demo At Central Customs Office: Demands Construction Steel Import Supervision
JAKARTA Hundreds of steel construction workers from various regions held a demonstration in front of the Central Customs and Excise Building, Jalan A Yani, Pulogadung, East Jakarta, Tuesday, October 28, 2025. This action highlighted the big impact of the rampant steel imports which are said to have triggered an increase in the unemployment rate in the national construction sector.
Carrying banners that read 'Stop Import Construction Steel' and 'Save Domestic Welders', the masses demanded that the government stop the flood of imported steel which is increasingly getting rid of local products. They also called for strict supervision of steel with code HS 9406.xx and 7388.xx entering from abroad.
Chairman of the Indonesian Society of Steel Construction (ISSC), Budi Harta Winata, said that the wave of steel imports not only suppresses the domestic industry, but also removes millions of jobs in related sectors.
Many large factories and projects now choose imported steel. As a result, many of our colleagues have lost their jobs and are unemployed," he said in his oration in front of the Customs Building.
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According to him, national steel production has a quality that is no less than foreign products. However, due to the weak industry protection policy, development projects prefer imported materials that are considered cheaper.
"We ask Customs and Excise to tighten supervision and stop imports of construction steel. This is a matter of the future of Indonesian steel workers," said Budi.
An uncontrolled wave of imports is said to have helped widen the distance between infrastructure growth and local labor welfare. Data from the Ministry of Industry shows that a 10 percent drop in local steel absorption can eliminate thousands of jobs, ranging from factory workers, technicians, to welders.
The conducive action became a symbol of steel workers' unrest amid the swift currents of industrial globalization. They hope that the government will not only focus on physical development, but also on the survival of local workers who are the backbone of national construction.