The Indonesian Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment has appreciated the Chinese investor PT Virtue Dragon Nickel Industry (VDNI) for recruiting 5,000 local workers with the Konawe District administration in Southeast Sulawesi province to handle the recruiting process.

"We strongly support the tripartite cooperation among the company, the government and employees. Thus, all police and efforts to cope with labor issues would hopefully be handled better and quickly," the ministry's spokesman Jodi Mahardi said in a statement on Wednesday.

The management of VDNI and the Konawe district administration have officially signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the recruitment of local workers, mentioning that the administration will carry out the recruiting process.

The 5,000 new employees will be placed at VDNI and also PT Obsidian Stainless Steel (OSS) located in the Morosi Industrial Zone in Konawe district.

The recruitment was expected to be conducted in seven areas to ensure that all locals in Konawe have the same opportunity to apply for job vacancies, Mahardi said, adding that the recruitment would be made accountable and free from illegal levies.