Govt to raid firms exploiting child workers<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government will crack down on companies,
\nincluding those in Jakarta and its surrounding areas, which
\nexploit child workers, Minister of Manpower Fahmi Idris said
\nyesterday.<\/p>\n
\"We will impose stiff sanctions, as stipulated under the new
\nlabor law, on employers found guilty of labor exploitation,\"
\nFahmi said in a meeting with about 200 child workers from Greater
\nJakarta here yesterday.<\/p>\n
The meeting was organized by the Indonesian Committee for
\nCreative Education of Child Labor Foundation (Kompak) in
\ncelebrating International Children's Day, which fell yesterday.<\/p>\n
The minister, who received reports on the exploitation of
\nchild workers during the meeting, said the new labor law, to be
\nenacted Oct. 1, barred companies from employing child workers,
\nexcept those who are voluntarily employed because of financial
\nneed.<\/p>\n
\"Employers should realize that child workers, who should spend
\ntheir time going school and playing games at home, are employed
\nat their firms because of financial problems.\"<\/p>\n
Based on the law, firm owners found guilty of exploiting
\nchildren could face two-year imprisonment or a maximum fine of Rp
\n200 million (US$14,180).<\/p>\n
He acknowledged that many parents could not send their
\nchildren to school, especially in today's economic climate, and
\nthat the only alternative was to send them to work to help the
\nfamily earn a living.<\/p>\n
He called on child workers to set up their own organization or
\njoin trade unions in their companies to prevent exploitation by
\ntheir employers.<\/p>\n
Ernawati (not her real name), a 13-year-old female worker at
\npaper bag manufacturer PT Samsung Piet and Pack Indonesia in
\nCicadas, Bogor, said the management employed about 200 school-age
\nchildren for a seven-hour workday, instead of the four hours
\nallowed by law.<\/p>\n
\"We are also forced to work every Monday from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.
\nwithout a break. We are paid only Rp 172,500 monthly in
\naccordance with the monthly minimum wage in Greater Jakarta,\" she
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Wiwiek (not her real name), 12, said she and 200 other child
\nworkers worked seven hours a day for only Rp 20,000 per week at
\nunleavened cracker factory PT Yudiwangi in Tangerang.<\/p>\n
She said she dropped out of junior high school last December
\nafter her father was dismissed from his job because of the
\nprolonged crisis.<\/p>\n
According to Ministry of Manpower Decree No. 1, issued in
\n1987, child workers who work voluntarily out of necessity should
\nbe employed not more than four hours a day.<\/p>\n
Hasyim (also not his real name), 14, of plastic factory PT
\nMulti Astamas in Tangerang, said that all child workers in the
\ncompany were forced to work an average of seven hours a day.<\/p>\n
He said a number of child workers in the company had been
\nfired without severance pay.<\/p>\n
He added that child workers were forced to work in shifts and
\nat night for two weeks per month.<\/p>\n
Bagio (not his real name), 14, who works at food company PT
\nSinar Mutiara in Bantar Gebang, East Jakarta, reported to the
\nminister that many child workers in the company had been
\nthreatened with dismissal for demanding a raise in their daily
\nwage.<\/p>\n
\"I am paid only Rp 5,000 a day,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Kompak director Ariest Merdeka Sirait called on the government
\nto make a new law to provide legal protection for child workers.<\/p>\n
\"Legal protection for child workers has not been fully covered
\nin the law,\" he said, citing that his organization would lodge a
\ndraft law on legal protection for child workers to the House of
\nRepresentatives in the near future. (rms)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-to-raid-firms-exploiting-child-workers-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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