North Sumatra labor abuse claims denied<\/p>\n
MEDAN (JP): Manpower authorities in North Sumatra deny that
\nany workers are being abused or children put to work on the many
\njermal, or fishing stations, located off the east coast of the
\nprovince.<\/p>\n
The chief of the manpower ministry's North Sumatra office, I
\nGede Bagus Swide, said that the issues were old and baseless.<\/p>\n
"We recently took a trip to the waters and found no child
\nworkers or labor exploitation," he told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
He also strongly denied that there was any collusion between
\nstation owners and the Navy officers that routinely patrol the
\nlocal waters.<\/p>\n
Swide, also a Navy officer, said recent complaints in local
\nand foreign media about the poor labor conditions on the stations
\nwere aimed at discrediting the government and tarnishing the
\nnation's image.<\/p>\n
The International Labor Organization, at its recent meeting on
\nthe elimination of child labor in the Netherlands, expressed
\ngreat concern about Indonesia's more than five million child
\nworkers.<\/p>\n
Another local manpower official, who asked not to be
\nidentified, admitted that children were employed on most stations
\nbut said that provincial authorities were reluctant to step in
\ndue to the Navy's involvement.<\/p>\n
"Who would dare report any case involving Navy officers or
\nthose from the Army, the Air Force or police?" he asked.<\/p>\n
He added that it was difficult for his office to check on and
\nsupervise the labor conditions on the stations.<\/p>\n
"We have no vessels and the jermal can only be reached during
\nthe dry season between April and October," he said. During the
\nwet season, between November and February, only bigger ships can
\nreach them due to high waves.<\/p>\n
Health<\/p>\n
Linggarjati, who heads the provincial office of PT Jamsostek,
\na state-owned company that runs the government's social security
\nprogram for workers, refused to comment on the issue or
\nJamsostek's joint health program with Navy cooperatives for
\nfishermen and jermal workers in Tanjungbalai.<\/p>\n
"I know nothing about the jermal," he said.<\/p>\n
He suggested that the local manpower office look into the
\nissue with the help of the local coordinating board for marine
\nsecurity, Bakorkamla.<\/p>\n
Florensius Gultom, head of the Asahan branch office of
\nJamsostek in Kisaran, some 117 kilometers south of Medan, said
\nJamsostek would ask the local Bakorkamla branch to pressure
\njermal owners into complying with labor laws and improving the
\nwelfare of their workers.<\/p>\n
"Jermal employing 10 or more workers must pay their workers in
\naccordance with minimum wage regulations and sign up their
\nworkers for the Jamsostek social security program as stipulated
\nby Law No. 3\/1992," he said.<\/p>\n
He admitted that his office had yet to collect data on the
\nnumber of workers and fishing stations in the area, though local
\nmanpower data puts the number of stations at around 140 and the
\nnumber of workers at nearly 1,400.<\/p>\n
Gultom said it was difficult to catch up with jermal owners
\nbecause most of them lived in Medan and his office had no boats
\nto reach the stations. He also slammed the local chapter of the
\nIndonesian Fishermen Association (HSNI) for doing nothing about
\nthe poor labor conditions.<\/p>\n
"The jermal issue has been raised several times by local and
\nforeign media and the local HNSI has been urged many times to
\nprotect jermal workers, but no efforts have been made to improve
\nthe conditions," he said.<\/p>\n
PT Jamsostek's operations director, Budi Maryoto, said that
\nworkers would continue to be abused on the jermal if the
\ngovernment did not enforce labor laws.<\/p>\n
He added that the government also had to address the roots of
\nthe problem.<\/p>\n
"Young people and children would not be going to the jermal
\nlooking for work if they and their families were better off
\neconomically. The workers also wouldn't be paid so little if they
\nwere recruited properly," he said.<\/p>\n
Navy officials have admitted that many officers stationed on
\nships in North Sumatran waters had committed violations during
\ntheir patrolling of the jermal.<\/p>\n
"A team from the Navy's inspectorate general recently looked
\ninto the jermal issue. We found several mistakes and violations
\ncommitted by Navy officers in their patrol operations," Navy
\nspokesman Col. Mualimin Santoso said in a recent interview with
\nthe Post in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
He said any officer found guilty of extorting money from
\nstation owners or workers or any other abuse of power would be
\npunished.<\/p>\n
He said the Navy was open to criticism and asked the public to
\nreport any violation or irregularity involving its officers.
\n(rms)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/north-sumatra-labor-abuse-claims-denied-1447893297",
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