Airlines 'not registering workers with Jamsostek'
Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
The government will take action against companies operating in hazardous sectors that failed to register their workers in the national social security scheme, says a minister.
"Besides carrying out a thorough investigation into the recent crash involving a Lion Air plane, the government has also assigned another team to investigate the airline for its failure to enroll all of its air crew in the social security program," Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Fahmi Idris said after attending a ceremony marking the 27th anniversary of state-owned PT Jamsostek here on Monday.
Fahmi asserted that the government would fully enforce Law No. 3/1992 on social security so as to make sure that the employees of all high risk companies were insured, especially airlines and chemical industries.
"In addition, many companies have registered only some of their workers with Jamsostek and notify the insurer of only a part of their salaries so as to reduce the employers' responsibilities as regards paying employee premiums," he added.
The law provides that companies employing 10 people or more are required to register their workers in the social security program. Workers pay only 2 percent of their gross monthly salaries and their employers contribute 7 percent to insure their workers in the program's healthcare, bereavement, occupational accident and pension schemes.
Separately, Jamsostek president Achmad Djunaidi confirmed that many major companies that employed workers in hazardous sectors had yet take part in the social security program.
"Several airline companies employing local and foreign pilots have not yet registered their employees. Jamsostek doesn't have to pay anything out to the Lion Air pilot and cabin attendant who were killed in the recent crash in Solo," he said.
Djunaidi also disclosed that state-owned electricity company PT PLN, railway company PT Kereta Api and postal company PT Pos had not registered their workers with Jamsostek although many jobs in PLN and the railway company could be categorized as hazardous.
He regretted the nation's low awareness of the need to provide basic protection for workers, saying this would resulted in a lack of legal certainty in the country.
Only 24.4 million out of around 100 million workers have been registered with Jamsostek and only 12 million of them are active participants, Djunaidi said.
The remaining 12.4 million people quit the program after their dismissal or their decision to quit their jobs.
Djunaidi also said that the government had recently issued Regulation No. 22/2004 allowing Jamsostek to buy mid-term notes (MTNs), bonds, stocks and asset-based securities to help strengthen small- and medium enterprises and generate more job opportunities.
"Jamsostek will no longer pay dividends to the government as the main shareholder in the company and, instead, will put aside a bigger share of its annual profit to help strengthen SMEs and improve workers' social welfare," he explained.
He said Jamsostek had built seven low-cost apartment projects in Batam, Jakarta, West Java and South Sulawesi, provided scholarships for talented children of members, built almost 30 trauma centers in state-owned hospitals in the provinces and raised the compensation for workers who experienced occupational accidents.