At FKM UI OHS anniversary, deputy minister highlights national occupational safety conditions
Occupational safety and health (OHS) science must be translated into real contributions to answer challenges in the field.
Deputy Manpower Minister Afriansyah Noor has highlighted the national occupational safety and health (OHS) situation, where the number of workplace accidents remains high while there is still considerable room to strengthen OHS culture across the country.
“Based on BPJS Ketenagakerjaan data for 2025, nearly 319,224 workplace accident claims were recorded in Indonesia, with 9,834 cases ending in death,” Afriansyah said in a statement quoted in Jakarta on Monday.
Speaking at the 33rd anniversary of the Department of Occupational Safety and Health, Faculty of Public Health, University of Indonesia (K3 FKM UI), the deputy minister stressed that these figures show there is still substantial room to improve workplace safety culture in Indonesia and that this requires support from all stakeholders.
He also revealed that there were 158 reports of occupational diseases, which are predicted to resemble an iceberg phenomenon due to the still limited identification and reporting.
In addition to the high number of workplace accidents, he said, the implementation of the Occupational Safety and Health Management System (SMK3) still faces challenges. Of around 450,000 companies targeted for implementation, only about 18,000 have implemented SMK3 through external audits.
This situation shows that the scope for improving the OHS system in Indonesia remains very large and requires the involvement of various stakeholders, including the government, businesses, academics and the OHS profession.
On the other hand, developments in the world of work have also brought changes to the characteristics of occupational risks. Today’s hazards are no longer limited to conventional risks such as machinery or electricity.
OHS practitioners must now deal with ergonomic risks arising from digitalisation, mental health problems caused by social pressures, safety in automation and artificial intelligence (AI) systems, the complexity of remote work, and the threat of extreme climate change.
The impact of climate change can also contribute to occupational safety risks, such as the El Nino effect which can cause workplace accidents for firefighters.
To respond to these modern challenges, the government together with the Indonesian House of Representatives is currently drafting a Labour Protection Bill to modernise old regulations that are no longer fully relevant to developments in the world of work.
“The regulation will include updates to long-standing labour rules, including the Dutch colonial law of 1930 and Law No. 1 of 1970,” he said.
In this process, the Ministry of Manpower hopes that FKM UI can become one of the main references in evidence-based policy formulation, particularly in responding to changing risks and future occupational safety and health needs.
Dean of FKM UI Prof. Dr. Indri Hapsari Susilowati stressed that academic excellence must not stop in the classroom or in scientific publications, but must be translated into real contributions to answer challenges in the field.
“OHS science must be translated into real contributions to answer challenges in the field. More than three decades is a mature journey in building a scientific foundation and producing outstanding talent at both national and international level,” she said.
This journey of more than three decades is considered an important part of building the scientific foundation of OHS, producing outstanding talent, and safeguarding occupational safety and health standards at national and international level.
As part of the anniversary celebrations, Head of the OHS Department at FKM UI, Baiduri Widanarko, launched the latest academic work, a book entitled Dasar K3 (Basic OHS).
The book has been compiled thoroughly and comprehensively to provide a strong foundation on OHS principles, hazard and risk identification, industrial hygiene, ergonomics, and the dynamics of human and organisational factors.
The book is expected to broaden the horizons of OHS science while serving as a reference for students, academics and professionals working in the field of occupational safety and health.
“This is our real effort to broaden the horizons of OHS science so that it can be applied by students, academics and professionals,” Baiduri said.