Child footwear workers suffer from poor conditions

The Jakarta Post, BandungBogorJakarta

With a blunt pair of scissors, Henri cuts out synthetic leather from a pattern. The smell of glue in the room is overpowering, particularly, one would assume, for a 12-year-old boy.

The task is no assignment for arts and crafts class. Henri is employed for Rp 20,000 (US$2.10) a week by a home shoe industry in Mangkubumi district, West Java. He receives his pay at the end of each week.

"I do not want to go to school, all of my brothers are doing this," said the boy, who recently graduated from elementary school, without taking his eyes off the rubber template in his hand.

The backyard of a house in Mangkubumi district, some five- hours' drive from the capital, where 10 other people -- three of whom are below 15 years of age -- are making footwear, has become Henri's place of learning.

As if wanting to ease the burden of his unemployed father, the youngest of five chose to follow in the footsteps of his brothers making shoes from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day.

Two non-governmental organizations working separately in Bogor and Tasikmalaya, West Java, recorded that more than 800 school- aged children like Henri, are working both full- and part-time in footwear home industries in three districts in the province.

According to a study by the International Labor Organization (ILO), people in Ciomas district in Bogor, as well as in Taman Sari and Mangkubumi in Tasikmalaya, started working in the informal footwear sector in the 1930s.

Most of the child workers in Ciomas, entering the workforce at elementary school age, have a family member working in the sector.

"They are either in need of extra income or driven to the job because they see their fathers or brothers doing it," said Anton Waspo, an advocate for child laborers in the area.

Anton explained that the children received between Rp 20,000 to Rp 60,000 a week for working an average of nine hours a day -- or more on months nearing Idul Fitri -- gluing parts of shoes together or cutting out in-soles.

Meanwhile, in Tasikmalaya, children enter the workshops after graduating from elementary school.

"Their parents lack an awareness of the importance of education, some even say that these children would end up working anyway, so why not work now," said Wahid, a local activist in Mangkubumi.

A workshop owner in Tasikmalaya, who requested anonymity, said that he thought it better for the children to spend their time working than playing.

Aside from the fact that these children are out of school, according to the study, the main hazard is the long term exposure to chemical substances -- benzene, toluene and xylene -- in the glue.

Most of the workshops smell strongly of glue in spite of their sizable ventilation systems. Someone not used to the smell would feel lightheaded after staying in the room for less than fifteen minutes.

"From a previous observation, we found a child who recognized all smells as the smell of glue," said Abdul Hakim, ILO's program coordinator for the elimination of child labor in the informal footwear sector.

"I am used to the smell. I no longer feel dizzy," said Saeful, 16, who has worked in the workshop for two years.

What Saeful or Henri may not know is that the glue they have inhaled during working hours in the 12-meter-square workshop could eventually lead to breathing problems, or even cancer.

"I do not feel uncomfortable," said Henri. "I want to be the boss one day."

Will he reach that position by neglecting his education and risking his own health?

Seeing what Henri and his friends do for a living raises one question: who makes our shoes?