Construction laborers in long wait for work in Jakarta

Leo Wahyudi S, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Several men in shabby clothes are seen every day lying down or sitting in this small park off of Jl. Permata Hijau Barat in Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta. They are sheltering from the sun under a big shade tree in the area where a luxury housing complex is located.

At first glance it would appear that they were a group of workmen taking a hard earned break and enjoying their leisure time. Despite the incessant automobile traffic just yards away, some of them fell asleep, while others sat on a wooden bench.

But these were not men taking a leisurely nap.

"We have been here for three weeks languishing, awaiting gainful employment," said Dasikin, a resident from Brebes, Central Java, with a hoe and a bamboo spade as the basic tools of his trade.

Dasikin is one of around 50 villagers who daily congregate here in hopes of securing a day's wage on a construction site or in someone's private yard.

His colleague, Jaib, said that he had worked on and off as a day laborer for 15 years to get extra income to put food on his family's table back in Brebes.

Like the others, Jaib hails from Brebes, where he owns a 14 meter by 14 meter plot of land.

"I cannot feed my family simply from the tiny harvests on my plot, as we have only one a year," Jaib said, adding that the paddy fields there were all dry at this time of the season.

As there is no irrigation, the fields depend entirely on rainfall and this means that the farmers can only harvest once a year. Jaib said that one harvest could yield about 600 kgs of unhusked rice with a total market price of Rp 960,000 (about US$100).

"We keep the rice for our daily meals at home, but then we need to supplement our incomes to meet our family's daily needs and to pay our children's school tuition," he said.

After the harvest, Jaib and many other villagers come to Jakarta. They spend months hoping to earn some money for their family, by offering their muscles and low-wage labor for construction projects, especially digging.

However, most of them have to endure frustrating periods of joblessness that can last for weeks.

Mirta, 50, said that he had been jobless for more than two weeks. Even without any money in their pockets, Mirta and other workers still must eat. Luckily, there are some food stalls which allow them to eat on credit.

Being hungry most of the time is indeed the major problem while waiting for jobs.

"To minimize my debt (with the food stall), I only eat once or twice a day, and even that is just rice and a vegetable, usually without any meat," Jaib said. "Otherwise I would not be able to save any money to take to my family."

If he gets selected by a passing construction manager for a few days of work, he could earn up to Rp 100,000. But he can never be sure when someone will pick him up.

Workers on an excavation projects, may earn between Rp 12,500 and Rp 25,000 per cubic meter of earth moved, or a flat fee of Rp 50,000 a day. Most of them prefer the piece work because they can earn more money by working harder.

Once a month or so, they return home and bring some money, which can range from Rp 50,000 to Rp 300,000.

In Jakarta, they stay in a tiny dorm in Kebayoran Lama with a weekly rental fee of Rp 2,500 per person.

There are many places in Jakarta which have become similar bases for these types of seasonal workers. Another one is located under the Cawang flyover in East Jakarta. There, dozens of farmers from Subang and Cirebon, West Java, have led a hard life being seasonal excavation workers since the 1980s.

Usman, who had been doing nothing but waiting for 10 days, said he came to the city to get money to support his child's education and his wife in Subang.

"If I am lucky, I will work for a week and take about Rp 200,000 home," Usman said.

Usman and his fellow workers hope that one day their life will be better but they also have pride and dignity and most have sworn never to succumb to the temptation of resorting to criminal behavior, like so many others in their shoes.

"We are physically dirty and people often look down their noses at us, but we have good hearts for others," Adi, a worker, remarked, "not like some supposedly respected gentlemen who wear ties but have no heart."