Contractors urged to pay more attention to safety

JAKARTA (JP): Governor Surjadi Soedirdja urged contractors yesterday to pay more attention to providing safety equipment for construction workers, especially for those on high-rise building projects.

"Don't think only about the profit, but also think about the workers' safety. Don't be strict (with the rules) only when a worker dies in an accident," he said.

He expressed concern over the many Indonesians, who did not care about safety at work. "They (Indonesians) act as if lives are cheap," Surjadi said.

He urged workers to obey rules and improve awareness of the need to wear safety equipment.

"Even though they've been warned, many workers are still doing their jobs without safety kits, such as helmets and safety belts. This mentality must be changed," Surjadi said.

"Contractors should also provide safety training courses in a bid to help improve workers' awareness. It's for their (contractors) own benefit," he said.

On Friday, three construction workers at the Wisma Asiatic project on Jl. Satrio, in Setiabudi, South Jakarta, died as a fence collapsed in a landslide at the project site.

In addition to the three workers buried alive, the landslide and the collapse of the fence also injured seven other workers. They are being treated at Jakarta Hospital in South Jakarta.

The police questioned 12 men Saturday over the deaths, while the construction site was being guarded by a police officer and two soldiers.

Last Wednesday two other workers at the Menara 2000 project, also in the Setiabudi district, were crushed and killed by a drive sheave falling from a temporary lift.

City spokesman Kamaludin Santos said yesterday that the municipality's last-minute cancellation of the Koridor Satrio's groundbreaking event on Sunday was to show respect for victims of the accidents in the area.

Rescheduled

He said the cancellation did not mean the event would never take place and that it would be rescheduled soon.

"Even though the accidents are already being handled by the police, we feel it's insensitive to hold the event," Kamaludin said.

He also apologized to those who had prepared the event and to the guests who did not know about the cancellation.

"We hope the project to transform Jl. Prof. Satrio into an international tourism and shopping belt will be realized as it will benefit both Jakartans and the city," Kamaludin said.

Hundreds of invitees and performers arrived at the site only to be greeted by members of the organizing committee trying to explain the cancellation.

Governor Surjadi, who was scheduled to launch the project, declined to comment on his absence from the ceremony.

"I have to attend a sudden event... Don't write reports associating my absence with anything else," Surjadi said at City Hall yesterday.

The head of the city's environment bureau, Aboejoewono Aboeprajitno, said yesterday that the Asiatic's developer had not yet submitted the project's environmental impact study to the city.

"The study should contain items that must be environmentally controlled, such as the project's dewatering impact, groundwater quality, workers' safety and welfare, traffic, noise pollution, air quality, sanitary and solid waste," he said. (ste/07)