Contractors urged to pay more attention to safety
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)