Many companies stimp on health: Physicians

Many companies stimp on health: Physicians

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Many companies are still reluctant to take into account the
health of their workers despite the increasing number of
employees contracting illnesses related to their workplaces,
physicians have said.

"Companies still consider pre-hire and regular medical
examinations for their employees to be a cost burden instead of
an investment," said Astrid Sulistomo, an expert on occupational
medicine from Jakarta's University of Indonesia.

She was speaking at a one-day seminar on hospitals, health and
safety at workplaces in Jakarta over the weekend in conjunction
with the 38th anniversary of the privately-run Persahabatan
Hospital.

Astrid said a pre-hire general check-up was important to find
out whether prospective workers were healthy enough to do their
jobs or not.

But she added that it was not designed to specifically examine
the condition of workers' internal organs that might be affected
by work-related diseases.

She cited the example of employees at an asbestos factory, who
needed to have their respiratory function checked before or after
taking up the job, so they would be able to hold the company to
account if they displayed any symptoms of respiratory
dysfunction.

Astrid said the weak supervision by the occupational health
and safety directorate at the Ministry of Manpower and
Transmigration had contributed to companies' poor level of
commitment to maintaining their workers' health and safety.

"When a third of the employees at one company complained about
similar health problems, there should have been a site
examination by physicians or at least access to information about
where they worked or the condition of their workplace," she said.

"However, I have often received answers (from relevant
parties) that such information was classified," she told The
Jakarta Post on the sidelines of the discussion.

According to World Health Organization (WHO) data, less than
10 percent of the workforce in developing countries have access
to health insurance, while the remainder have poor levels of
health awareness, Astrid said.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) recorded in 1999
that 1.1 million people died every year of diseases and accidents
linked with their occupations, and around 34 percent of those had
died of cancer.

The ILO also noted an increase in the number of people
suffering from other work-related diseases, such as hearing and
respiratory problems, skin irritations, reproductive problems,
and mental and nervous system illnesses.

The Indonesian government issued presidential decree No.
22/1993, urging all companies to prevent at least 31 types of
occupational disease that could lead to death or disability.

Pulmologist Tjandra Yoga Aditama, chairman of the Persahabatan
Hospital's team for occupational health, said that not all
companies ensured a hygienic environment for their workers, which
could cause so-called "sick-building syndrome".

"When the source of an illness has yet to be identified, the
symptoms suffered are referred to as sick-building syndrome. But
when it has been found it is called building-related illness.

"We don't know much about this syndrome, which has certainly
affected employees' productivity. The issue should be brought out
into the open to increase people's awareness," he told the same
discussion.

Astrid said that, although Indonesia didn't have reliable data
on occupational diseases, the country should pay serious
attention to work-related illnesses.

"Now it's time to... improve integrated efforts to maintain
occupational health under the coordination of decision-makers,
health researchers, physicians and hospitals or other health
service centers," she said.

She also urged the government to recognize specialists in
occupational medicine to help deal with any health complaints
from sick workers.