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.