Many companies turn blind eye to worker safety
Many companies turn blind eye to worker safety
JAKARTA (JP): Many companies in Indonesia still fail to abide
by government regulations on workers' health and occupational
safety, a senior official says.
Director of Industrial Relations and Labor Standards Suwarto
said that the number of occupational accidents will remain high
unless poor working conditions and safety measures for laborers
are improved.
"Many companies are still negligent and reluctant to comply
with the law on health and occupational safety, causing the
number of occupational accidents to remain high," he said when
opening a seminar on heath and occupational safety here
Wednesday.
He said many companies in the construction, mining and
chemical sectors fail to provide their workers with the necessary
safety equipment simply to keep the production cost low or
because they don't care about their workers' safety.
He said that occupational accidents at workplaces reached
around 17,700 in 1994, killing over 300 workers. Most of the
accidents occurred in the construction, transportation and
chemical sectors, he added.
He said the government could not properly enforced the law
because of the lack of staff.
The director general said the health and occupational safety
drive launched by President Soeharto in January should be
practiced in workplaces.
Suwarto acknowledged that the poor labor condition has become
major cause of occupational accidents.
"The low quality of human resources, low wages and low
participation in the social security program have also been a
factor in cases of occupational accidents and low labor
productivity," he said.
He said 70 percent of the workers who had accidents at work
places were elementary school graduates and dropouts.
Street children
Meanwhile, a senior cabinet minister said in a seminar
yesterday that countless Indonesian children have to quit school
or do not attend school because they have to help their parents
earn a living.
Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Azwar Anas said 2.2
million Indonesian children aged between 10 and 14 years are
facing gloomy futures mainly because they cannot finish basic
education.
Underprivileged children, which comprise 10 percent of
Indonesia's children, are school dropouts.
"Many of them are neglected and have become street children.
This problem has deprived them of their basic right," he said.
Quoting results of a survey, Indonesian children aged between
10 and 14 years numbered 22 million in 1991.
Azwar said that in Indonesia, and possibly in other developing
countries, poverty is not the only cause of children quitting
school as many people believe.
It can happen because the children have low intellectual
capability as a result of malnutrition, he said.
Among low income families, it is common for children not to
attend school because parents need them to help earn a living,
Azwar said.
"I'm not opposed to the idea that children should work. When I
was a boy my father asked me to work to get experience. But, yes
I'm against exploitation of children," he added.(rms/ste)