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)