Market porters strive to earn a decent living

By Haryoso

SEMARANG (JP): A middle-aged man sits on a pile of boxes in front of Johar market in Semarang. Once in a while he rubs his oily face with his dirty shirt without paying any attention to the passing vendors or shoppers.

He only gets up and approaches an old brown van when it stops not far from him. In the blink of an eye, he is already carrying a big sack of chilies on his shoulder, heading to a stall in the market.

Marzuki, 46, is only one of the hundreds of porters working in block DF of the city's biggest and oldest market. Around 36 porters in five different groups work in this block alone.

All of the porters come from the areas around Semarang. Once a week Marzuki goes back to his hometown in Sragen, a small city three hours drive from Semarang, to meet his family, and then it is back again to his work as a porter in the market.

"At night, I sleep in a shop porch. I just lie down whenever I am tired," said Marzuki, who is used to sleeping only on a bed of cardboard.

In practice, each group of porters works under a coordinator. Marzuki, for instance, works under foreman Mukhsin. Anytime the services of porters are required, Mukhsin will immediately assign his porters to do the job.

"Everyday, each of us earns about Rp 10,000, that's after sharing out all the income among all of the members," said the 50-year-old Mukhsin, who has been doing his job for 30 years.

Becoming a porter, however, is not easy since their numbers are restricted. First of all, a porter must become a member of the Indonesian Transportation Workers Union (SPTI) under the All- Indonesian Workers Union Federation (SPSI). The organization limits the number of porters in Johar market to 400.

Those interested in working as a porter, however, do not have to officially apply to become a union member. All they need to do is to find existing members who are willing to sell their membership cards. Once a card is acquired, the person concerned becomes a new member.

As a registration fee, the union collects Rp 2,500 while each member is also required to pay Rp 1,000 in monthly dues.

"I paid Rp 10 million to a retired member last year," said Daryanto, a porter from Sragen, who has no problem with paying such a large sum given his current income of Rp 60,000 per day.

The union which coordinates the porters also plays an important role in placing each porter in the market. Each porter works in a group of 15 to 50 people with each group being coordinated by a foreman. The groups are named after towns, including Ambarawa, Brebes, Yaik and Kanjengan, although sometimes the names are based on their respective blocks in the market.

The work done by the porters can be paid in accordance with a fixed price or the price can be negotiable. For example, the fixed fee for unloading goods from a big truck is Rp 50,000 while it is Rp 30,000 for a small truck.

But Mukhsin's group demands less and is prepared to negotiate the price. The group's porters, for instance, charge Rp 750 for a sack of chilies.

Another group earns more than Mukhsin's.

"Everyday we earn between Rp 800,000 and Rp 1.2 million," said Daryanto of the Brebes group. This group has 15 members and it costs Rp 10 million to become a member.

Apart from being bought, membership can also be rented by interested people, mostly if a member is ill or desperately needs cash. The annual membership rental fee is between Rp 750,000 and Rp 5 million, again depending on location.

Sugiyono of Boyolali paid Rp 3 million to lease membership from an ill member. "After a year, I will be replaced again by the owner," Sugiyono said.

Sugiyono earns up to Rp 35,000 a day. Out of this money, he spends Rp 6,000 for meals and Rp 2,000 on traditional drinks.

Most porters, just like Marzuki, sleep and bathe in the market, helping them to save money on renting accommodation.

"Compared to those working in the paddy fields, we earn more," boasted 22-year-old porter Haryanto, who claims his work has bought him a motorcycle, a cow and almost a hectare of paddy fields in his village.

Other porters also shared Haryanto's feelings.

Darmo uses his money to finance his child's education. "My child can go to university thanks to this job."