Market porters strive to earn a decent living

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."