Most firms ignore safety regulations

Most firms ignore safety regulations

JAKARTA (JP): A senior health official says only 40 percent of
some 20,000 companies here have complied with the government
regulation instructing them to set up occupational health and
safety committees.

Head of the Directorate of Community Participation at the
Ministry of Health, Widyastuti Wibisana said during a seminar on
occupational safety here on Thursday that many companies' size
and facilities have placed them in the category of companies
which should have such teams.

"The maintenance of workers's health and occupational safety
is needed to boost their productivity, and yet their companies
fail to meet the stipulation," she said.

The issue of occupational health and safety falls under the
jurisdiction of the ministries of health and manpower.

According to ministry of manpower data, in 1994 alone 17,700
accidents took place in the work place, killing 300 workers and
leaving hundreds disabled. Most of the accidents occurred in the
construction, transportation and chemical sectors.

Slamet Ichsan of the manpower ministry said the ministry is
responsible for ensuring that all companies implement measures to
ensure workers' health and safety. "Eventually, it's the
companies' responsibility to implement the measures," he said.

He named several programs that the ministry has set up to
encourage companies to comply with the regulation.

"We train the companies' workers and management, support
relevant activities, and examine workers' working conditions and
facilities as well as the workers themselves," said Slamet who is
head of the Companies' Hygiene of Occupational Health and Safety
department.

He reproached companies which failed to provide workers with
the necessary safety equipment simply to keep production costs
low.

The 1970 law on occupational health and safety imposes a
maximum penalty of three months in prison or a Rp 100,000
(US$42.7) fine on violators.

The seminar was organized by the University of Indonesia's
Post-Graduate Study on Occupational Health and Safety. (31)