New law shortchanges child workers

By Apong Herlina

Child labor is the subject of an international conference in Oslo on Oct. 27-Oct. 30, jointly organized by the International Labor Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund. Apong Herlina, director of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute, shares her thoughts on the problem of child labor in Indonesia, especially in relation to the 1997 Manpower Law.

JAKARTA (JP): Child labor is not a new phenomenon in this country.

For many generations, children, especially in rural areas, have taken part in activities both within and outside the home. Girls help their moms with cooking, washing, cleaning the house, baby-sitting; boys assist dads with herding cattle, gathering wood and tilling the land.

This pattern of child employment has changed with the transformation from agrarian to industrial society, and from predominantly rural to urban populations.

With this development, children not only help families in the house or on the farm, but they have also entered the workforce.

The Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) estimated in 1994 that two million Indonesians aged between 10 and 14 worked outside the home.

The figure is probably grossly underreported. Many companies do not report the number of child workers they employ. There are many reasons for this, but the most important is to sidestep the obligations determined by the government in employing child workers. Many children also lie about their age with a view to standing better chances for employment.

Children are increasingly engaged in more diverse types of work.

In rural areas, they are turning from cottage industries, cattle raising, farming and fisheries to factories.

Many move to big cities. Some find employment in factories, become shop assistants, waiters or household help. Those who do not have regular jobs look to the informal sector, working as shoeshine boys, street hawkers, street singers or extra passengers for motorists who want to enter Jakarta's three-in-one zone in the morning hours.

Reasons for child labor are equally as varied.

The majority of children work because their families need the additional income to make ends meet. School is no guarantee that graduates will obtain better work.

Official regional minimum wages (UMR) do not differentiate between pay for graduates of elementary and secondary schools, or even those who never attended school.

Child labor is an extremely complex problem tied to myriad aspects -- legal, cultural, economic and educational. It is also inexorably connected to the development of the nation's future generations.

Some believe child labor should be prohibited outright. In fact, both Law No.12/1948 and Law No.1/1951 read: "Children are not allowed to work", with children denoting boys and girls under the age of 14.

However, outright prohibition would be unlikely to solve the problem, especially if we look at the reality now. Many children are compelled to leave school and enter the workforce just to earn money to survive.

In 1987, the Manpower Minister issued Regulation No.01/1987 on the protection of children forced to work.

Under the regulation, employers are not allowed to make children work more than four hours a day, and cannot make them work at night. They must pay wages in accordance with the prevailing regulations, meaning employers must pay children the minimum wage level applicable to adults working seven hours a day.

A child worker, therefore, effectively costs the employer twice as much as an adult worker. This would make it highly probable that companies would refrain from hiring child workers.

In reality, however, many companies simply do not report their employment of child workers. The limitation of four hours is often violated, both by the children themselves and the employers. They pay children a lump sum salary, which induces children to work longer hours to increase their earnings.

The Manpower Law No.25/1997 revokes the two regulations mentioned above, and several other rules that limit child labor and women working at night, regulate child labor and young men working on ships. All these regulations were made with no other objective than better protection for children working at certain places or at certain times.

Chapter Seven, Article 95 of the new Manpower Law states: "Every employer is prohibited to employ children", while Article 96, item 1 reads, "The prohibition meant in Article 95 does not apply to children, who for various reasons, are forced to work".

The law states an employer is not allowed to make children work more than four hours a day, but the previous legislation also set a four-hour limit while simultaneously stipulating they receive the minimum wage level applied to adults.

The new law therefore encourages employers to use more child workers as it does not stipulate the minimum wages that they should be paid. Children are easier to manage. They are obedient and easily frightened. They do not know their rights and obligations. They have fewer demands compared to adults.

It may be concluded that apart from extending little protection to child workers, the new Manpower Law will encourage rather than deter employers from hiring child workers.