New law shortchanges child workers

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.