Number of child workers rising: Govt official
Number of child workers rising: Govt official
JAKARTA (JP): The number of child workers in Indonesia continues to rise mainly because of traditional attitudes, a senior government official said.
Suyono Yahya, an aide to the coordinating minister for people's welfare, said that the government hopes to reduce the number of child workers with the compulsory nine-year schooling programs it launched last year, Antara reported.
Suyono said the number of child workers in Indonesia has increased along with the growing population. A 1993 survey put the number of Indonesian children working at 2.6 million, 2.31 million of which live in rural areas and 290,000 in urban areas.
Most children in rural areas work to help their parents farming and many do not get paid, he said at a seminar on the condition of child workers in Indonesia held in Surabaya, East Java.
Tjuk Sukardi, a staff lecturer at Airlangga University in Surabaya, cautioned people not to judge the system of child labor by western standards, especially in the rural areas.
"They work not because they are forced to, but more out of conscience and a desire to help the family," Tjuk said.
Consequently, he said, any attempt to cut down the number of child workers in Indonesia must take this into account and not be enforced through strict legislation as in the West.
Suyono said that the compulsory education program, which was extended to nine years to cover children aged between six and 15 years, is expected to gradually reduce the number of child workers.
He said that of the 2.6 million child workers surveyed in 1993, about 50,000 work under conditions that fail to meet the criteria set by the International Labor Organization.
Long hours
Most violations, he added, occur in urban areas, where children tend to work long hours, often even longer than adult workers.
The average length of adult working hours is 37.2 hours, while some children work up to 43 hours per week, he said.
Suyono agreed that the government must pay greater attention to the condition and safety of children's working environments to minimize physical and psychological damage.
He said children should not be employed in areas that could affect their physical health such as in mining and deep-sea activities, pencil factories, and farming chores that involve pesticides.
Tjuk concurred with the view that compulsory schooling will help keep children in school, and out of the work force, longer.
However, he added that the compulsory schooling idea must first gain acceptance from parents who generally depend on their children for agricultural help. (31)