Occupational accidents claim 100 lives

Occupational accidents claim 100 lives

JAKARTA (JP): One hundred construction workers have died in
work-related accidents in the city already this year. Last year
101 workers died.

The latest victim was Khafidz, a tower crane operator at a 24-
story project in Kuningan, South Jakarta.

He died instantly when the crane's cab plunged 70 meters to
the ground Monday.

It is believed that the accident happened because the crane's
axis was not functioning properly.

Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital data shows that most work-
related deaths happened in August (18 deaths), followed by June
and April (15 each), and September (13).

An observer and a city councilor both said poor law
enforcement and poor government control was to blame for the high
number of deaths.

Teten Masduki, head of the Foundation of the Indonesian Legal
Aid Institute's labor division, and Saud Rahman, secretary of
Commission D for development affairs, told The Jakarta Post it
was time the government improved its control system and stuck to
regulations.

Teten said that based on worker's safety regulations,
employers failing to abide by laws could be taken to court and
charged with criminal and civil offenses.

Negligent employers could be charged with committing a
corporate crime if they failed to provide adequate safety
facilities for their workers, he said.

Managements could be tried in civil suits for failing to
ensure worker's safety, and their licenses could be revoked.

"Why does the government keep silent about the fact that the
number of victims is so high?"

Control system

He said that to improve law enforcement, the Ministry of
Manpower should activate its control system.

"It still isn't functioning properly," he said.

Sanctions against negligent employers were too lenient and
current laws did not anticipate the possibility of corporate
crimes.

"The large number of deaths in work accidents shows that
workers' safety is still insufficiently protected despite the
aggressive campaign on safety in construction work," he said.

Saud supported Teten's statement.

The government should not give permits to companies which did
not meet worker safety requirements, Saud said.

He said the fact that 100 workers had died showed that the
government's control function was not working properly.

He urged the government to pay more attention to workers'
safety.

"Don't consider workers as having no value as human beings,"
he said. (04/05)