People's welfare and price hikes

People's welfare and price hikes

From Warta Kota

Some government officials say the increased prices of
liquefied petroleum gas and fuel oil, and the higher telephone,
electricity, water and parking rates in Indonesia are still lower
than the prices and rates abroad. But why don't they compare the
wages of local workers and the welfare of their overseas
counterparts?

During my experience working abroad (1971-1979), I met a port
worker in Saint John, Canada, who went to work in a sedan he
bought on credit. In Rouen, France, a port worker used his own
car to pull the rope to moor boats. In Durban, South Africa, a
taxi driver could afford to live in an apartment that would be
considered condominium class in Jakarta.

A painter in the New Castle shipyard, Britain, owned a
beautiful house and his counterpart in the Sembawang shipyard,
Singapore, purchased various electronic appliances. An elevator
operator in Bergen, Norway, and crane operators in Mobile,
Alabama, and Port Arthur, Texas, invited me out to dinner every
night.

In Yokohama, Japan, a port sweeper carried his equipment in
his own car. In Malaysia, Indonesia workers can make more money
than they can at home. Why doesn't the government promote their
welfare?

At Tanjung Priok port, Jakarta, I still see port workers going
home with old pieces of wood and small sacks of cement on their
shoulders, in sharp contrast to the labor conditions abroad. With
the planned rate and price rises, the level of public welfare
will be lowered even further.

ALBERT
Jakarta