Poverty blamed for child labor

Poverty blamed for child labor

Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The twin problems of school dropouts and child labor in the
country have been blamed on widespread poverty.

The director in charge of monitoring child labor at the
Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, Sudaryanto, said the
government could not stop the problem of child labor without
first dealing with two other problems: poverty and a lack of
education among some parents.

"Despite some progress, the issue of child labor will continue
as long as the problems of poverty and poor quality of human
resources linger," he told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

A recent joint survey by the International Labor Organization
(ILO) and a leading market research company, Taylor Nelson
Soffres (TNS), found that 19 percent of school-age children in
Indonesia could not afford to attend school. This was cited as
the main factor behind the high number of child laborers in the
country.

The manpower minister has said that the number of child
laborers has increased to almost three million this year from
1.56 million in 2003.

Sudaryanto said that according to a survey conducted by the
Central Statistics Agency (BPS) in 2003, about 37 million members
of the country's approximately 100 million-strong workforce were
living below the poverty line.

He said that from the members of the workforce between the
ages of 18 and 55, almost 70 percent were elementary school
dropouts or elementary school graduates, and that only less than
3 percent had graduated from university.

"About 30 percent, or 30.6 million, of the workforce is
employed in the formal sector, mostly being paid less than
minimum wage. More than 60 million people are employed in the
informal sector and have no legal protection or insurance," he
said.

He said the open unemployment figure had reached 11 million
people, while the disguised unemployment figure, or those working
less than 35 hours a week, had reached more than 40 million.

"Given these conditions, the government and other stakeholders
should first of all work hard to eliminate poverty and to provide
training for unskilled workers to make them creative and
productive," he said.

The director general for labor inspection at the ministry,
Maruddin Simanihuruk, said the government had established the
National Committee for Action Plans for the Elimination of the
Worst Forms of Child Labor, which was chaired by the manpower and
transmigration minister.

"The national program for eliminating the worst forms of child
labor is underway in 20 provinces and there have been successes
in North Sumatra and East Java," he said.

The national committee was set up soon after the issuance of
Presidential Decree No. 59/2002, which followed Indonesia's
ratification of ILO Convention No. 182 on the prohibition and
elimination of the worst forms of child labor.

Simanihuruk said child workers had been removed from offshore
fish traps along North Sumatra's eastern coast and were now
employed at plantations and in local development projects through
a voluntary child labor program (regulated by the government with
limited working hours).

The children employed under this program are given training
aimed at improving their skills. Their parents also receive
training and Rp 1.5 million each to help them set up their own
small business.

Simanihuruk said the manpower and transmigration ministry was
cooperating with regions to eliminate the worst forms of child
labor.

He also said that under regional autonomy, a number of regions
in Papua, Bali, East Kalimantan, Riau and Aceh had fully
implemented a compulsory nine-year education program aimed at
eliminating illiteracy and improving the quality of human
resources.

He added that the ILO office in Jakarta was also helping to
finance an education program for child laborers in West Java and
East Kalimantan, with the program to be extended to North
Sumatra, East Java and South Sulawesi.