Regarding the Death of Three Workers in a Culvert, All Parties Urged to Be Objective

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Presidium of the Cross-Generation Activists (LIGA) Pro Jakarta, Rio A Putra, has urged all parties to remain objective in responding to the incident that killed three workers during a piping project in a Jakarta culvert. “We express our deepest condolences for the passing of the three workers. We must also ensure that their rights are properly fulfilled,” Rio said in Jakarta on Wednesday. He stated that the incident should not be immediately deemed the direct responsibility of PAM Jaya, as the workers were part of the implementing company, PT Moya Indonesia. Rio explained that in infrastructure projects, the project owner and the implementing company have different responsibilities, particularly regarding occupational health and safety (K3). He noted that the victims were workers employed by PT Moya as the implementing contractor. “Therefore, the direct responsibility for implementing occupational safety standards lies with the company that employed them,” Rio stated. If negligence in implementing safety procedures is found, he said, the first party that must be held accountable is the implementing company, in accordance with the work contract and applicable laws and regulations. “PAM Jaya needs to conduct a thorough evaluation of PT Moya’s performance,” Rio said. If the evaluation or investigation finds violations of operational standards and K3 provisions, he added, strict sanctions should be imposed according to the contract, ranging from warnings and fines to other penalties stipulated in the cooperation agreement. He also appreciated PAM Jaya’s move to hand over the case handling to law enforcement and relevant agencies so that the cause of the accident can be transparently uncovered. Rio emphasised that this stance shows PAM Jaya is not avoiding the legal process, but rather respecting the ongoing investigation mechanism. He stressed that the priority now is upholding the principle of accountability so that the tragedy is not exploited to build disproportionate public opinion. “All parties must wait for the investigation results so that responsibility can be assigned fairly,” he said. “Worker safety must be the top priority. Evaluations of contractors must be carried out so that similar incidents do not happen again. However, assessments of PAM Jaya must also be placed proportionally according to its authority and responsibilities,” Rio asserted. Previously, Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung Wibowo confirmed the deaths of three workers on a clean water piping project on Thursday (9/7). However, he stated that the incident did not occur within PAM Jaya’s internal operations, but rather involved a subcontractor executing the project. “The incident did not happen within PAM Jaya, but at the subcontractor who was carrying out the work,” Pramono said during a visit in East Jakarta on Friday (10/7). He explained that the three victims included one foreign national from China and two Indonesian citizens. According to Pramono, the incident occurred while the subcontractor was working. Despite the incident not involving PAM Jaya’s internal team, he confirmed that all handling processes for the victims have been carried out.