RI companies lax in preventing accidents at work
RI companies lax in preventing accidents at work
JAKARTA (JP): A senior official of the Ministry of Manpower said yesterday he was not impressed by the performance of Indonesian companies in ensuring the safety of their workers.
Director General for Industrial Relations and Labor Standards Suwarto, opening a seminar on health and occupational safety, said that the number of industrial accidents in Indonesia this year is relatively high.
The ministry, Suwarto added, recorded nine major industrial accidents in 1995. A total of 30 people were killed and 54 others were injured in those nine accidents.
These accidents, he said, also left companies with billions of rupiah in financial losses, both through production stoppage and compensation for the workers affected.
The nine biggest workplace accidents this year were:
* A fire at a batik factory in Solo, Central Java.
* A toxic gas leakage at the pulp and paper plant of PT Inti Indo Rayon in North Sumatra.
* An explosion at a fireworks factory in Brebes, Central Java.
* A fire at an oil refinery in Cilacap, Central Java.
* An accident at Aryaduta Hotel in Jakarta.
* An accident at an excavation site in Ciracas, East Jakarta,
* An explosion on a ship in East Kalimantan,
* The explosion of a steam boiler in a factory in East Java,
* A fire at PT Eka Daya Niaga in Jakarta.
Suwarto underlined the need for all companies to abide by the 1972 Law on Health and Occupation to minimize the number of industrial accidents.
He said that it is the duty of corporate managements, and not the government, to ensure that their workers are properly protected against the possibility of accidents.
"Occupational accidents will cause material losses to management and decrease corporate productivity," he said.
Companies, he said, should abide by the 1972 law out of their own concern and not because of pressure from the government.
Noncompliance with the law could mean a maximum imprisonment of three months or a fine of Rp 100,000 (US$43).
The government's approach to the problem is a campaign to develop the awareness of company management and workers of the need for occupational safety, Suwarto said.
Besides, industries can no longer ignore occupational safety requirements because it will become an important factor in international standard certification such as ISO 9000 and ISO 14000.
ISO is the acronym for International Standardization Organization, an international institution that certifies the quality of products. (rms).