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).