SMEs required to apply health and safety program

Dewi Santoso, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government will require small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to implement an occupational safety and health program (OSH) in their companies in a bid to curb the number of workplace accidents.

Director of OSH programs Zulmiar Yanri at the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration said on Friday such a regulation was urgent as Indonesia still ranked among countries with the worst occupational safety records.

The government, he said, was currently working on a draft of the regulation and preparing guidelines for its implementation.

"We'll submit the draft to the State Secretary by the end of this month. Hopefully, by the end of the year the draft will be approved and implemented," said Zulmiar.

Of 170,000 companies or industries in the country, SMEs account for 91.53 percent.

Data from workers' insurance company PT Jamsostek shows the number of occupational accidents in the country rose to 105,846 in 2003, from 103,804 in 2002.

Despite the decline in the number of fatalities in the workplace to 1,748 in 2003, from 1,903 in 2002, the number of workers who were either permanently or temporarily disabled by an occupational accident increased to 104,098 in 2003, from 101,901 the previous year.

As a result, the world economic forum held by the International Labor Organization (ILO) in Switzerland ranked Indonesia's safety standards as the second worst in the world after Russia. Finland and the United States were rated the top two countries with the best safety standards.

"That's why we need the regulation, otherwise the number of fatalities occurring in the workplace will continue to rise," said Zulmiar.

She added that the draft regulation was in line with Law No. 13/2003 on manpower, which requires every company to implement the OSH management system.

The draft covers policy, planning, implementation, evaluation and monitoring, and possible improvements to the program.

"The policy will be made simple. For example, the management should plan and implement the OSH program in accordance with their capacity. Then, the program will be monitored and evaluated by both the management and safety inspectors appointed by the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration. We will see what kinds of improvement the program needs," said Zulmiar.

Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea said monitoring the implementation of the program was not an easy job as the country currently employs only around 1,500 inspectors, who would have to oversee around 170,000 SMEs.

Nuwa Wea said the country was in need of at least 3,000 more inspectors. The ministry, he added, would only train 90 more inspectors this year due to budget constraints.

An Inspector must undergo six months of training at a cost of Rp 35 million (US$4,069) to the government.

"With the program, I hope we can create a safe and healthy working environment, which would eventually reduce, or even, prevent fatalities in the workplace," said Nuwa Wea.

Occupational Accidents in Indonesia ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Year Fatality Permanent Temporary Total % Fatality

Disablement Disablement Cases to total cases ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1999 1,476 11,871 78,163 91,510 1.61 2000 1,592 12,025 85,285 98,902 1.61 2001 1,768 12,566 90,440 104,774 1.69 2002 1,903 10,345 91,556 103,804 1.83 2003 1,748 10,395 93,703 105,846 1.65 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Source: PT Jamsostek