The child labor dilemma

The child labor dilemma

The Ministry of Manpower's director general for guidance and
supervision, Suwarto, said during a seminar in Jakarta last
Tuesday that about 2.4 million Indonesian children aged between
10 and 14 years are forced to work. This, according to the
director general, is not only a labor problem, but a complicated
national problem which calls for an overall solution.

The facts show that the number of child workers continues to
increase each year. Studies indicate that most child workers are
found in rural areas, particularly around tea and oil palm
plantations. Although their number is biggest in the rural areas,
the risks and demands which child workers have to face are much
greater in the cities. Many urban children work 24 hours a week,
for some it reaches 60 hours.

Such sad conditions directly contradict Law no.1/1950 and
Ministerial Regulation No.01/1987, which state that employers are
prohibited from making children work for more than four hours a
day or at night, and that they must be paid wages in according to
existing regulations. Because the stomach cannot wait, however,
and because businesses need cheap labor, the appalling conditions
prevail. Child workers are forced to accept conditions that are
far beyond their capacity.

Perhaps we can all agree that every one of us, from the
government down to the community, must show greater concern for
our child workers as demands for the respect of human rights
grow, and while we Indonesians strive to raise the quality of
human resources to improve our competitive standing.

-- Suara Karya, Jakarta