The fate of the workers

The fate of the workers

Occupational accidents are commonplace here, but Monday's
fatal accident, which claimed the lives of eight workers at a
construction project in Sunter Agung, North Jakarta was
particularly disturbing.

The accident obviously proves two important things:
First, there continues to be poor protection for workers. This
could be because of the employer's ignorance in addition to the
workers' own unwillingness to use safety equipment or abide by
safety regulations. In the Sunter Agung case, the contractor and
the engineers had failed to calculate the strength of the
supporting beam when the concrete pouring process was taking
place.
Second, the response to such accidents are far too sluggish. The
rescuers failed to get there in a timely fashion to administer
first aid to the workers. It is understandable that releasing the
workers from the crushing steel beams was not an easy job,
however, appropriate medical treatment should have been given to
the victims so they could survive.

The bottom line is that we continue to lack a proper
appreciation for human life. And these avoidable, fatal accidents
prove that human life is very cheap.

The Sunter Agung accident was also one more example of the
problems of inequality. A high unemployment rate remains, and so
many people have to take whatever job is available, no matter the
risk, just to survive.

And for risking their lives, construction workers usually earn
between Rp 150,000 and Rp 175,000 per week..

-- Kompas, Jakarta