Work accident rate worrying

Work accident rate worrying

PEKALONGAN, Central Java: Forty-six workers have been killed and 300 others injured in work accidents here and neighboring Batang over the past year, official statistics have revealed.

Pekalongan and Batang are among most industrialized areas in the province.

Chairman of the manpower office of Pekalongan, Bambang Hudi, said on Saturday that workers' lack of skills in operating sophisticated industrial machinery was to blame for the high rate of workplace accidents.

"The high rate of accidents is indeed worrying," he was quoted by Antara as saying. He said the matter needed serious attention because more and more modern machinery was going into operation.

Statistics from the local manpower office show that 18,269 people in the industrial sector in Batang regency and 28,181 in Pekalongan have gotten accidents at work during the past year. (pan)