Medan - Similar to labor conditions in other provinces, a majority of workers in North Sumatra have been left unprotected due to rampant law violations by companies and the absence of law enforcement.
Data from the state-owned insurance company PT Jamsostek show less than 10 percent, or 450,000 of around 5 million workers in the province, have participated in social security programs.
Executive head of PT Jamsostek`s northern Sumatra regional office, Mas`ud Muhammad, blamed the lack of participation in social security on the absence of law enforcement and local governments` failure to protect workers.
In the informal sector, hundreds of thousands are facing an even bleaker future as many are dismissed due to the prolonged energy crisis in the province.
"The campaign since 1992, using a persuasive approach, has been found to be less effective and local authorities should start using a stricter approach and take harsh actions against companies violating the law," Mas`ud told The Jakarta Post here Monday.
He called on regional heads to deploy labor inspectors to check on working conditions, and for police and prosecutors to take action against companies violating the law.
Mas`ud said there was no excuse for employers to be exempt from the obligatory social security program, since the economic crisis that hit the country in 1997 had long since passed.
The law requires companies employing 10 or more workers, or those paying at least Rp 1 million in wages per month, to register its workers with PT Jamsostek. Failure to do so carries a maximum six-month jail sentence or a maximum Rp 500 million fine for the offending company.
Mas`ud praised Tebingtinggi municipality, which has started enforcing the law to protect workers, including those in the informal sector.
He said at least 4,600 companies employing more than 450,000 workers in the municipality have been registered with PT Jamsostek.
Some companies had falsely reported that they employed fewer workers or declared only a part of their gross monthly salaries in a bid to reduce their premiums, he said.
Chairman of the Confederation of Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union (KSBSI), Rekson Silaban, called on regional administrations to deploy a team of labor inspectors to check on employers` compliance with core labor standards, including the social security program and the payment system.
"The tripartite team should crack down on companies violating the law and hand them over to law authorities for further investigation," he said.
Most companies in the province pay their workers below the provincial minimum wage, recruit workers from outsourcing companies and employ contract-based workers in their core business, actions which are all against the 2003 law on labor, Rekson said.
He said he was also worried about hundreds of thousands of workers facing dismissal because of the prolonged energy crisis in the province.
Businessmen have often threatened to relocate to other countries in protest of the blackouts imposed by state-owned company PT PLN and the decreased gas supply to industrial areas in the province.
Tebingtinggi Mayor Abdul Hafis Hasibuan and Simalungun Regent Zulkarnaen Damanik said separately on Monday that the social security programs were part of core labor standards that depended on regional heads to be implemented.
Abdul said his side had approached professional organizations for maids, cleaning services and becak, ojek and bus drivers to participate in the programs to help protect themselves.
Source: old.thejakartapost.com (11 April 2008)