OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ARE WORKERS’ FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS - INSP!R INDONESIA

Press Release 28 April 2021 Commemorating International Occupational Safety and Health Day

According to data from BPJS Ketenagakerjaan (Social Insurance Body on employment), cases of work accidents in Indonesia continue to increase from year to year. In 2017, BPJS Ketenagakerjaan recorded as many as 123,040 work accident cases in Indonesia (with a claim fee of IDR 971.95 billion), which increased in 2018 to 173,415 cases (with a claim fee of IDR 1.22 trillion) and increased again in 2019 to 182,835 cases (with a claim fee of IDR 1.57 trillion). Of these work accident cases, over 4,500 people died and more than 2,400 caused disabilities.

As of January 2021, the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) recorded 504 health workers died due to COVID-19. They consist of 237 doctors, 15 dentists, 171 nurses, 64 midwives, 7 pharmacists and 10 medical laboratory personnel. This number still excludes support staff such as cleaners, hospital staff and health volunteers who died or were exposed to COVID-19 due to their work. The death rate of health workers in Indonesia is the highest in Asia and the fifth largest in the world.

Every worker has the FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT to live and be healthy, avoiding work accidents or occupational diseases. Law number 1 of 1970 concerning Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) lays down the basic principles of implementing OSH. The OSH management system must be implemented in all workplaces, without exception, including the requirements for health protocols, personal protective equipment, OSH training, supervision, prevention, and treatment. Social security, especially death and work injury insurance, must be implemented in all workplaces.

The high number of deaths and disabilities continues to increase due to accidents and diseases in the workplace, among others caused by:

1. Law no. 1 of 1970 concerning Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) can no longer answer current challenges and problems, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic
2. The government has not made OSH a priority issue, so education and socialization regarding the regulations and importance of OSH are not optimal, especially for contract workers, seasonal workers, digital platform workers, informal workers, domestic workers, migrant workers, and workers with disabilities.
3. The weak role of labor inspectors and law enforcement to ensure that OSH provisions are carried out properly according to the provisions, as well as the ineffective role of the OSH tripartite institutions at the national down to the company level.
4. Weak awareness of employers to comply with legal rules on OSH. There are still many employers who consider OSH as a cost or burden, not an investment in human resources that can support workers productivity.
5. There are still many workers who have not been registered with the employment Social Security program, especially women workers in the informal sector, contract workers, seasonal workers, digital platform workers, domestic workers, migrant workers, and workers with disabilities. As of February 2021, the number of active participants in Work Accident and Death Security benefits from groups of wage earners was 19.26 million, migrant workers were 350.000, construction service workers were 5.46 million people and participants who did not receive wages were 2.68 million people.
6. The process of claiming work accident or occupational disease benefits is carried out by the company, while often the company is reluctant to report a work accident or occupational disease in order to maintain its 'zero accident' status. This is detrimental to workers, especially for workers who are exposed to diseases but are no longer working in the company.
7. Apart from the problems above, currently BAPPENAS (National Planning Body) and DJSN (National Council of Social Security) are initiating a merger of the JKK (Work Injury Program) and JKN (Health Care Program) so that later curative financing due to occupational accidents and occupational diseases will be managed by BPJS Kesehatan (Social Security Body for Health). This plan will certainly be detrimental to workers who have received work accident insurance services in the form of curative, rehabilitative, and unemployment benefits, to vocational training.

To that end, we, International Network for Social Protection Rights Indonesia (INSP!R Indonesia), representing 13 civil society organizations, part of the International Network for Social Protection Rights (INSP!R), are demanding the Indonesian government to:

1. Immediately revise Law no. 1 of 1970 concerning Occupational Safety and Health to answer the latest OSH challenges, and to make OSH a fundamental right for every worker, equally for men and women, without exception, in all workplaces, including OSH for contract workers, seasonal workers, digital platform workers, informal workers, domestic workers, migrant workers and workers with disabilities. Hereby, INSP!R Indonesia supports the position of the Government of the Republic of Indonesia to include OSH as a fundamental right of workers at the ILO 110th Session of the International Labour Conference in 2022.
2. Increase the role of supervision and law enforcement of OSH regulations, as well as ensure the effective role of the OSH tripartite institutions in companies, particularly the implementation of Health protocols in all workplaces.
3. Conduct education and socialization on OSH to all workers, with budget support from the APBN / APBD (National budget/ District budget) and BPJS Ketenagakerjaan (Social Security Body on Employment).
4. Encourage the Ministry of Manpower and BPJS Ketenagakerjaan (Social Security Body on Employment) to open an effective space for reporting, complaints and claim benefits for work accidents and occupational diseases, including for persons with disabilities.
5. Expand the participation and benefits of the Work Injury Security and Death Security Program for contract workers, seasonal workers, digital platform workers, informal workers, domestic workers, migrant workers and workers with disabilities.
6. Strictly reject the plan to incorporate the Work Accident Insurance into the National Health Insurance because it will undermine benefits of programs for workers.
7. Support the implementation of the “Independent” COVID-19 Vaccine, with strict rules and supervision without burdening workers at any cost.

Please maintain Health protocols.

List of member organizations of INSP!R Indonesia:

1. KSBSI (All Indonesian Trade Union
2. Confederation)
3. BPJS Watch (Social Security Watch)
4. KPI (Indonesia Women Coalition)
5. PJS (Association of Mental Health Indonesia)
6. JBM (Migrant Workers Network)
7. TURC (Trade Union Research Center)
8. Flower Aceh (Aceh Women Organization)
9. Gajimu.com (Platform on Wage)
10. LIPS/TPOLS (Sedane Labor Institute)
11. GARTEKS (Trade Union Federation of Garment, Textile, Leather and Shoes)
12. REKAN (Indonesia Health Volunteer)
13. KAPRTBM (Coalition of Domestic workers and migrant workers)
14. JAPBUSI (Indonesia Workers Network on Palm Oil)

Illustrating the importance of social protection in Nepal: Meet Gopal

Gopal, 74 years old. “I have been receiving the old age allowance for the past four years. My wife also gets this grant, for which Sarita helped. My wife is a couple of years older than me, so she has been receiving the grant for longer. I didn’t know about my age, or what papers I needed. We needed to go look for my papers and find my birth date, so I would know when I could start getting this grant. Then, Sarita helped me to fill out the forms at the ward office. It was easy, not hard because she was there and she knew everything, and everyone.

At first, I used to go to the ward office to get the money, but then I opened a bank account, to get the money deposited there. The bank is very near, I take my bicycle to go there whenever the ward office member tells me the grant has been deposited. He lives just around the corner, so it is easy. He also made sure I got the money cash during the lockdown, when the banks were closed. There have never been any delays, I get it every four months.

I have another bank account which I use to get the money for the sugarcane I grow. But most of the money that I make from that, I give to my sons. I have five sons and all of them are married and went away, except the youngest who stays with me. He is a teacher and not yet married. My other four sons are all over, in Kathmandu, India and Saudi Arabia. I don’t expect financial support from them, I think once a boy is married and he has his own family, we should try not to be a burden to them. I try to give them all the money I make from sugarcane, and just live from the old age allowance for us, but it is very little. Even though my sons have jobs, they still can use some extra money because rent and education is so expensive, prices have really gone up.

I usually withdraw the entire amount when I get it, because we need it for food and my medication. My wife suffers from rheumatism, aching bones, and I have gastritis. I go through a bottle of pills almost every ten days, which costs me 200NPR.

While I was working, I paid taxes, of course. I think it is right that the government should support old people, because many times, their children can’t take care of them. We worked a lot and still continue to labour, but that is not always possible."

Testimony gathered during field visit with SPCSN in Province 2, with CFWA and Save the Children.