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Hotel accident shows urgent need for law enforcement: Watchdog
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A blaze struck the Swiss-Belhotel building, which is still under construction, on Sunday. Two workers died and 12 people were injured in the incident. (Antara/Rosa Panggabean)
T
rade Union Rights Center (TURC) researcher Surya Tjandra said enforcing a law on workplace safety had become even more pressing following a fire at the construction site of the 27-story Swiss-Belhotel in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, on Sunday, which killed two workers and injured 12 other people.
“The law regarding work safety should be enforced without negotiation. If there are companies that cannot provide work safety, they deserve punishment,” Surya told thejakartapost.com on Tuesday.
According to health and safety provisions, companies must provide optimal protection equipment to all workers. However, Surya pointed out that government monitoring was weak.
Surya said in countries where public pressure was high, such as Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea, governments paid more attention to the issue. In those countries, unions erected memorials for victims of workplace accidents, he added.
In Indonesia, news about workplace accidents usually receives a lukewarm response from the public. In Surya’s words, such accidents are treated as normal.
Jakarta Manpower and Transmigration Agency head Priyono said the agency was still working on a case report. “We can’t reveal much about the case now because we’re still making a report about it. However, the victims are all covered by the Health Care and Social Security Agency,” Priyono said on Tuesday.
