DIALEKTIKA KUNINGAN — In celebration of Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Month, a seminar themed “OSH is a Fundamental Right” was organized by the Local Initiative for Occupational Safety and Health Network (LION) Indonesia in collaboration with the Regional Executive Board – National Workers’ Union (DPD SPN) of West Java in Bandung on February 12, 2025.
The seminar, held at the West Java regional office of the Social Security Administering Body for Employment (BPJS Ketenagakerjaan), was attended by more than 100 SPN members from various regions in West Java. This event demonstrated the strong commitment of labor unions to promote and ensure a healthy and safe working environment for all workers.
In his speech, the Chairman of DPD SPN West Java, Dadan Sugiana, explained that the seminar was part of an educational effort to raise awareness and understanding among members about the importance of occupational safety and health. He stated, “OSH is a fundamental right for every worker, as important as the right to wages and the freedom to unionize.”
The Role of Labor Unions in Ensuring OSH
Dadan Sugiana highlighted that with the limited number of labor inspectors and the high rate of workplace accidents, labor unions play a crucial role in guaranteeing basic OSH rights. These include the right to information, education, and training related to OSH, the right to participate in OSH activities, and the right to refuse potentially dangerous and unsafe work.
In the same event, Ajat Sudrajat from LION Indonesia expressed his concern about the OSH conditions in Indonesia, which are far from safe. “Every year, the number of workplace accident cases continues to rise. In 2024 alone, there were more than 400,000 workplace accidents, meaning over 1,100 accidents occurred daily,” he explained.
BPJS Employment Data: Increase in Workplace Accidents
According to data from BPJS Employment, from January to November 2024, there were 408,954 workplace accident cases, up from 370,747 cases in 2023. This data is based on claims submitted by employers to BPJS Ketenagakerjaan for the Work Accident Insurance program.
Unfortunately, this data does not cover unreported workplace accidents or workers not registered with BPJS Ketenagakerjaan.
Despite the requirement for companies to enroll their workers in the BPJS program, many workers still lack social security, particularly BPJS TK. As of August 2024, BPJS Employment members had reached only 60.64 million out of the total 144.642 million working population in Indonesia.
Ajat Sudrajat emphasized, “We still find many cases of workplace accidents where the victims are not registered with BPJS Ketenagakerjaan, thus they have to bear their healthcare costs themselves.”
The Importance of Government Oversight
The right to OSH and BPJS guarantees are often considered privileges, not fundamental rights. Ajat Sudrajat asserted that the government must supervise and act firmly in cases of unreported workplace accidents or workers not registered with BPJS Ketenagakerjaan.
“The government must oversee and take strict action. We still find many workplace accident cases, and unfortunately, the victims are not registered with BPJS TK, resulting in them bearing all healthcare costs themselves,” said Ajat.
The OSH seminar emphasized the importance of occupational safety and health as a fundamental right for every worker. Safety and health at the workplace must be a top priority to create a safe and healthy working environment.***
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