Managing risks, saving lives: Addressing workplace safety issues in garment industry

The seminar provided a venue for interactive dialogue and sharing of experiences among participating factories. OSH experts were also at hand to clarify about regulations and techncial aspects.

News | Jakarta, Indonesia | 07 April 2016
Occupational safety and health at the garment factory
The seminar was scheduled to open at 09.00 am, but the registration desk was already buzzing with participants arriving early. The participants were enthusiast and excited to learn more about three major occupational safety and health (OSH) for garment industry: Fire hazards and risk, certification for building proper function (SLF) and OSH management.

“I left Subang at around 06.00 am to avoid traffic,” said one participant from PT. Wilbess. Another participant from Bandung, West Java, said, “We are excited for this seminar. We have tried to obtain certification of building proper function for our factory to no avail. So hopefully we can get it right this time and learn how to do it!”

It is not only a matter of human life and quality of life but also a financial imperative for employers as the cost of remediation almost always outweighs the cost of prevention."

Maria Vasquez, the Chief of Technical Adviser of BWI
The seminar titled “Occupational Health and Safety for garment sector in Indonesia” was conducted by Better Work Indonesia (BWI) on 6 April 2016, gathered industry players in Bandung to discuss about the three major OSH concerns in garment industry. As many as 58 participants from over 35 BWI partner factories participated in the seminar, along with the resource persons from the Ministry of Manpower as well as industrial and OSH experts.

The seminar provided a venue for interactive dialogue and sharing of experiences among participating factories. OSH experts were also at hand to clarify about regulations and technical aspects.

Emphasizing the importance of this event, Maria Vasquez, the Chief of Technical Adviser of BWI, highlighted the significance of OSH issues for both employers and workers at the garment industry. “It is not only a matter of human life and quality of life but also a financial imperative for employers as the cost of remediation almost always outweighs the cost of prevention,” she stated at her opening remarks of the seminar.

The seminar started by looking at OSH management systems. The discussion was led by M. Fertiaz from the Ministry of Manpower. He explained that out of 2.524 audited companies with OSH Management System (OSHMS), only two percent came from the garment and footwear industry.

He then challenged the participants to register for OSHMS audit this year and improve the percentage from the footwear and garment industry for the OSHMS award 2016. “With the current ASEAN Economic Community, the implementation of OSHMS is even more important as it can increase Indonesia’s competitiveness in the region.

Concerns were raised by participants during the discussion about building certificates (SFL), particularly on the certification’s procedural clarity and the costs to conduct the technical inspection. Since the collapse of Rana Plaza which killed over 1,100 garment workers in Bangladesh in 2013, building certificates and regulations have becoming more significant in the garment industry, and Indonesia is no exception.

However, the discussion agreed that there was an urgent need for government’s support in terms of availability and enforcement of SLF regulations at district level. To date, only 318 districts out of 508 districts in Indonesia have district SLF regulations.

Garment industry remains one of the significant contributors to the Indonesian economy with an average growth of 8 per cent every year. In 2014, Indonesia ranked 12th in the world in the textile exports based on BWI’s Synthetic Report.

Characterized by its labour-intensive nature and the high use of chemical in the production process, the garment industry is considered as one of the sector with high risks in terms of OSH concerns. In Indonesia, the garment industry is ranked as a medium-high risks II industry by the Ministry of Manpower.