VZCZCXRO7214
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHJO
DE RUEHJA #3503/01 3520116
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 180116Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2491
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS PRIORITY
RUEHXI/LABOR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 0234
RUEAWJB/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 7472

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 JAKARTA 013503 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR DRL/IL 
STATE ALSO FOR G/TIP, EAP/IET, EAP/RSP 
USAID FOR ANE 
DEPT LABOR FOR ILAB/BRANDIE SASSER 
DEPT OF JUSTICE FOR ICITAP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD EAID PHUM PGOV SOCI KCRM KJUS
ID 
SUBJECT: INDONESIA: 2006 CHILD LABOR UPDATE FOR TRADE AND 
DEVELOPMENT ACT REPORTING 
 
REF: A. STATE 184972- REQUEST FOR UPDATE 
 
     ¶B. JAKARTA 2849- TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT 2006 
     ¶C. 05 JAKARTA 12001- CHILD LABOR REPORT 2005 
     ¶D. 04 JAKARTA 8500- CHILD LABOR REPORT 2004 
     ¶E. 03 JAKARTA 9517- CHILD LABOR REPORT 2003 
     ¶F. 02 JAKARTA 5172- CHILD LABOR REPORT 2002 
     ¶G. 01 JAKARTA 3733- CHILD LABOR REPORT 2001 
 
----------------------- 
SUMMARY AND INTRODUCTION 
------------------------ 
 
¶1.  This report provides updated information on Indonesia's 
efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor, for the 
period August 2005 to November 2006.  This message updates 
Jakarta's 2005 report (ref c) and draws in places on 
Jakarta's March 2006 trafficking in persons report (ref b) 
and the 2005 Human Rights Report. 
 
¶2.  Children working in the worst forms of child labor 
constitute a serious humanitarian, legal and societal problem 
in Indonesia.  The Indonesian Government (GOI) recognizes the 
problem and has the legal foundations for combating the worst 
forms of child labor.  During this reporting period, the GOI 
did not enact any additional national legislation or new 
significant regulations although new policy was instituted at 
local levels.  Existing laws, such as the Child Protection 
Act and the Manpower Development and Protection Act (the 
Manpower Act), contain significant criminal sanctions to 
deter child labor violations, but the GOI did not enforce 
these laws in an effective manner.  Formal mechanisms exist 
at the provincial and local levels for uncovering and 
addressing the worst forms of child labor, but the GOI did 
not provide statistics on investigations related to child 
labor.  Police increased law enforcement actions to combat 
child trafficking for prostitution and to protect against 
export of child labor overseas. 
 
¶3.  The GOI took more steps to provide basic education to 
poor students.  The GOI has a comprehensive policy for 
eliminating the worst forms of child labor in the form of a 
National Action Plan.  Most activities carried out in support 
of the action plan have been small-scale and limited to 
select communities. International organizations and NGOs, 
often supported by U.S. funding, conducted many of these 
projects. Indonesia remained open and cooperative toward 
outside assistance in combating the worst forms of child 
labor, and the U.S. Government remained the most prominent 
donor. 
End Summary and Introduction. 
 
------- 
SOURCES 
------- 
 
¶4.  Sources of information for this report include:  the 
Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, the Coordinating 
Ministry for People,s Social Welfare, the Ministry for 
Women,s Empowerment, local governments, ILO, UNICEF, the 
AFL-CIO,s American Center for International Labor Solidarity 
(the Solidarity Center), the International Catholic Migration 
Commission (ICMC), Save the Children, and local NGOs. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
CATEGORIES OF THE WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  The lack of accurate and comprehensive data frustrates 
attempts to determine trends in child labor.  GOI statistics 
do not provide a firm basis for drawing conclusions.  A 2004 
GOI survey found 2.86 million children employed in the 10 to 
17 years age group.  Informal ILO estimates of economically 
active children are four times higher.  More recent 
statistics are not available. 
 
¶6.  Recent information from the the East Java Provincial 
Planning and Development Board is indicative of the problem: 
East Javanese children are used in some of the most dangerous 
jobs in the province including:  sex workers, illegal drug 
 
JAKARTA 00013503  002 OF 004 
 
 
agents and distributors, beggars, house maids, fishermen and 
mine workers.  An official 2005 survey found child employment 
in East Java centered on house maids, construction laborers, 
migrant farm workers, beggars, cigarette rollers, street 
vendors, sex workers, handicraft workers, and furniture lathe 
workers.  In Malang Regency, thousands of children work in 
small cigarette factories rolling cigarettes.  The average 
wage paid is 65 cents per day and is based on the number of 
cigarettes rolled. 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
LAWS AND REGULATIONS PROSCRIBING THE WORST 
FORMS OF CHILD LABOR 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶7.  Indonesia did not develop additional national laws or 
significant new regulations regarding child labor during this 
reporting period. The anti-trafficking bill, pending before 
Parliament, provides for jail sentences ranging from 3 to 10 
years for trafficking acts, and increased sentences if these 
involve women (4 to 15 years) or children (5 to 20 years). 
Indonesia ratified ILO Convention No. 182, concerning the 
prohibition and immediate action to eliminate the worst forms 
of child labor, in March 2000 with Act No. 1/2000. 
Indonesia also ratified ILO Convention No. 138 concerning the 
minimum employment 
age with Act No. 20 of 1999, which stipulates a minimum age 
for employment of 15 years. 
 
¶8.  The Government of Indonesia through the Ministry of 
Manpower and Transmigration is currently preparing a draft 
law on protection of domestic workers which will also cover 
the issue of employment of children under 18 as domestic 
workers.  Current Indonesian labor law allows employment of 
children age 13-15 for light work that does not stunt 
physical development, with written permission from parents or 
guardians and a contract, for a maximum three-hour work day 
that does not interfere with the child's education schedule. 
Children age 14 may be employed at a workplace as part of the 
school curriculum or in training permitted by authorizies. 
However, NGOs agree that large numbers of children under age 
16 work long hours in the informal sector, primarily as 
domestic workers.  There are no accurate figures on the 
number of such child workers. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
REGULATIONS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION AND ENFORCEMENT 
OF PROSCRIPTIONS AGAINST THE WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶9.  Indonesian authorities generally apply the Penal Code 
and, more recently, the 2003 Child Protection Act, for cases 
involving the protection of children.  The Child Protection 
Act provides for criminal sanctions and lengthy jail terms 
for persons who violate children,s rights, including 
economic and sexual exploitation. Over the two years, 
Indonesian authorities increasingly used the Child Protection 
Act to prosecute traffickers of children, including eight 
convictions in 2005 and five convictions in 2006,based on 
unofficial and partial tracking of cases.  The 2003 Manpower 
Act and its implementing decree further improved the legal 
basis for enforcing proscriptions against the worst forms of 
child labor.  The Manpower Act provides for criminal 
penalties for child labor violations and strengthens 
investigative authority for labor inspectors. 
 
¶10.  Indonesian local governments implemented new local 
regulations to protect child laborers.  In 2006, the East 
Lombok provincial legislature passed the province,s first 
local bylaw on Migrant Worker Protection, which extends and 
expands protection to child workers.  At the district level, 
Indramayu district in West Java enacted a law in 2005 on 
Prevention and Prohibition of Trafficking of Children for 
Sexual Purposes.  In 2004, the Mojokerto District in East 
Java issued a decree on Child Protection.  The Kutai 
Kertanegara District in East Kalimantan enacted a 2004 law on 
Child Labor Free Zone. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
JAKARTA 00013503  003 OF 004 
 
 
IMPLEMENTATION OF SOCIAL PROGRAMS TO PREVENT AN 
WITHDRAW CHILDREN  FOM THE WORST FORMS OF CHILD QBQR 
 
----------------------(---------------------- ------ 
 
¶11.  Indonesia,s Constitution, as amended in 2002, 
stipulates that the Government dedicate 20 percent of the 
national budget to education.  While the budget has fallen 
far short of this goal, President Yudhoyono in his 2007 
budget proposed an education budget of 51.3 trillion rupiah 
(USD 5.7 billion), an increase of 18.5 percent over the 2006 
state budget of 43.3 trillion rupiah (USD 4.8 billion).  The 
Indonesian Government works with USAID to implement President 
Bush's $157 million 6-year Education Initiative. 
 
¶12.  The GOI, in cooperation with the World Bank, started a 
pilot project in 2006 to fund impoverished children laborers 
to return to school, beginning in six provinces.  In 2005, 
the GOI introduced a program to provide free education to 
primary and junior high school students from oor families to 
ensure that all children go throgh a minimum nine years of" 
schooling.  In 2006, the GOI provided this assistance to 39.9 
million students.  The Ministry of National Education 
developed various programs to reach child labor workers and 
other marginalized children:  through open junior schools, 
non-formal education approaches, and remedial programs. 
 
¶13.  In the context of Indonesia's on-going decentralization, 
some provinces and regencies have embarked on their own 
prorams to combat child labor.  The East Java provincal 
governme t allocated  36.7 trillion rupiah (USD 4.1 billion),or 
19 percent of its 2005 provincial budget for education. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
COMPREHENSIVE POLICY AIMED AT THE ELIMINATION 
OF THE WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶14.  Indonesia has a comprehensive policy to eliminate the 
worst forms of child labor, represented by a National Action 
Plans for eliminating trafficking in women and children and 
commercial sexual exploitation of children (both launched in 
December 2002) and the 20-year National Plan of Action on the 
Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor.  However, 
implementation and coordination of the plans remained 
difficult and inadequate.  The 20-year Plan of Action is 
currently in its first five-year phase (2002-2006).  The 
first phase focuses on mapping child labor problems, raising 
awareness, and eliminating five priority worst forms of child 
labor, which include:  off-shore fishing and diving; 
trafficking for purposes of prostitution; mining; footwear 
production; and drug trafficking.  In 2006, action committees 
were established in 10 provinces and 41 districts. 
 
------------------------------------- 
CONTINUAL PROGRESS TOWARD ELIMINATING 
THE WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶15.  The GOI and observers agree that the prevalence of the 
worst forms of child labor remains a serious problem for 
Indonesia, though lack of accurate and sufficiently 
comprehensive data frustrates the determination of trends. 
The GOI recognizes that no adequate estimates exist on the 
number of children nationwide employed in the worst forms of 
child labor. 
 
¶16.  Indonesia,s efforts to implement activities to combat 
the worst forms of child labor remain limited.  International 
funding continues to play an important role.  The U.S. 
Department of Labor, the Department of State and USAID are 
main sources of funding for Indonesia in the area of child 
labor and trafficking in persons.  The ILO, UNICEF, the 
International Organization for Migration (IOM) and 
international NGOs, such as ICMC, the Solidarity Center, and 
Save the Children implement activities to combat the worst 
forms of child labor and child trafficking, often supporting 
GOI programs and local NGOs.  The Indonesian Government 
remains very open to outside assistance in eliminating the 
worst forms of child labor and child trafficking. 
 
JAKARTA 00013503  004 OF 004 
 
 
 
¶17.  Provincial governments continued their efforts to combat 
the worst forms of child labor.  Several new East Java 
programs to remove children from dangerous employment 
situations and to prevent child labor through counseling are 
administered by the provincial and regency Integrated Service 
Centers and by NGOs.  During 2006, East Java started a 
telephone hotline service to provide advocacy and counseling 
services for children.  A forum involving child protection 
NGO Abdi Asih Foundation, social leaders, police, pimps, and 
related governmental departments was established in Surabaya 
in March 2006.  It will supervise the work of local networks 
established previously in 2005 to promote the elimination of 
child prostitution.  The Surabaya city government is 
providing non-formal education programs for those who cannot 
afford formal education. Starting May 2006, the NGO Alit 
Foundation began providing education for street children in 
five different locations in Surabaya.  Currently, 100 street 
children participate in the program. 
 
¶18.  During 2006, the East Java Government implemented a new 
program to provide vocational skill training for 865 child 
laborers and entrepreneurship training for the parents of the 
child laborers.  The East Java government also provided 
vocational training centers (BLK) in many of its regencies. 
The BLKs provide training for minors in the automotive, 
furniture, and batik industries. 
 
¶19.  Central Java started distributing 225 scholarships in 
2006 to children in 15 regencies to defray the costs of low 
income children attending public schools and help keep them 
out of the workforce. Yogyakarta provided 650 low income 
child scholarships to public schools during 2006 and also 
provided entrepreneurship training to 540 parents of child 
laborers.  Central Sulawesi provided mobile education 
programs to provide free education to children in villages 
that do not have access to formal schools.  Bali provided 
training for 200 former child laborers in the hospitality 
industry, providing an opportunity to leave more dangerous 
forms of child employment.  In 2002, Kutai Kertanegara 
District in East Kalimantan established the Child Labor Free 
Zone and issued a 2004 local regulation that provided 
criminal sanctions for parents who allow children under the 
age of 15 years to work.  The program has successfully 
reduced the number of child laborers from 11,623 child 
workers in 2002 to only 1500 child workers in 2006, a 
decrease of 88 percent. 
HEFFERN