Needed, but their Protection is Minimal
The government should change the development paradigm from exclusive to inclusive, whereby marginal groups such as porters have the same rights to be involved in development.
Mistar (56), a porter from Bogor, West Java, is carrying chicory which will be sold by traders at the Kramat Jati Main Market, East Jakarta, Wednesday (8/3/2023).
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The economic pulse in the country is marked by the role of porters in the distribution chain of goods or through the services offered to consumers. Ironically, most of them are still mired in poverty and they have not fully received decent social protection.
The majority of porters are not prosperous. The education of those who are in the work is on average not high with minimal capital and business opportunities in other sectors. The income earned from relying on muscle has not allowed them to live properly.