Jakarta – Indonesia's safety standards remain the worst in Southeast Asia, as it has the greatest number of workplace accidents, a report says.

A report issued by the International Labor Organization (ILO) in conjunction with the World Day of Safety and Health at Work on Monday, showed that 57,000 accidents took place in companies throughout the country in the first semester of 2002.

"That is the equivalent of 300 accidents per day," the ILO said in a statement sent to The Jakarta Post on Saturday. The report, however, did not provide comparable data from other countries.

Citing a report submitted by the Indonesian Occupational Safety and Health Council, ILO said that only 80 percent of some 16,000 local companies had complied with the regulations and had been granted zero-accident certification.

"The ILO calls for joint efforts to improve worker safety," said ILO, stressing that a strong safety and health culture in all enterprises was a key to preventing both occupational death and disease. "Experience has also shown that a strong safety culture is beneficial, not only for workers, but also for employers and governments," it said.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri called in January on companies operating within the country to improve the safety of their workers.

Worker social insurance company PT Jamsostek reported earlier that the total number of accidents in 2001 reached 104,000, with more than 1,000 fatalities, with hundreds of workers suffering from permanent injuries.