Civil servants anxious over pay cut plan<\/p>\n
Agus Maryono, The Jakarta Post, Cilacap, Central Java<\/p>\n
The Cilacap legislative council in Central Java has asked the
\nlocal administration to dock the salaries of civil servants by 5
\npercent, ostensibly to help rebuild a traditional wet market that
\nburned down last week.<\/p>\n
The request was made by council speaker Fran Lukman, who
\nchairs the Cilacap branch of the Indonesian Democratic Party of
\nStruggle (PDI Perjuangan).<\/p>\n
Lukman was also allegedly behind the PDI Perjuangan's move to
\nforce civil servants, including teachers, as well as their
\nstudents, to buy exercise books and T-shirts bearing party
\nattributes.<\/p>\n
The move, apparently endorsed by the local administration,
\nfaced a serious challenge in the form of strong opposition from
\ncivil servants.<\/p>\n
Now, local civil servants are also up in arms over the
\npossibility of the Cilacap administration docking their salaries
\nby 5 percent to rebuild the market in Majenang subdistrict.<\/p>\n
\"You can be sure the real reason is that many of the exercise
\nbooks and T-shirts were returned. Now he (Lukman) is trying to
\ndock our salaries,\" Yusmanto, 45, a teacher at Kroya state
\nelementary school, said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Another teacher, Darmo, defended the protests by civil
\nservants against the plan to force them to purchase the exercise
\nbooks bearing pictures of PDI Perjuangan President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri and her father Sukarno, and the red T-shirts
\nbearing a photo of Lukman. Red is the color of the PDI
\nPerjuangan.<\/p>\n
\"What we have done is right. Civil servants must be neutral in
\npolitics. It's not right that we should be forced to wear red T-
\nshirts. That's why we rejected them,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"Now our pay will be docked by 5 percent. This is wrong. Civil
\nservants are very badly paid. If our salaries are cut, how we can
\ncover our expenses. Even without being cut, out salaries are
\nnever enough,\" Darmo added.<\/p>\n
He suggested that only the salaries of senior local officials
\nand councillors should be docked. \"I think it would be no problem
\nfor them as they are well paid.\"<\/p>\n
Lukman said he regretted the opposition of civil servants to
\nthe proposed cut.<\/p>\n
\"I am extremely disappointed that many civil servants have
\nrejected the proposal that their salaries be docked by 5 percent,
\neven though the money will be donated to the victims of the
\nMajenang market fire. They should not act like this as they have
\nalways received special treatment,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Lukman said that such special treatment included being given
\nvarious allowances by the government, while other people, like
\ntraders, never received such privileges.<\/p>\n
\"It was in this light of this that we proposed to the Cilacap
\nregent that the salaries of civil servants be docked,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Lukman said the council would press ahead with the proposal,
\nand submit it to the local administration despite the strong
\nopposition from civil servants.<\/p>\n
He added ominously that those who opposed their salaries being
\ncut would run the risk of having their \"solidarity record\"
\nquestioned, among other things.<\/p>\n
Cilacap Regent Probo Yulastoro has yet to respond to Lukman's
\nproposal, which is still being discussed by the council.<\/p>\n
Slamet, a spokesman for the Cilacap administration, could not
\nsay whether Probo would accept the proposal or not.<\/p>\n
Lukman last week dismissed Probo as the PDI Perjuangan's
\nCilacap election campaign director because of the scandal over
\nthe T-shirts and the exercise books.<\/p>\n
The decision was taken to counter public allegations that the
\nregent had abused his power for the benefit of the party, Lukman
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The dismissal came after Probo issued an order to all heads of
\nlocal government agencies to prohibit civil servants and teachers
\nfrom wearing T-shirts bearing party political symbols.<\/p>\n
Cilacap is one of the PDI Perjuangan's strongholds in Central
\nJava.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/civil-servants-anxious-over-pay-cut-plan-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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