Five-day-work week proposal widely praised<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government's decision to allow civil
\nservants two days off per week met with praise from members of
\nthe House of Representatives and government officials.<\/p>\n
The director general of taxation of the Ministry of Finance,
\nFuad Bawazier, said the new scheme would encourage the growth of
\nsmall-scale businesses, the so-called informal sector and the
\nrecreation business.<\/p>\n
Minister of Administrative Reforms TB Silalahi on Tuesday
\nannounced that the plan -- which was designed following a
\nrecommendation by President Soeharto -- would commence on a
\nnational scale on Aug. 17 of next year, Indonesia's 50th
\nindependence day. However, he mentioned that it would not be put
\ninto effect until after having completed a test run earlier in
\nthe year.<\/p>\n
Fuad said that the program would benefit vendors and small-
\nscale businesses, who make most of their money on holidays.<\/p>\n
\"I feel relieved because this also means that my staff will be
\nmore productive after two days of rest,\" he said.<\/p>\n
A similar comment came from House member Aberson Marle
\nSihaloho, of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) faction, who
\nalso saw the move as a positive one.<\/p>\n
He said, however, that it would be even better if school days
\nwere also reviewed. \"By reducing the number of school days and
\nextending school hours there will be fewer public disturbances
\ncaused by students,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro said
\nthat his ministry was aware of the plan and that it was
\nformulating technical guidelines for the implementation of a
\nfive-day school week.<\/p>\n
\"There are still many obstacles, especially in villages where
\nstudents live far away from schools,\" he said. He added that the
\ntechnical guidelines would be finished by February of next year.<\/p>\n
Wardiman explained that for these reasons, school children in
\nvillages might not be able to enjoy the program as yet. However,
\nhe said that in cities, where access to transportation and
\ninfrastructure facilities were adequate, the program could easily
\nbe implemented.<\/p>\n
Aberson indicated that the reduced number of working days did
\nnot necessarily mean reduced working hours.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that in developed countries, where the five-day
\nwork week has long been practiced, the system was quite
\neffective. He mentioned research findings which show that it is
\nbetter to increase work-load and have longer periods of rest,
\nrather than extending the number of working days and shortening
\nworking hours.<\/p>\n
Among the advantages of the program, according to Aberson, was
\nthe fact that each employee will have more time to engage in
\nactivities on Saturdays and Sundays.<\/p>\n
Efficiency in social services will also improve and the
\ngovernment will gain substantial savings on electricity, water
\nand telephone bills, he said.<\/p>\n
Although many people appeared to be optimistic about the
\noutcome of the program, reservations about the plan were
\nexpressed by a number of experts.<\/p>\n
For example, Prabowo, a faculty member of the Indonesian
\nInstitute for Management Development, offered the view that the
\nprogram would not significantly improve productivity.<\/p>\n
\"In fact, reducing the number of work days has very little to
\ndo with productivity,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Prabowo explained that there were other, more relevant aspects
\nof increasing productivity which the government could supervise
\nand change. He suggested, for example, that the government
\nconsider increasing salaries to narrow the gap between the
\nincomes of private business employees and those of civil
\nservants. He also submitted that the government could restructure
\ncivil offices by slashing unproductive divisions.<\/p>\n
\"The current ratio between civil servant and private sector
\nemployee incomes in Indonesia is ridiculous,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Prabowo said that the government's role is changing from one
\nthat is directly involved in the management of government offices
\nto one that facilitates procedures, a role which demands less but
\nrequires more highly qualified workers.<\/p>\n
\"If we want to improve productivity, the government should
\nfirst have a clear perception of how they will make these
\nchanges,\" he pointed out.<\/p>\n
He acknowledged, however, that the five day work-week was
\n\"good\" because it would serve to increase productivity \"to a very
\nlimited extent.\" He also thought it might reduce Saturday traffic
\njams, save government expenses and increase efficiency.<\/p>\n
\"But unless it is followed by a transformation in government,
\nproductivity gains will not take hold. Private affluence cannot
\nco-exist with public squalor for a very long time,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Another critic of the new program, Mochtar Buchori, said he
\nwas convinced the program would \"make people livelier, as they
\nwould be looking forward to two days off\", but he doubted it
\ncould actually increase productivity.<\/p>\n
Mochtar is rector of the Muhammadiyah University and former
\ndeputy chairman of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences.<\/p>\n
\"Productivity does not just depend on how happy we are at work
\nbut also on our work experience and how we spend our time,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Mochtar believed that salary was still a more important factor
\nthan the number of work days, \"but the government has already
\nimplied that it has a limited budget and that it cannot improve
\nthe salaries of civil servants.\" (pwn\/yns\/11)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/five-day-work-week-proposal-widely-praised-1447893297",
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