Government vows to increase wages for civil servants and troops<\/p>\n
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono vowed on Friday to raise the
\nwages of civil servants and military and police personnel as part
\nof efforts to boost their professionalism and reduce corruption
\nwithin the bureaucracy.<\/p>\n
\"I have ordered Minister of Finance Yusuf Anwar to immediately
\nfollow up on a plan to raise the salaries of civil servants. This
\nis part of our strategy to reduce misuse of state funds and
\nimprove professionalism,\" said Susilo during a ceremony at the
\nNational Resilience Institute (Lemhanas).<\/p>\n
Low wages have been partly to blame for the widespread
\ncorruption in Indonesia's bureaucracy and law enforcement
\ninstitutions, in addition to their low productivity and poor
\nprofessionalism.<\/p>\n
At present, an entry-level civil servant earns a monthly
\nsalary of Rp 905,400 (less than US$100), while those who have
\nserved for five years earn Rp 1.1 million. On average, civil
\nservants are given an increase in their monthly salary of only Rp
\n40,000 per year of service.<\/p>\n
However, not all civil servants of the same rank receive the
\nsame amount of take-home pay. This is because different
\ngovernment departments provide additional allowances.<\/p>\n
Including allowances, civil servants working for the Ministry
\nof Finance, for instance, receive the highest take-home pay
\ncompared to other ministries or state institutions, with an
\nentry-level employee getting a monthly pay of some Rp 1.8
\nmillion.<\/p>\n
Still, this is still in sharp contrast to the salaries earned
\nby lawmakers -- who can rake in around Rp 15 million per month,
\nexcluding allowances and incidental income -- and to the salaries
\nearned by most ordinary workers in the private sector.<\/p>\n
An entry-level employee at a mid-size private firm, for
\nexample, might receive Rp 1.5 million per month, with an average
\nincrease in their monthly salary of at least Rp 150,000 for every
\nyear of service.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal
\nBakrie said the government was exploring the possibility of
\nreducing unnecessary expenditure, so that more money could be
\nallocated to increasing the salaries of civil servants.<\/p>\n
\"The President has instructed us to seek additional funds to
\nraise the salaries of civil servants and soldiers. We are
\ncurrently trying to cut some expenditure in the 2006 state budget
\nin order to help fulfill this instruction,\" said Aburizal.<\/p>\n
According to Aburizal, the government would gradually start
\nraising salaries next year, with first priority going to low-
\nranking civil servants and soldiers, while raises for medium- and
\nhigh-ranking officials would follow later.<\/p>\n
Aburizal, however, refused to the disclose the amount of the
\nplanned salary increase next year.<\/p>\n
There is no increase in wages planned for civil servants and
\nmilitary and police personnel for this year.<\/p>\n
At present, there are around 3.6 million civil servants and
\n1.2 million pensioned civil servants, plus 500,000 military and
\npolice personnel.<\/p>\n
In the 2005 state budget, the government has allocated Rp 34.6
\ntrillion for salaries and allowances of civil servants and
\nmilitary personnel, up by 1 percent compared to that allocated in
\nthe 2004 state budget.<\/p>",
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