3,000 teachers seek salary backpay

PURBALINGGA, Central Java (JP): At least 3,000 teachers of state elementary, junior and senior high schools in the regency of Purbalingga thronged the local legislature building on Tuesday demanding the disbursement of the additional backpay derived from their salary increase in January this year.

The demonstration took place at 12:30 p.m., soon after the teachers finished classes at their respective schools.

Waving posters and banners, the angry teachers demanded that regent Triyono Budi Sasongko and his staff do not turn a deaf ear to the teachers' rights.

Ngadud Harjono, a teacher in Mrebet district, Purbalingga, said, during the demonstration, that he was entitled to a monthly salary increase of more than Rp 200,000 starting January, 2001.

"I have yet to receive the additional amount, which by now should have totaled Rp 1.5 million."

According to Ngadud, there are around 6,000 teachers in the regency of Purbalingga. "If each of them is assumed to receive a disbursement averaging Rp 1 million (from January to July), the local administration would have to make Rp 6 billion available for the teachers.

Ngadud said that the teachers did not want the backpay disbursed in installments. "We will only receive a small amount of the money if it is paid in installments. We want the whole amount in cash."

The nationwide increase in civil servants' salaries, which reached between 14 percent and 30 percent, was announced in April after provincial legislative councils approved the local administrations' budget proposals.

The government had promised to issue all backpay in July, but failed to act on it.

Civil servants have become an additional responsibility for regional administrations since the country adapted the Law on Regional Autonomy on June 1 this year.

The disbursement of backpay has, since then, become the most serious financial problem faced by all provinces and regency administrations.

The regent

After staging the protest for two hours, the regent, whose office is located directly across from the legislative council, failed to show up.

This angered the protesters. Regent Triyono finally appeared at about 3 p.m., but refused to make a swift answer to the demonstrators.

Triyono asked to meet with representatives of the teachers, which was agreed to by the teachers. The meeting between the regent and 20 representatives took place at the legislature building.

Regent Triyono said that it would be impossible for the local administration to provide the teachers with that amount of money all at once.

"The money from the 2001 budget has already all been allocated. For the disbursement of the backpay of teachers and civil servants since January, the administration will need around Rp 17 billion. This is a very large amount of money. All we can do is to install the disbursement once every three months."

Sticking to their initial demand, the teachers kept asking the regent that they wanted the money in cash.

"We are fed up with promises. We want our money in cash right now," a teacher said. "Or we will go on strike."

The regent finally agreed to pay the entire amount in December. This means that the administration will have to provide an even larger sum of money for the teachers. (45/sur)