Advertisement misleads 150 job seekers

Advertisement misleads 150 job seekers

JAKARTA (JP): Some 150 people seeking jobs at the city
administration based on a newspaper advertisement felt completely
fooled on Thursday when they learned that the financially
troubled administration had no plans to recruit new staff.

With applications in their hands, the disappointed job
seekers, mostly fresh university graduates, arrived at City Hall
in Central Jakarta as early as 8 a.m. only to find "no vacancy"
notices posted on windows at the entrance and on other parts of
the building.

"We feel that we have been fooled by the city administration,"
said an angry Andi Santi, one job seeker.

"How can they say there's no recruitments here when the
Ministry of Home Affairs stated the opposite?" she asked.

According to ministry's advertisement in the widely circulated
Kompas daily on Sept. 12, the ministry is to recruit
7,204 people to work in both central government and local
administrations.

Some of the people looking for jobs at the Jakarta
administration on Thursday also carried copies of the
advertisement calling for people to apply for a job at City Hall.

The ad stated that the Jakarta administration would recruit
318 people and applications should be submitted on Thursday and
Friday.

Santi said she and other job seekers were really disappointed
in the administration. She said people were struggling hard to
find job during this time of hardship.

"When I was informed by a relative who works at the Ministry
of Home Affairs about the opportunity, I enthusiastically
prepared all prerequisites required for the applicants.

"But I am so disappointed with the administration's response.
I think it should be held responsible for causing the mixup,"
said the fresh graduate from the School of Economics and
Management of Borobudur University in East Jakarta.

Santi and two of her friends, Ranita and Bunga, said they had
pinned their hopes on working at the administration as they had
been unemployed since they left university last year.

"How can the administration do such a thing amid the current
difficulties of looking for a job at private companies?" asked
Ranita.

Most of the disappointed applicants claimed to have spent at
least Rp 10,000 to complete the requirements, including to obtain
medical reports and photographs.

Another applicant, Wisnu, wanted the administration to explain
the problem.

"We've waited here for about five hours but no single official
tried to meet us to explain the case," he said.

According to an official from the city's control center for
social disturbances, Raya Siahaan, who arrived at the scene to
handle possible chaos, the administration received a letter from
the ministry explaining about the recruitment of new civil
employees on Sept. 1.

"On Sept. 10, Governor Sutiyoso replied and told the ministry
that the administration could not recruit new employees due to
the drastic drop in the city's budget," he told The Jakarta Post.

"So I don't know why the ministry still advertised for
recruits," he said.

The city's employee affairs bureau head, Adjat Wiraatmadja,
said his office, following the ministry's advertisement, had
provided funds to the city's public relations bureau to publicize
the fact that the Jakarta administration was not recruiting this
year.

Instead of placing ads, the public relations bureau made the
announcement by posting notices on the City Hall building.

"I still have no idea why the bureau didn't do what it was
assigned to do," Adjat said, giving no details of the amount of
money allocated to the public relations office.

Adjat explained that the administration currently has some
70,000 civil servants.

When asked to comment on Adjat's statement, public relations
bureau head Kamaludin Santos said that nobody had assigned him to
place advertisements.

"I know nothing about recruitments. We did not receive any
funds for such an advertisement. The administration is now facing
'financial collapse' in that we have no money to make such an
announcement (to counter the ministry's ads)," Santos said.

After waiting for about seven hours, the frustrated job
hunters dispersed peacefully after an official from the city's
social political directorate office promised to make a public
apology. (ind)