Civil servants play hooky despite longer holiday

Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The absentee rate in government offices after the Idul Fitri holiday slightly rose compared to last year, despite the fact that civil servants were granted more time off.

The office of the State Minister of Administrative Reform found that 87.45 percent of state employees checked in at their offices on Monday this week, the first day of work after an extended Idul Fitri holiday. In total, the civil servants enjoyed an eight-day vacation.

The office collected the data from 15 ministerial offices, 19 government agencies, three government institutions in Jakarta, Bengkulu and Jambi and 16 city administrations across the country.

Last year, 89.09 percent of civil servants turned up on the first working day after Idul Fitri, after they were given an extra three days off.

State Minister of Administrative Reform Taufik Effendi said more civil servants failed to return to work on schedule this year compared to last year because more government employees took additional time off, called in sick or were on official trips.

"The number of employees who were absent without leave this year was slightly lower compared to last year. In this sense, the situation is improving," Taufik claimed during a press conference.

His office found that 2.67 percent of government employees were absent without leave after the extended holiday, compared to last year's 2.84 percent.

"I think it's really not a bad number," Taufik said.

In a bid to encourage more domestic tourism after the Bali terror attacks scared off international tourists in 2002, the government asked civil servants to take leave en masse during Idul Fitri and Christmas to enable them to celebrate the holidays with their extended families.

The decision is also aimed at bringing down the absentee rate after Idul Fitri, which in the past, adversely affected public services.

"Absenteeism after holidays has become a bad habit among civil servants, and we hope the rate will decrease over time," Taufik said.

There are around 3.6 million civil servants who work for the bureaucracy nationwide.

Taufik said the policy of giving extra time off would be maintained next year, but civil servants would not be allowed to take any extra leave or schedule official trips during or after the holiday season.