Civil servants play hooky despite longer holiday

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.