Civil Servants Suffer in Retirement, BKN Chief: We Are Fighting for Single Salary

The Head of the National Civil Service Agency (BKN), Zudan Arif Fakrulloh, has confirmed that he will continue to fight for the implementation of a single salary system for state civil apparatus (ASN). He stated that this remuneration scheme is crucial to ensure the welfare of ASN, including both PPPK and PNS, through to retirement. “This is related to the standardisation of ASN welfare. We at BKN continue to fight for it, if possible moving towards a single salary system,” Zudan said during a working meeting with Committee I of the Regional Representative Council (DPD) in Jakarta. Zudan emphasised that the single salary system supports ASN welfare because their income would no longer be supported by numerous allowances, but instead would be entirely consolidated into the basic salary. Consequently, he argued that upon retirement, ASN would no longer experience the drastic income drop that currently causes retired civil servants to suffer. “Currently, the basic salary comes with many allowances, so when they retire, their income drops drastically. This leads many of our ASN to suffer more and prefer not to retire; they want to move to functional positions,” he explained. Zudan also believes that when ASN become more prosperous through a remuneration scheme that ensures welfare into retirement, public services will improve because they will work with greater focus. “Because if ASN are prosperous, they will definitely work more focused, have higher performance, and not scramble for structural positions,” Zudan asserted. The discourse on implementing a single salary for ASN remains in limbo. Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa admitted he was not yet aware of the discourse on implementing the single salary system. He promised to study the proposal further. “I don’t know yet, I will study it again later,” Purbaya said at the Presidential Palace Complex in Central Jakarta. Minister for Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Rini Widiyantini stated that her ministry is still waiting for the completion of the Draft Government Regulation on ASN Management before proceeding with the plan to implement the single salary system. However, she explained that the future concept of the single salary actually emphasises a total reward system, rather than simply merging all allowances into the ASN salary. “That is not the concept. We actually reward ASN not only materially, but also through the work system, appreciation of performance, office atmosphere, and career system. So we use a total reward approach for ASN,” she said.