Civil servants warmly welcome salary increase
Civil servants warmly welcome salary increase
JAKARTA (JP): Civil servants working for ministries and state institutions have warmly welcomed the government's decision to raise their salaries by between 34.4 percent and 73 percent last April.
A IIIC-grade Ministry of Agriculture official said yesterday the unexpected rise would let his family bank part of his salary.
Under Government Regulation No.6/1997, top-grade civil servants' monthly salaries went up 34.4 percent and low-grade civil servants' salaries rose 73 percent.
"But in terms of take-home pay, the increase is not that high because our salaries are subject to various deductions, including pension funds and income taxes," he said.
The official, who has worked at the agriculture ministry for more than ten years, said the regulation meant his salary would rise about Rp 40,000, or 16 percent, from Rp 249,000 to Rp 290,000.
He said the salary of his wife, a IIID-grade civil servant, and his salary were just enough to meet his family's basic needs: food, children's education and servant's wages.
"I am forced to do moonlighting to pay our family's other expenses such as telephone and electricity bills and transportation costs," he said.
Rahmat Hidayat, a teacher at a school for the mentally retarded, said the new regulation meant that civil servants assigned to work at the private school would earn Rp 30,000 extra a month before deductions.
He said his salary had increased to Rp 196,000 a month. "There are at least five items of deductions from my salary," said Rahmat, a IIC-grade civil servant with five years work experience.
Besides deductions for routine installments for the Association of Indonesian Teachers, other deductions included payments to the Indonesian Civil Servants Corps and the office's cooperatives, he said.
"In all, the deductions reach up to Rp 10,000 a month," he said.
Joko Widianto, who works for the Indonesian Atomic Agency, said the pay rise gave him about Rp 50,000 extra a month before deductions.
Civil servants usually face promotion every four years. "With the coming promotion, I am supposed to get an increase of only Rp 7,000 in my basic salary," he said.
He said that all the agency's staff were entitled to a compensatory allowance, based on work grades and length of service, for radiation risks.
"I, a IID with 15 years work experience, get a gross monthly salary of Rp 350,000, including Rp 100,000 compensation for radiation risks," he said.
A IIIA-grade employee at the Ministry of Finance said her salary had increased to Rp 241,800 a month, but declined to give details.
Police officers also enjoyed an average 20 percent pay rise.
An officer who asked for anonymity said the raise began in April. "In total, there was around a Rp 50,000 hike in my salary. But, what the heck, it could not cover the fast-rising living costs. Prices in the market, etc, also went up immediately," he said.
The pay rise was not followed by increased food allowances. "They remain the same, about Rp 3,500 an officer a day," he said. (04/12/cst/hhr)