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)