Contract staff get $6 per month

Contract staff get $6 per month

JAKARTA (JP): Each of the 793 Tangerang mayoralty contract
employees receive a monthly salary of Rp 52,550 (approximately
US$6), says an official.

Head of the mayoralty's public relations section, Harry Mulya
Zein, told Antara on Sunday that his office spent at least Rp 500
million per year on contract employees.

"We have to spend this amount of money during such a time of
financial crisis," Harry said, without disclosing how the people
could survive with such a limited amount of money at this time in
which prices of goods and services have been skyrocketing.

He only said that the current number of contract staff at the
mayoralty has already exceeded the normal capacity.

Out of the 793 employees, 45 are university graduates, 19 with
bachelor degrees, 518 senior high school graduates, 53 junior
high school graduates and the remaining 158 elementary school
graduates, Harry explained.

The employees are tied to a one-year contract they sign in
advance. They can extend their working period with a new
contract, he said.

Besides the contract employees, the mayoralty also hires 4,041
civil servants to serve about 1.4 million Tangerang residents.

Last Friday, hundreds of contract employees who flunked the
civil service entry examination protested the alleged demand for
bribes to earn a passing grade.

They complained that only six of 382 contract employees, who
took the test, passed.

One of the failed employees said: "I have tried the test five
times, but did not pass it. The problem is I do not have the
money for bribes, so I could not pass the test." (41/bsr)