Discipline civil servants, manpower official says
Discipline civil servants, manpower official says
JAKARTA (JP): Imprecise job descriptions and the absence of
controls are blamed for lack of discipline among government
employees.
An assistant to the minister of manpower said on Friday that
it is common for civil servants to fool around or even leave the
office during working hours because they do not have specific
duties while their superiors are out.
Payaman J. Simanjuntak, the official, said at a seminar on
productivity that clear job descriptions for the employees and
effective control by their superiors would reduce lack of
discipline and thus increase productivity.
The two-day seminar on the productivity of government
employees, which ended on Friday, was attended by development
and human resources experts from the government and private
sectors as well as businessmen.
Simanjuntak, an expert in human resources development, said
motivation should come from the superiors, leading by example.
"An official cannot expect his staff to come at seven o'clock
if he or she turns up at nine or asks them to stay late when he
or she leaves early," Simanjuntak said.
With such an attitude, it becomes hard for superiors to
control the staff's activities, he added.
He said that the result is "hidden" unemployment or
underemployment.
According to him, superiors play a crucial role in supervision
because the employees are not used to a control system.
In advanced countries, people already have a strong work ethic
and are aware of their duties; their discipline does not depend
on whether the superior is around to watch them or not,
Simanjuntak said.
Antara news agency reported recently that residents in the
West Java town of Karawang had complained over the disappearance
of about 200 civil servants from the regency office for an entire
month, bringing services to a complete halt.
The authorities have shown serious attention to civil
servants' disciplinary problems by cracking down on
lackadaisical and listless civil servants to boost discipline.
Last year only 150 civil servants were disciplined for taking
off early.
Low salary
Meanwhile, the chairman of the United Development Party
faction in the legislative body, Hamzah Haz, told the seminar
that low salaries are the main reason for low discipline among
civil servants.
"The administration should now start to consider the
possibility of paying civil servants on the basis of productivity
instead of educational background," he said.
By receiving enough take-home pay, civil servants will be able
to concentrate on their duties without having to search for other
sources of income, he said.
Low salary is also the main reason for many professional civil
servants leaving their office and find a job at private
companies, he said. He did not give any figures.
According to the new salary policy, a newly-appointed civil
servant with a university degree receives Rp 150,200 ($67.5) a
month, increasing by around Rp 14,000 after two years. The
highest salary for a person with 30 years of working experience
is Rp 537.600 ($242). (03)