Govt plans mass leave for civil servants

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government plans to introduce a mass leave for civil servants during the Idul Fitri and Christmas holidays this year, with private companies free to follow suit.

The leave would cover one day before and two days after the Idul Fitri holiday and one day before Christmas, State Minister for Administrative Reforms Feisal Tamin said on Thursday.

"We expect to sign a joint ministerial decree next week to make the mass leave official," Feisal said after attending a coordinating meeting of ministers dealing with people's welfare.

Feisal said he would sign the joint decree together with Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea and Minister of Religious Affairs Said Agiel Husein Al Munawar.

He also said this decision would help support the government's campaign to boost the tourist industry, which has suffered since the Oct. 12 Bali bombing.

"With this plan, we hope we can support the campaign by encouraging more domestic tourists to travel across the country," Feisal said.

The World Bank has predicted that Indonesia will experience a 20 percent drop in the number of foreign tourists visiting the country following the Bali terror attack.

Besides introducing the mass leave around the Idul Fitri and Christmas holidays, the government also plans to move the observance of most public holidays to Mondays, to allow people to enjoy long weekends and to give them the opportunity to travel out of town.

The government, however, will likely wait until next year to put this plan into effect.

Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea said the mass leave for civil servants, however, would not apply to those working in 24-hour public services such as hospitals and fire departments.

Currently, a government regulation stipulates a minimum of 12 days of leave per annum for both civil servants and private employees.

"And with this new regulation on the mass leave, private companies may follow suit," the minister said.

Jacob said that besides encouraging tourism, the new regulation also would serve as a kind of remedy for public servants who already do not show up for work in the days before and after Idul Fitri and Christmas.

"We can see that on those days most civil servants will not show up to the office, even when they have not taken a leave. So it is better just to arrange a mass leave for them," Jacob said.

Idul Fitri is the biggest holiday for Indonesian Muslims, with millions of people traveling to their hometowns to celebrate. Consequently, government offices normally are empty a few days before and after Idul Fitri.