Govt plans mass leave for civil servants
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.