Increase civil servants' earnings!

Increase civil servants' earnings!

From Suara Karya

I am a pensioner of the IV/E category (the top rank in the civil service) and my monthly pension is Rp 360,000 to support my family -- one wife, and two kids who are still in university. Such a meager income is enough only for two weeks of a modest life-style. Luckily we own a house of our own, so we don't have to pay rent. Imagine how civil servants (including armed forces members) whose rank is lower than mine manage on such small incomes? Isn't the government going to consider their circumstances?

Civil servants are supposed to serve the public, but in practice, it is the other way around. The community has to pay an extra fee to get things done. This obviously only tarnishes the civil servants' image and deflates their morale.

Meanwhile prices of commodities continue to increase and the government has no power to control the situation. It is said that the economic growth continues to improve, but the earnings of Indonesian civil servants are the lowest among ASEAN countries, even lower than the Philippines whose economy is worse than Indonesia. The economic gap between the private sector and civil servants is widening. This is not healthy, it leads to social jealousy, inferiority complexes, frustration and low morale.

Employment opportunities are still scarce, so whenever there is a vacancy for any civil job, thousands apply. Their only encouraging philosophy is "better something than nothing." Because once they get the job, they hope to get extra money from using their authority.

The government could improve the welfare of civil servants by giving an extra one-month salary in connection to the coming Idul Fitri, and also salary raises of at least 20 percent.

SUHARSONO H

Jakarta