Majalengka civil servants rally for disbursement of back pay
Majalengka civil servants rally for disbursement of back pay
Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Majalengka
Hundreds of civil servants, including teachers, held a
demonstration at the office of the regent of Majalengka on
Tuesday, demanding the local administration provide six months'
back pay following the increase in their wages last April.
"The regent has broken his promise that he would soon provide
the back pay as so far we have yet to receive it," said Yanyan
Mulyana who coordinated the rally.
It was the second demonstration in two days. On Monday,
hundreds of teachers staged a protest rally outside the regent's
office.
"The action we are taking is not in the context of
disobedience toward our superiors, but we demand that our rights
be met," Yanyan said.
During Tuesday's protest, the civil servants were received by
secretary of the Majalengka administration Machali and other
senior local officials.
Machali, speaking to the protesters, said that the postponed
payment of their allowances should not solely be blamed on the
local administration, arguing the matter also involved the
Institute of State Personnel Administration (BAKN).
"The postponement is due to an unclear stance on the part of
BAKN, which has always delayed giving approval to the payment,"
he added.
However, he vowed that his office would disburse the money
within one week should all requirements be fulfilled.
Surachman, chairman of the Indonesian teachers' Association
(PGRI) in Majalengka, said the protest showed the deep
disappointment of the teachers.
He said his office had sent a letter on Nov. 19 to the regent
of Majalengka, demanding he immediately disburse the payment of
teachers' allowances.
"The letter asks the regent to urgently resolve the problems
because the matter is related to the welfare and conditions of
teachers at their workplaces," he added.
Yanyan said the protesting teachers also urged the regent to
quickly reorganize the current organizational structure of civil
servants, including teachers, as a follow-up to the
implementation of regional autonomy.
The unclear mechanism, post-autonomy, for handling civil
servants had affected the survival of dozens of elementary,
junior and senior high schools in Majalengka, he said.
"Other impacts include a delay in teachers' promotions. The
function of school supervisors is also not clear," Yanyan added.
Surachman confirmed the as yet unaltered mechanism for dealing
with teachers had delayed the process of their promotions.
In a response to the latest demand, Machali said his office
was still scrutinizing the proper mechanism for the new civil
servant organizational structure, following the implementation of
regional autonomy.