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.