More teachers strike for pay rise

More teachers strike for pay rise

JAKARTA (JP): More teachers took to the streets across
Indonesia on Monday, forcing some schools to close, as the
government came close to approving a hefty increase in their
allowances.

The protests on Monday were conducted by teachers from the
West Java town of Garut, who came by bus to Jakarta; there were
similar, albeit smaller, protests in Semarang and Makassar.

In the West Nusa Tenggara province, some 20,000 teachers began
a three-day strike on Monday. They are the second group to
participate in the work stoppage, following teachers in Bogor,
West Java, who went on a three-day strike last Thursday.

All the protesters carried the same message -- they want
salary increases or else they will go on strike, threatening
nationwide final examinations due to start next month.

The United Nations for Children and Education Fund (UNICEF)
cautioned on Monday that the protests and strikes should not
affect the children's right to education.

The teachers strike, if it proceeds, would be in violation of
the UN convention on children's rights to obtain education,
UNICEF office in Jakarta said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Minister of National Education Yahya Muhaimin
announced that he had secured a tentative agreement from the
Ministry of Finance to award a 200 percent increase in teachers'
allowances instead of the 100 percent already proposed.

There are some 1.7 million teachers on the government payroll.

Yahya held a meeting with Ministry of Finance Director General
of Budget Anshari Ritonga, head of the State Administrative and
Personnel Agency Sofyan Effendi, and chairman of the Indonesian
Teachers Union (PGRI) Muhammad Surya to try to break the impasse.

"The proposal (to increase teachers' allowances) will be
brought to the President and the House of Representatives for
their approval," Yahya said.

Under the proposal, the functional allowance of a low ranking
teacher would be increased to Rp 135,000 a month from Rp 45,000,
he said.

"This increase will affect our budget. I don't know how we
will cover the cost of the increase," Anshari said.

The meeting also agreed to find a new and realistic formula to
improve teachers' welfare, salary and ranking system.

Asked about the teachers' threat to strike, Yahya sidestepped
the issue saying that he had no objections to their protests.

"We are ready to accept them (the teachers' protests). They
are our guests," he said.

The latest group to bring their protests to Jakarta were some
300 teachers from Garut and Majalengka, West Java, on Monday.

"We will go on strike starting on May 1 if our demands are not
met," their spokesman Dadang J said before they were met by House
Speaker Akbar Tandjung.

In Semarang, some 150 teachers conducted a rally at the
Central Java Legislative Council demanding improvement in
teachers' welfare.

"We demand the government give priority to education by
allocating 25 percent of its budget," a spokesman said.

In West Nusa Tenggara, almost all schools from kindergartens
to senior high schools stopped their activities on Monday as
around 20,000 teachers joined in the call for a three day strike,
Antara reported from Mataram, the province's capital.

Some of the teachers held a gathering to vent their anger
while others distributed flowers to passing motorists to solicit
public support.

In Makassar, at least 100 teachers took part in a rally
outside the governor's office. Some teachers were involved in a
punch-up with police as they tried, unsuccessfully, to force
their way to meet with South Sulawesi Governor Z.B. Palaguna.

Several schools were reported to have closed because their
teachers were absent and more may close on Tuesday as more
protests are planned.

More than 20,863 teachers, representing 300,000 of their
colleagues in West Java, plan to take their case to the House of
Representatives complex in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The teachers will travel in 404 buses and 25 private cars,
mainly from Bandung, Ciamis and Karawang, their spokesman Parta
Sutrisna said on Monday.

"Besides the House building, we will also visit the Ministry
of National Education and the Directorate General of Budget at
the Ministry of Finance," Sutrisna said. (har/jun/27/25)