On His First Day Back at Work, Gus Ipul to Impose Sanctions on 2,708 Absent Employees
Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf (Gus Ipul) carried out a surprise inspection on the first working day following the collective Eid al-Fitr holiday leave, on Wednesday (25/3). Gus Ipul toured the Ministry of Social Affairs (Kemensos) offices, greeting and engaging in friendly conversations with the staff present at work.
In addition to inspecting the attending employees, Gus Ipul and his ministry’s leadership had previously held a service meeting to review staff discipline after the extended holiday. From that meeting, Gus Ipul revealed that out of the total 46,090 Ministry of Social Affairs employees, 2,708 were reported as absent without any explanation.
“So, these are cases without any notice—no permission, and no clocking in either. There are 2,708 employees in this category, which is quite significant. Of course, the Secretary General along with the staff will investigate why they are without explanation,” said Gus Ipul in his statement on Wednesday (25/3/2026).
It is known that all Civil Service Apparatus (ASN) employees under the Ministry of Social Affairs currently number 46,090. Of that number, 3,683 are working from the office (work from office), 5,071 employees are working from anywhere (work from anywhere), 34,284 employees are operating under a flexible working arrangement system (working with flexibility in time and location), and the remaining 2,708 employees are without explanation.
Upon learning of the large number of employees absent without explanation on the first working day after Eid, Gus Ipul immediately followed up by organising a disciplinary briefing roll call for those 2,708 employees. The indisciplined employees are required to attend either in person or online to receive direct guidance.
“Therefore, the 2,708 individuals whose names and ID numbers have been recorded must attend the briefing tomorrow at 10 a.m. as a form of guidance for those who were absent today without explanation,” he said.
In addition to the disciplinary briefing, Gus Ipul did not hesitate to impose sanctions on employees who were absent. These sanctions, of course, comply with Government Regulation No. 94 of 2021 on the Discipline of Civil Servants (PNS), which regulates obligations, prohibitions, and strict sanctions for PNS who violate regulations.
“So, the punishments can be light disciplinary actions, moderate disciplinary actions, or severe disciplinary actions. This needs to be conveyed, and it also serves as a lesson for all employees within the Ministry of Social Affairs that we have oversight and tools to measure the level of discipline among our employees,” he emphasised.
He also added that, besides sanctions in the form of reprimands, penalties could include deductions from performance allowances for employees proven to be undisciplined in attendance. Employees who are absent will have their performance allowances cut by 3% per day of absence.
Gus Ipul further explained that violations before and after the holiday period are not only about employee attendance but also the high risk of receiving holiday gratuities. On the same occasion, he stated that to date, there have been no reports of gratuities received by Ministry of Social Affairs employees.
To support the enforcement of discipline among Ministry of Social Affairs employees, Gus Ipul invited all parties to report any employees proven to have committed violations. Reports can be made through the Command Center or other available complaint channels.
“I invite all parties, if you see or witness any such matters (violations) within the Ministry of Social Affairs environment, please report them directly to us via our command centre, our WhatsApp centre, or the channels we have established,” he concluded.