Operation against truant civil servants goes on

JAKARTA (JP): The city administration will continue intensifying its operation against truant civil servants in a bid to improve discipline.

Head of the City Public Order Office Yusuf Wahab said yesterday that the operation is being held in response to an instruction from Governor Surjadi Soedirdja.

"There is an indication that many civil servants have been neglecting the regulation by arriving at City Hall late and going home early," Yusuf said.

City Hall's working hours are from 8 a.m. to 4.30 p.m from Monday to Thursday and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday.

Yusuf said that the manual system on checking employees' presence at the office is ineffective as many of them can just ask their colleagues or office boys to sign their names on the attendance sheets.

"The city administration is considering the possibility of using a more sophisticated system," he said.

The city administration employs about 76,000 civil servants, of whom 5,000 work at the City Hall complex on Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan, Central Jakarta.

As punishment, Yusuf said, the city secretary office will send a written warning to the undisciplined employees' chiefs.

"Our officers will seize the identity cards of the truant workers and return them through their chiefs with a written warning," he said.

The office has so far conducted the operation three times this year and netted a total of 440 undisciplined employees.

The first operation was held on July 24 and 25, when 285 employees, who failed to arrive at the office on time, were netted.

The second was on July 31 and Aug. 1 when 45 employees were netted.

The latest one was conducted on Sept. 13 when 48 employees were netted and another 52 on Sept. 14.

Yusuf said that the operation is conducted at random to make the operation more effective. (yns)