Rp 25 overtime rate
Rp 25 overtime rate
From Berita Buana
I was dumbfounded when I read a report that said that the overtime pay for elementary school teachers in Jakarta who teach extra hours only amounts to Rp 25 per hour. The information came from Chairman Soeparno of Commission E of Jakarta's regional house of representatives. According to Lukman F. Mokoginta, chairman of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) faction of the Jakarta legislative body, this is the cause of great stress among many elementary school teachers in Jakarta. (Republika, Nov.19)
The life of elementary school teachers is indeed pathetic. On the one hand, they are required to dedicate their lives to teaching, while on the other, they are paid very low salaries, which are extremely inadequate to make ends meet within their family.
With an overtime pay of Rp 25 per hour, even if a teacher teaches an additional 100 hours a month, he or she would receive only Rp 2,500 -- a very insignificant sum of money.
Singers going from bus to bus can earn at least Rp 10,000 per day, while ojek drivers (motorcyclists who transport one passenger at a time) easily receive more than Rp 15,000 a day.
It is not surprising to find reports in the media that some elementary school teachers earn extra money by moonlighting or by working as an ojek driver on the side.
If a teacher is forced to work a second job out of necessity, we can imagine what concentration he or she brings to work as a teacher.
The lives of teachers, especially of elementary school teachers, have often been discussed in seminars and written about in newspapers and magazines. But their lives have always remained the same. Furthermore, teachers' pay is often cut to help finance the organization they belong to and for other purposes.
It is high time for our legislators to pay due attention to the problem and to seriously find ways toward an improvement of the lives of elementary school teachers. They should not limit themselves to giving speeches expressing their sympathy only. If there is no change in the lives of teachers, I am afraid that many more elementary school teachers will have to endure great hardships.
SARTONO
Jakarta