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