SBY confirms salary hike for officials
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Low-ranking civil servants, including soldiers and police officers, will have their basic salaries raised next year under a government plan that has received support from the House of Representatives.
In a state address to the House on Tuesday, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the government would increase the salaries of low-level civil servants by between 5 percent and 20 percent in 2006.
The government also will give civil servants an extra month's pay each year, called a 13th salary, with the priority being given to low-ranking officials.
"We are grateful that the government and the budgetary committee have agreed on a scheme to improve the income of civil servants," Susilo said in his state address during the first plenary session of the 2005-2006 sitting session of the House.
According to the law, the president is required to give a state address every year on Aug. 16, one day before Independence Day.
The pay rise policy will be implemented by regional administrations, which will receive the necessary funds from the state budget.
It is unclear where the government will get the money for the program, the total cost of which has yet to be announced.
Susilo said the government had canceled plans to increase the salaries of high-ranking state officials next year following criticism from legislators and other observers.
House Speaker Agung Laksono said in a written speech earlier in the day that the legislature had asked the government to reconsider its plan to increase the salaries of high-level officials due to the strain on the state budget.
He said it would have been inappropriate for the government to give raises to high-ranking officials, no matter how small the increases.
The House suggested the government only increase the monthly pay of low-ranking civil servants, including military and police personnel.
"We listened to you," Susilo said in remarks during his speech.
The President said the government also was studying the possibility of hiring new civil servants next year to fill vacancies in the education, health and religious sectors.
The salary increases are part of the government's plan to improve the working conditions of civil servants, soldiers and police officers, many of whom survive on salaries that are below the minimum regional wages established for workers in the private sector.
If the plan materializes, it would be the first pay raise for civil servants since 2003.
There are currently about six million civil servants, in addition to some 500,000 soldiers and 125,000 police officers.