Still no lunch money

SEMARANG: Central Java Governor Soewardi says employees of the provincial administration will not get lunch money with the introduction of longer working hours beginning this month.

Rumors have been circulating that employees will receive lunch money of between Rp 500 and Rp 750 a day because they now have to work from morning until late afternoon, with a lunch break in between. Previously, they could have lunch at home after work.

"We don't have the money," Soewardi said as quoted by the Antara news agency.

The longer working hours have been introduced to compensate for the shorter working week; from six days to five.

The scheme is being introduced in phases. All government offices in Indonesia will fully adopt the scheme beginning August 1995. (emb)