Teachers get sympathy aplenty and little else

JAKARTA (JP): Leaders of the House of Representatives expressed sympathy for poorly paid teachers on Tuesday but fell short of endorsing their plan for a massive strike this week.

House Speaker Akbar Tandjung said the legislative body would propose a significant increase in the salaries of teachers. The increase is important to improve the quality of education, he said.

"Teachers deserve a significant hike in salary because our children's futures are in their hands," he said commenting on the wave of demonstrations by teachers in several cities.

Akbar made no firm commitment whether the House would push for an increase within the current fiscal year that began on April 1.

The House has already endorsed the government budget for the new financial year which saw a 30 percent across-the-board increase in the salary of civil servants, including state teachers, and a 100 percent increase in functional allowances for teachers.

Teachers in various towns have protested against the pay policy saying the increase fell short of expectations, especially considering that the government was awarding up to 9,000 percent increase in basic allowances for top civil servants.

Teachers have threatened to go on strike this week and possibly boycott nationwide school examinations in May if their demands are not met.

Many state schools in Bogor and Sukabumi (West Java), and Bantul (Yogyakarta) were closed on Monday as teachers took to the streets to protest against the government's pay policy.

On Tuesday, nearly 200 teachers from Jakarta and nearby towns gathered at the House of Representatives to keep up the pressure on the government.

Akbar said the House planned to revise the 1992 Law on National Education to improve the remuneration system for teachers, including greater legal protection for the profession.

House Deputy Speaker Muhaimin Iskandar, who met with the demonstrators, said the legislative body would summon Minister of National Education Yahya Muhaimin to discuss revision of the 1992 law.

"The law should be amended soon to pave the way for improvement in the employment conditions of teachers," he said.

Yahya said his National Awakening Party (PKB) had already drafted a proposed amendment that would be brought to the House for deliberation.

Tuesday's protest at the House complex turned into an emotional rally as teachers took turns describing the hardships and humiliation they have had to endure.

The male teachers yelled their demands for higher salaries while women teachers embraced one another in tears.

Sriningsih, who teaches at a state elementary school in Balaraja, Tangerang, said she and her colleagues had resorted to the protests because they had no other recourse to make their demands known to the public.

"Many teachers cannot continue because their salaries do not cover their daily needs," she said, adding that her nine-year service in the profession is only worth Rp 165,000 ($22) a month.

The Association of Indonesian Teachers (PGRI) hailed the teachers' protests as the culmination of decades of pent up frustration.

"Teachers have the right to go on strike," PGRI chairman Mohammad Surya, who joined the protesting teachers, said.

"They are not asking for wealth. They want more humane treatment for their profession," Surya said.

In Yogyakarta, governor Hamengkubuwono X promised on Tuesday to fight for a 100 percent increase in teachers' salaries.

"We can no longer afford to delay improving teachers' living conditions lest we sacrifice our children's future," he said after receiving a delegation of 15 teachers.

Mochtar Buchori, a legislator from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle and an education expert, hailed the teachers' actions to fight for better remuneration.

"It's about time teachers stood up for themselves because no one else is apparently paying attention to their fate," he said.

"By going on strike, everybody will have to listen to the teachers' aspirations. I think their demands are fair and not exaggerated because they are in a very poor situation," he said. (44/dja/rms)