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Govt to punish 15,500 civil servants for absenteeism
Indra Harsaputra and Wahyoe Boediwardhana , The Jakarta Post , Surabaya, Malang | Fri, 10/10/2008 10:54 AM | East Java
Acting Governor Setia Purwoko has insisted that the 15,551 civil servants who did not show up for work this week be disciplined for the sake of bureaucratic professionalism and the continuity of public services.
The high rate of absenteeism in the provincial, regency and municipal governments after the long Idul Fitri holiday was unacceptable and administrative sanctions would be imposed on truants to deter similar behavior in the future, Setia said.
"I have asked the inspector at the provincial government to take action against all civil servants, including officials, who failed to come to work on Monday, and all regents and mayors in the province are asked to follow suit," he said Wednesday.
On Monday, the acting government held a snap inspection of all services departments in the provincial bureaucracy and in certain sections of municipal administrations in Surabaya, Malang and Banyuwangi, while greeting those civil servants who did come to work on the date stipulated by the state minister for administrative reforms.
Provincial government inspector I Made Sutarya said that of the 15,551 truants, 696 had legitimate reasons for their absence, including sickness, study and out of town assignments.
"Before the holiday from Oct. 1 to Oct. 5, the governor sent a circular to all sections in the provincial bureaucracy and regency and municipal administrations, asking everyone to comply with the government's announcement on the Idul Fitri holiday," he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday. *
"So employees and officials had no reason to extend their holiday."
He said the acting governor had asked him to take disciplinary action against truants. Possible punishments include reprimands, pay cuts or demotions, as stipulated in the 1974 Civil Servant Law.
Surabaya deputy mayor Arif Affandi said that despite the administrative sanctions, absenteeism in the municipal administration during the Idul Fitri holiday was low at only 10 employees, down from 26 in 2007.
"The 10 truants will be summoned and if they have no unavoidable and plausible reasons for their absence on the first day of the working week, they will be subject to disciplinary action," he said.
Chief supervisor of the Batu municipal administration Bambang Wahyudi said a number of local officials would be disciplined for the sake of good governance.
Gresik regency administration secretary Husnul Khuluq said six local officials who returned home far in advance of the working week would be summoned and be reprimanded.
"All local officials have been asked not to hold an open house during the working days after the Idul Fitri holiday," he said.
Civil servants and officials can extend their holiday by using some of their 12 days of annual leave, Husnul said.
