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City reports better attendance after long holiday
New look: A recent view of the Tanah Abang market area in Central Jakarta on Monday
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New look: A recent view of the Tanah Abang market area in Central Jakarta on Monday. The area is usually swarming with vendors selling all kinds of merchandise on the road. The city administration is relocating the street vendors to the marketâs Block G. (JP/P.J. Leo) (JP/P.J. Leo)
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span class="inline inline-none">New look: A recent view of the Tanah Abang market area in Central Jakarta on Monday. The area is usually swarming with vendors selling all kinds of merchandise on the road. The city administration is relocating the street vendors to the market's Block G. (JP/P.J. Leo)
The carrot-and-stick approach, in dealing with Jakarta administration's civil servants, resulted in better attendance on the first day back at work on Monday after the long Idul Fitri holiday.
Jakarta Employment Agency supervision division head Slamet said the rise in attendance was due to harsh sanctions promised by the administration and an increase in allowance for the civil servants.
'Discipline among civil servants [after Idul Fitri] is better. Only one worker is absent this year,' he said at City Hall on Monday.
Data from the agency shows that out of 73,289 Jakarta civil servants, 98 called in sick, 57 took leave, 688 had booked a day off and one was absent without official leave. Meanwhile, 36,802 others are not due back in until next week.
The administration estimated that this year more than 9.7 million people left the city to celebrate Idul Fitri with their families.
Last year, 1,393 civil servants did not show up on the first day after the Idul Fitri holidays. Data shows that 280 civil servants called in sick, 165 took leave, 938 took a day off and 10 were absent without leave.
The figures in 2012 were worse than 2011, when 565 city employees skipped work for various reasons after Idul Fitri.
Meanwhile, workers from private companies did not seem in a rush to return to work, as the city's main thoroughfares were relatively clear from the usual gridlock. Motorists on Monday enjoyed smooth traffic along Jl. Sudirman and Jl. MH Thamrin, which are the two busiest roads in the city.
Slamet said that the majority of employees absent on the first day back were lower ranking staff, as Echelon II and III officials were not allowed to extend their Idul Fitri leave and those that were sick had to submit a medical certificate stating their illness.
Slamet added that civil servants with no official leave would receive a penalty under the 2010 Government Regulation on civil servant discipline, ranging from a reprimand letter to dismissal and a cut in allowance under the 2012 Gubernatorial Regulation on allowance.
'Every punishment will affect their career,' he said.
Meanwhile, in Depok, Mayor Nur Mahmudi Ismail said all of the city's public services had been operational as of Monday and no civil servants were absent on that day. However, many were late and failed to attend the morning assembly.
After the assembly, Nur inspected the Tapos District office and the Cimanggis Community Health Center (Puskesmas) and praised the improvement in attendance from last year.
'Most civil servants attended the assembly and have returned to work. This shows a commitment and responsibility to perform their jobs as public servants,' he said.
Nur added that the administration had given permission to workers to bring their children to office if their housemaids or nannies had not yet returned.
'As long as it doesn't disturb their work, we give them permission to bring their kids to work this week,' the mayor said.
