Yusfiqun, 68, together with 10 others, sweeps the Taman Ketupat mini park in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, in the scorching afternoon and collects dry leaves into a sack.

'€œI am really happy to finally have a job after being unemployed for two years. Moreover, I don'€™t need to go far from home,'€ the man, who lives in the area, said proudly.

Yusfiqun is one of around 14,000 contract workers hired by the city administration under a recently issued gubernatorial decree with the aim of expediting minor works around the city. Beginning in June, they have been assigned to do various minor physical work, such as sanitation and road repair, throughout the city under the supervision of subdistrict heads.

Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama issued Gubernatorial Regulation No. 168/2015 on public infrastructure and facility management in May to legalize the recruitment of contract workers.

Tanjung Priok subdistrict head Ma'€™mun, who took office in January, said he was happy with the 70 contract workers assigned to his area because they were very helpful in handling sanitation matters more quickly.

'€œThey work very well and we monitor them intensively. Previously, I had to call the Sanitation Agency to solve such minor matters, but [the agency] took a long time to respond. Now, I just need to call the workers,'€ Ma'€™mun told The Jakarta Post recently.

Irianto, a 58-year-old resident of the subdistrict, said the environment around his house has become more comfortable, cleaner and neater, thanks to work of the contract workers. '€œNo more clogged waterways. It'€™s good to prevent flooding on rainy days,'€ he said.

Rambutan subdistrict in East Jakarta has received 64 contract workers with ages ranging from 18 to 50 years. Among them is 22-year-old Prabowo, a third-year information management student at the Bina Sarana Informatika college in Depok.

'€œI just want to get more experience. Besides, residents [in the subdistrict] are less concerned with the environment,'€ he said.

Concern about the environment also encouraged 22-year-old Aris Setiawan to apply for the job, leaving his previous job as a cashier at a nearby minimarket.

Rambutan subdistrict head Ruslan Rahim said that he was impressed with the spirit of young people in his area, as they had a high sense of belonging to their own environment.

'€œAt the interview for their recruitment, I asked them several times whether they would feel ashamed if, for example, their girlfriends found them sweeping roads, cleaning waterways or hauling trash while they were wearing cleaning service uniforms. They firmly said '€˜no'€™,'€ Ruslan said.

All the contract workers work in shifts from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. They receive salaries at the regional minimum wage level of Rp 2.7 million (US$205) through Bank DKI ATMs.

According to the gubernatorial regulation, the contract workers must have Jakarta ID cards and live in the district where they apply for the work.

However, the fact is different in East Kelapa Gading subdistrict, North Jakarta. The subdistrict'€™s facility and sanitation head, Endang Asmawati, said that only 50 percent of the 70 contract workers lived in her territory because most residents of the housing complex built by giant developer Summarecon Agung belonged to the middle and upper classes.

'€œAlmost half of the contract workers come from Pegangsaan subdistrict. I think it'€™s fair. We lack applicants while Pegangsaan is over-supplied with applicants,'€ Endang said.

She said that anyone could apply as long as they were Jakarta residents. (foy)

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