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Judicial Commission adopts WFH for budget efficiency
The judicial body, which monitors the country's courts and judges, has instituted a once weekly WFH policy as part of its cost-cutting measures to comply with the government's sweeping efficiency policy.
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High-rise window cleaners polish the facade of the Judicial Commission on March 21, 2024, in Senen, Central Jakarta. (Shutterstock/idham djuanda)
T
he Judicial Commission introduced on Feb. 14 a work from home (WFH) policy for its employees in an effort to cut costs amid President Prabowo Subianto’s budget efficiency drive across various government institutions, both central and regional.
“We are ordering our employees to work remotely once a week, starting today, as part of our cost-saving measures [...]to reduce electricity consumption,” Judicial Commission secretary-general Arie Sudihar said on Friday, as quoted by Antara.
He added that the commission would evaluate the policy every month.
The Judicial Commission was originally allocated Rp 184 billion (US$11.3 million) for this year, which was then cut to Rp 100 billion initially. During a subsequent “reconstruction” between the House of Representatives and targeted institutions to reformulate the reduction amount, the commission’s budget was reduced by Rp 74.7 billion for a final budget of Rp 109.3 billion.
The reformulated amount was calculated in response to a request for a less severe reduction from the commission, which said the initial cut would impact public services and ethics supervision at the country’s courts.
Prior to the reformulation, Judicial Commission head Amzulian Rifai said the institution could only pay employees’ salaries until October. He also criticized the efficiency plan for disrupting the commission’s operations in monitoring the judiciary, including courts and judgets.
Read also: Legality of Prabowo’s budget cuts in doubt
At a meeting with House Commission III overseeing legal affairs on Wednesday, Judicial Commission deputy head Siti Nurdjanah said it had taken several measures to lower costs, including by cutting overheads.
These included reducing electricity and water bills as well as rental costs at its regional offices, restricting the use of official vehicles and lowering fees for workers, she said.
A presidential instruction that Prabowo signed on Jan. 23 mandates ministers, agency heads and regional leaders to cut spending from their 2025 budgets to raise a combined total of Rp 306 trillion.
This fund is intended to be reallocated to financing the President’s flagship free nutritious meal program and other costly initiatives.
The government’s sweeping budget efficiency program aims to raise Rp 256 trillion from ministries and agencies and another Rp 50 trillion from disbursements to regional administrations.
