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Delay of start date for civil servant recruits met with protests
Frustration over the government’s decision to postpone the employment start date for some 1.2 million newly recruited state workers has spilled over onto the streets, with scores of recruits staging protests in several cities demanding accountability for months of lost income and financial setbacks.
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In this undated file photo, Job seekers wait for their turn to get a police letter that shows they have no criminal record, which is required to apply for civil service jobs, in Bogor, West Java. (Antara/Yulius Satria Wijaya)
F
rustration over the government’s decision to postpone the employment start date for some 1.2 million newly recruited state workers has spilled over onto the streets, with scores of recruits staging protests in several cities demanding accountability for months of lost income and financial setbacks.
Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Minister Rini Widyantini previously announced the controversial decision following a meeting with lawmakers last week, saying that the newly recruited civil servants (CASN) and government contract employees (PPPK) will only begin their work in October of this year and March next year.
The original plan was for the 248,000 people who passed the test in last year’s ASN recruitment drive to be initiated and start work either by February or March this year, with over 1 million PPPK workers, also from last year’s recruitment drive, following suit in March or July.
But with a majority of the recruited workers having already resigned from their previous jobs by the time Rini announced the new employment start dates, they are now contending with the prospect of having no income for months.
To this end, recruits in several locations in Southeast Sulawesi, Riau, West Kalimantan and West Nusa Tenggara stormed their provinces’ respective legislative council buildings, venting their frustration while also demanding the government revoke the postponement of their start dates.
In Jakarta, there were also calls for demonstrations to be held in front of the House of Representatives complex, the Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Ministry office and the State Palace, prompting the Jakarta Police to deploy close to 900 personnel to these locations.
Indonesian social media platforms have also been filled with posts with the hashtag #SaveCASN over the weekend. Meanwhile, an online campaign on popular petition website change.org demanding that the recruited state employees start work as soon as possible has garnered close to 75,000 signatures.
