Jakarta Governor Ahok (Basuki Tjahaja Purnama)
Having oftimes praised Governor Ahok and his predecessor Jokowi (now President of Indonesia!) for their crackling campaigns against slothful apparatchiks in ‘public service’ here, I now find myself in agreement with him on the need to be fair as well as firm.
He said this week that plans to dock employees wages if they are just ONE MINUTE late for work was ‘a bit much’ and ‘ridiculously harsh.‘
http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/jakarta/basuki-vows-review-proposal-sanctioning-tardy-civil-servants/
His criticism came after his head of Inspectorate, Lasro Marbun, said salaries would be cut by Rp 500,000 ($40) for every minute they were late for work.
Even if the TransJakarta Busway ( which Ahok wants us all to use) were managed properly, a minute would be unreasonable cause for such a penalty.
But as ever, this week, when I went to catch a bus into town, I found the same old convoy nonsense, long gaps between buses then three, or even four, steaming up together.
—
—
Who on earth monitors this situation?
And of course we still see interloping cars and bikes invading the bus-lane which is ordained as exclusive for TJ vehicles.
Quite apart from that, it is a given that if I want to be on time for one of my frequent social jaunts into the city centre, I calculate how long it should reasonably take and leave an hour before that time demands.
I don’t like to be late – it’s the height of discourtesy. And that goes for my partying as it used to go for my work, when I had to do that daily. One doesn’t always look forward to a day’s toil, but it’s what one is paid for.
–
Jakarta’s Olympic-class jams!
–
But despite my best endeavours, I still sometimes reach my destination late, and that’s not usually in the morning rush-hour, which I do all in my power to avoid!
These poor staffers, not all, or even most of whom, surely, are slackers, must contend with that horror, and the stress of day-break commuting is bad enough, without a huge financial penalty hanging over their heads if they’re ONE MINUTE late!
=
Lasro
=
Equally, Lasro’s suggestion of “collective sanctions!”
“If even one member of an SKPD [regional work unit] commits a violation, the entire unit will be sanctioned collectively, with a 10 percent salary cut.”
That is just not fair. If somebody is a no-gooder, sack him, cancel pension rights, prosecute if appropriate. Don’t go after his – or her – colleagues.
Lasro’s heart is in the right place, but Ahok is better advised to continue the Jokowi tradition of lightning raids, showing up un-announced at all hours of the working day, and see who is actually WORKING, or indeed present!
There are a lot of lazy hounds in local government here- as back in the West.
———–
Labour/trades unions in Western countries have POTS of money, and should be told to pick up the tab for these yak-fests.
But back to Jakarta – picking on the innocent as well as the guilty is NOT the best way to deal with the laggards. Instal CCTV in the local offices, with a permanent HQ view on what’s afoot – then the hand-phone chatting and I-Pod playing would wither away.
Oh yeah, and BTW – stop the extended lunch breaks on Fridays.
Praying does not take 120 minutes. They can scoff a take-away en route to or from the mushollah.
Or have a snack at their desks while filling in the forms.
Or just postpone guzzling till their next break – no normal adult in good health NEEDS to eat three times a day.
I understand that Friday prayers are important to some people. If so, they shouldn’t mind a tiny bit of self-sacrifice to engage in them.
Police officers don’t stop in mid-chase of crims, so neither should other public servants expect time off their salaried duties for personal devotions. This is not an Islamic state.
Like this:
Like Loading...
rossrightangle 
Reply