Mimika, Banyumas disappoint over allowance payment (19 Nov 2008)

 

The Jakarta Post, Timika, Banyumas

Markus Makur and Agus Maryono

 

Mimika regency in Papua has been at a stand still since Monday, as local civil servants went on strike, demanding the immediate payment of a local allowance. Offices and schools across the regency have closed.

 

A rally was held Tuesday at the Eme Neme Yauware administration building where the employees demanded the regency administration pay their performance allowance. The workers were forced to change locations, after they were prevented from staging a march to the Mimika regency legislative council.

 

The allowance is paid from Papua's special autonomy fund as a supplement to the nationally set base salary.

 

At the rally, members of the regency administration, including finance bureau head Sherly Rumenta, Mimika Secretary Wilhelmus Haurissa met the protesters -- yet they could not appease the employees' demands.

 

In addition to demanding immediate payment of the allowance, the employees also threatened to strike for the whole week or until the allowance is paid.

 

Maxi Kelangame, who has been coordinating the employees actions, told the rally that all civil servants had to fight for their rights and those not joining the rally would be noted as those who wanted results without fighting for them.

 

"Today's strike is held purely to demand our rights as civil servants. The funds intended for us have never come," he said.

 

"We must also have an audit to determine where the funds have gone."

 

Kelangame also demanded that the Mimika budget team, chaired by Wilhelmus, be disbanded and all office heads in Mimika regency administration be replaced for allegedly holding the allowance payment.

 

Meanwhile, Wilhelmus said that the demands would be dispatched to Acting Regent Athanasius Allo Raffra, who was currently in Papua's provincial capital of Jayapura.

 

An employee in the Mimika Port Master's Office, Eli Gedi, said the administration should pay the allowance so that civil servants could resume their duties.

 

"I hope it will not take the regency administration too long to pay the allowance," he said.

 

Meanwhile, teachers in Banyumas regency, Central Java, are feeling 'cheated', as they have not received their functional allowance since 2007.

 

"We are being treated unfairly by the regency administration, which says there is no money for our allowance," teacher Junedi told The Jakarta Post recently.

 

"If so, then why can regency councilors make all kinds of trips?"

 

Junedi said it would be understandable if the payment -- due to some 9,000 teachers -- was late by one or two months, but not by two years.

 

"This is simply outrageous," he said.

 

The functional allowance is an additional payment awarded at the discretion of the regency administration. The payment has been postponed because of a delay in passing the regency budget, Banyumas Education Agency head Purwadi said.

 

"The functional allowance is paid using funds from the regency budget but there have been delays in passing the budget while we're awaiting changes in the administration's structure," he told the Post.

 

"We have allocated Rp 23 billion (US$190,000), which will be paid in December."

 

Depending on their grades, teachers get an allowance of Rp 39,000 to Rp 120,000.