Observers said that reducing millions of honorary workers to become Government Employees with Work Agreements (PPPK) with a very short deadline of one year was too hasty and vulnerable to deviation.
This is because the data regarding honorary staff throughout Indonesia is so bad that “people entrusted” by officials could escape whitewashing.
Head of the ASN Needs Planning Center at the State Civil Service Agency (BKN), Aidu Tauhid, said that his party is currently processing data on 2.3 million honorary workers to assess which ones meet the requirements to become PPPK or CPNS.
From there, a ranking will be carried out to determine who will be appointed as part-time and full-time PPPK.
Meanwhile, an honorary worker who has worked for 11 years hopes that the government will prioritize those who have served for a long time to be appointed as employees.
‘We hope that the appointment will favor those who have served a long time’
The government’s latest policy which will turn millions of honorary workers into employees makes Iwan Sahir worried.
This honorary teacher at a public high school in West Java admitted that he was not yet certain whether with the enactment of the 2023 ASN Law, all honorary staff would be immediately appointed as employees or would have to go through selection.
As an honorary teacher who has served for 11 years, he is always eliminated every time he takes the Civil Servant (PNS) or Government Employee with a Work Agreement (PPPK) test.
The reason is because the age does not meet the requirements: less than 35 years and does not have teacher certification so it is not a priority.
“Friends [of honorary teachers] are very worried if they are not appointed as ASN. They have served for a long time, but they are no longer young,” said Iwan Sahir to journalist Yuli Saputra who reported for BBC News Indonesia, Sunday (05/11).
To take part in teacher certification, honorary staff like Iwan must have an Educator and Education Personnel Identification Number (NUPTK).
For dozens of years, he tried to get that number, but the officer’s answer was always the same: “it’s difficult.”
As a result, Iwan always loses every time there is a PPPK selection and a call for Professional Teacher Education (PPG).
But beyond the formal requirements, Iwan admits that he has sufficient qualifications. This Indramayu resident holds a master’s degree in education.
That’s why he stayed for 11 years as an honorary teacher and received a low salary of IDR 3 million per month. Because he hopes that one day he will be appointed as an ASN teacher.
“Hopefully in the future, we want the appointment of non-ASN teachers to really be in favor of those of us who have served for a long time. Hopefully all honorary teachers in West Java can be appointed [to become ASN],” hoped Iwan, adding that the number of honorary high school teachers was equivalent. in West Java around 27,000 people.
Observers ask government to be careful of ‘intruders’
State administration expert from the University of Indonesia, Dian Puji Simatupang, warned the government to properly monitor the process of whitewashing millions of honorary workers.
Because there is a possibility that the verification process will be infiltrated by “persons entrusted” by officials. Moreover, data on honorary staff in the regions, he said, is very poor and often they are not registered with the State Civil Service Agency (BKN).
“The data on honorary staff throughout Indonesia is different, BKN says that but it’s different in regional governments. If it’s like this, it’s complicated, I’m worried that there will be intruders coming in,” said Dian Puji Simatupang to BBC News Indonesia, Sunday (05/11).
“For example, whose supporters can qualify. In fact, this arrangement of honorary staff is really aimed at people who have not been appointed as permanent employees for decades. This concern must be closely monitored,” he continued.
Dian Puji also said that the very short deadline of December 2024 for the arrangement of honorary staff was not enough.
For the process of equalizing the data on honorary staff in the regional government with that of the central government alone, said Dian, it will take at least two years.
If he is in a hurry, he is worried that honorary workers who have the right to be appointed as employees will be eliminated.
“Those who have worked the longest must take priority, because they want to retire. That’s all the data has not been consolidated. Meanwhile, the number of appointments is definitely limited.”
That’s why Dian Puji asked that the process of structuring honorary staff, namely verification and validation, not be carried out by just one party.
The aim is to have multiple layers of supervision to prevent the entry of “entrusted people”.
For example, the validation process is carried out by the Ministry of Home Affairs, then the verification is carried out by the State Civil Service Agency, and the validation is carried out by the Ministry of State Apparatus Empowerment-Bureaucratic Reform.
As for selection, according to Dian Puji, there are two ways: general and specific.
General means referring to academic requirements and is specifically seen from his work record while being an honorary staff member.
“For example, does he always teach or never miss class? You can check that.”
“So it’s not a test like entering CPNS, because they have worked for decades with minimal salaries…”
‘There still has to be a selection test’
However, government observer from Gadjah Mada University, Bayu Dardias Kurniadi, believes that the selection test should still be implemented.
He referred to the bleaching of honorary staff during the Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) administration, which without tests, caused the quality of civil servants or ASN to plummet.
Which ultimately affects the effectiveness of the bureaucracy in Indonesia.
“Their competency must be tested again. Not everyone can become an ASN if their competency does not match what is required,” said Bayu Dardias Kurniadi to BBC News Indonesia.
“Because from the start the honorary staff was entrusted to them, so they don’t have competence.”
He also said that while the arrangement of honorary staff is taking place, the central government must be able to ensure that regional governments do not open up space by adding new honorary staff.
If not, then this will be an opportunity for “entrusted people” to become honorary staff.
This cycle, he said, has been going on for 20 years and has never been resolved.
“That’s why the current ASN Law is different, there are sanctions for government agencies that appoint non-ASN employees. In the SBY era, there were no sanctions.”
Article 65 paragraph 1 of the latest ASN Law states that civil service development officials are prohibited from appointing non-ASN employees to fill ASN positions.
This also applies to other officials in government agencies who appoint non-ASN employees. If you violate it, you will be subject to sanctions in accordance with the provisions of statutory regulations, reads article 65 paragraph 3.
Honorary workers become part-time PPPK?
The latest data for 2023 collected by the State Civil Service Agency (BKN) shows that the number of honorary workers in Indonesia is 2.3 million employees.
After ratifying the ASN Law in the DPR on Tuesday (03/11), the Minister for Administrative Reform and Bureaucratic Reform (MenPANRB), Abdullah Azwar Anas, confirmed that there would be no mass layoffs of honorary staff after the new regulation was passed.
“Regarding honorary staff, there will be no mass layoffs. There will be no reduction in income from what non-ASN currently receive. Third, it will not cause a significant additional fiscal burden,” said Anas.
In the future, the arrangement of honorary staff will be carried out through two channels: part-time PPPK and full-time PPPK.
Assistant Deputy for Management and HR Capacity Building for KemenPAN-RB Apparatus, Agus Yudi Wicaksono, said that the 2.3 million honorary workers currently registered will be included in a platform.
Then their performance will be checked to see whether they pass the validation process.
“Those who qualify will be ranked as to who is the best. The hope is that they can compete to see who is the best this year so that next year they will be appointed as full-time PPPK,” explained Agus Yudi at an event entitled Structuring ASN Management in Jakarta, Monday (06/11).
UI state administration observer, Dian Puji Simatupang, agreed that teaching staff and health workers should be prioritized to be appointed as full-time PPPK.
“Because they provide full-time service,” he said.
“Unlike honorary workers such as cleaners, you don’t need to be appointed as an employee, just outsourced to the company, that’s what makes the budget swell.”
“In developed countries there are no employee cleaners, they outsource everything.”
For your information, there are at least 12 types of honorary staff working in government agencies, including cleaners, security officers, drivers, tax collector field workers, terminal guards, sluice gate guards and computer operators.
There are also teachers, health workers, agricultural/fisheries/animal husbandry instructors.
But more than that, Dian hopes that the passing of the ASN Law will not be used as an arena for political interests ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
“It’s reasonable to suspect that this direction [the 2024 election] is going because where was it before? No one cared, even though it should have been sorted out in 2019.”
What are the points of the new ASN Law?
Assistant Deputy for Management and HR Capacity Building for KemenPAN-RB Apparatus, Agus Yudi Wicaksono, Law number 20 of 2023 concerning State Civil Apparatus (ASN) replaces the old regulations.
Discussion of this law has been going on for three years and is an initiative of the DPR.
Several important points in this regulation include the provision that salaries will be greater than incentives.
That way, he said, ASNs would no longer worry when entering retirement.
“Now that ASN are prosperous while working, they are anxious about retiring, so many are switching to main functional positions to extend their retirement.”
Article 21 states that PPPK employees have the right to receive reward and recognition components as ASN employees consisting of income or salary, financial and/or non-financial awards, allowances, position facilities, social security consisting of health insurance, work accidents, death, pension guarantees. , and old age security.
Specifically, old age insurance will be paid after PPPK employees stop working.
PPPK employees are also said to have the right to self-development in the form of careers and/or competencies. PPPK employees also receive legal assistance in the form of litigation and/or non-litigation if they are involved in a case.
Source: BBC
