PETALING JAYA: The Public Service Department’s (PSD) latest Work From Home (WFH) policy has come under fire from civil servants for requiring them to own a mobile phone or a computer device but without any allowance to subsidise their costs.
Cuepacs is also furious that the policy, which came into effect on Jan 1, specifically says they will not be paid any allowance for internet and electricity.
“Civil servants have had to pay higher utility bills when working from home during the various movement control orders (MCO).
“It is also ridiculous for PSD to warn civil servants on secrecy breaches and ask them not to share their devices for both personal and work use when most of them have only one device,” Cuepacs secretary-general Abdul Rahman Mohd Nordin told FMT.
He said this is why the movement had always asked PSD to consult them before drawing up policies and issuing circulars.
In fact, Cuepacs had conveyed its views to the government on this when most of its members had to work from home during the MCO and CMCO, he added.
He said with talk of the possibility of another MCO, most civil servants will be required to work from home and would have to abide by the new directive.
Rahman added that the requirements were the same for officers who requested to work from home or were directed to do so by the heads.
The circular, signed by PSD director-general Mohd Khairul Adib Abd Rahman, specifies that officers were not only required to own a smartphone but also have a reliable and easily accessible internet connection at home.
Besides the warning not to divulge any government document to the public, it bars them from using public WiFi systems for office work as it fears security breaches.
Civil servants are also not eligible for any overtime work during the period but it will be considered if the circumstances required them to work outside home.
Departments have also been told to install online systems to keep tabs on the staff working from home by getting them to sign in and out, and also keep a log of their daily output.
Rahman said Cuepacs was upset that only officers from grade 44 and above were entitled to phone allowances while the others, who made up 70% of the total government workforce, did not receive anything.
“Working from home requires us to use quite a bit of internet data. Many civil servants are on the minimum cost or prepaid packages. We should be given free phones too if they want us to work from home.
“It is not the case of staff preferring to work from home. If they are not forced to do so because of the MCO, some have to be home to care for their children when schools are closed. But the point is they work for the government,” he said.
On a related matter, Rahman urged the government to replace desktop computers with laptops as the concept of WFH catches on because of various reasons, adding that this will contribute towards efficiency in the long run. - FMT
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