UGM Chancellor, Prof. Ir. Panut Mulyono, M. Eng., D. Eng., IPU., ASEAN Eng., issued the Circular Letter No. 1606 / UN1.P / HKL / TR / 2020 concerning Covid-19 Emergency Response at UGM on Monday (3/16). This Circular (SE) responds to the widespread of the Covid-19 outbreak occurred in various countries, the statement of the pandemic status by WHO, the condition of its spread in the DIY, and surrounding areas.
“UGM has set the alert status and made an emergency response to the handling of Covid-19,” Panut said.
In line with the circular, the Chancellor asked all UGM academics to remain calm and not panic, minimize outdoor activities, and avoid crowds. At the moment, the Chancellor emphasized that until now, there were no staff, students, or UGM educators who were positively affected by Covid-19.
“This is the Hoax that we must fight together,” said the Chancellor.
Work from Home (WfH)
Meanwhile, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) also opened opportunities for UGM employees to work from their homes. This new policy contained in Circular of Chancellor No.2428 / UN1.PIV / SDM / AP / 2020 dated March 15, 2020, concerning Work Guidelines from Home Regarding the Follow-Up Prevention of Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) in Universitas Gadjah Mada.
“This policy considered as a precautionary step to prevent, reduce displacement, and protect UGM employees from the risk of COVID-19 by reducing interaction between employees on campus without reducing the right to work performance,” said Iva Ariani as the Head of Public Relations and Protocol of UGM.
Iva explained that through this circular, it provides Work from Home (WfH) guidelines for UGM staff as one of the preventive efforts of COVID-19 infection within UGM. Besides, to carry out the duties and functions, UGM’s services continue to run effectively and efficiently.
Within the circular, there are three main points of WfH. The first point relates to the approval of employee participation in the office. The unit leaders of Faculty/ School/Work Unit, echelon II, echelon III, and echelon IV structural officials keep carrying out their duties with new policies regarding Covid-19 spread. The procedures are applying a complete meeting, alternating, or picket system following organizational and developmental needs unless there are indications that officials are experiencing health problems or other issues.
The arrangements for implementing attendance for employees in work units released by the consideration of COVID-19 maps distribution issued by the central or regional government. The consideration review includes the type of work carried out by employees, the age of employees, the current domicile of employees, modes of transportation used to the office, travel time for the employee to office, physical condition, and employee health condition. Besides, it also considers the availability of WfH support facilities in employee residences such as computers, internet networks, and other devices. Then, the rest considerations include the history of domestic and foreign travel of employees in the last 14 days, the minimum effectiveness of the duties and service units based on the work unit services, and a record check of family members who suspect/probable/confirmed contracted Covid-19.
“For employees whose type of work is not able to do the WfH, they need to continue working in the office by observing the protocol of preparedness and prudence following the SE of the UGM Chancellor on March 14, 2020. If there is a lockdown policy from the central government or regional government, there will be handling procedures carried out by more applicable regulations,” said Iva.
Next, in the second point, there are requirements for WfH. Employees who do the WfH assignment carry out their duties based on the duration of working hours UGM. They also must stay at their home and always activate communication tools to support the coordination of work completion. Besides, employees with the WfH assignment are responsible for carrying out work as in the work plan agreed with the direct supervisor. They also need to report the work immediately no later than the end of each period and taking notes of every task carried out through the employee portal: hris.simaster.ugm.ac.id.
“If the completion of work is very urgent and needs coordination in the office, employees with the WfH assignment can any time attend the office by considering the current situation,” Iva explained.
On the third point, regulate attendance recording. For employees who continue to work in the office, the attendance record suggested taken through the GPS presence system. If you cannot use the GPS presence, you can do the manual presence, not with a fingerprint machine, while employees with the WfH assignment needs to claim their presence mechanism in attendance records every weekend.
In the circular, the appeal also conveyed to every employee who had illnesses such as coughs/colds/fever and or had a history of interaction with parties / the environment affected by COVID-19 required to report to the direct supervisor and contact the UGM COVID-19 Task Force and or conduct self-quarantine.
This WfH policy is a form of concern to the UGM Chancellor Circular Letter No. 604 / UNI.P / HKL / TR / 2020 dated March 14, 2020, concerning Preparedness and Prevention of COVID-19 Dissemination within UGM. The circular contained several policies, including the application of online lectures starting on Monday (3/16), delaying various activities involving more than 50 people, as well as limiting domestic and foreign mobility for UGM academicians.
Author: Ika
Photo: Firsto
Translator: Natasa A
Download Circular Letter from the following link:
https://simpan.ugm.ac.id/s/DO8AYMuGgvoT1Y0.