Government Employees Likely to Have 3rd Sat & Not 2nd Sat OFF this Month
Mangaluru: The State government is contemplating to declare THIRD Saturday a holiday for its employees instead of usual SECOND Saturday during this October month. However, this arrangement will be only for this month, (October).
The logic behind this is- Since holidays for Ayudha Pooja and Vijayadashami are falling on 18 October and 10 October respectively, and since 21 October is a Sunday-it is usually seen that many employees tend to take leave on the intervening Saturday (20 Oct) . Instead, 20 October will be declared a Holiday, and employees will be asked to work on Second Saturday, 13 October!
Second Saturday 13 October WORKING DAY for Govt Employees
Sources in the Chief Minister office have informed media that the move is a result of the suggestion made by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy. As per sources, The department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR) is likely tom issue official orders in couple of days. This month, out of 31 days, 10 days are holidays for government employees — 4 Sundays, Gandhi Jayanti, Mahalaya Amavasya (October 8), second Saturday, Ayudha Pooja-Vijayadashami (October 18, 19) and Valmiki Jayanti (October 24).
Speaking to media, Srikanth, the secretary of Karnataka State Government Employees Association, said if they are changing the off from second Saturday to third Saturday only for this month, they are ready to co-operate. “If this is for administrative purpose, it will help the public. We will work on second Saturday and take off on the 20th,’’ he said.
Third Saturday 20 October Holiday for Government Employees
The concept of a holiday on second Saturdays was started in 1986 when Ramakrishna Hegde was the Chief Minister. If the move of not giving holiday on a second Saturday is implemented, Kumaraswamy will be the first CM to break the tradition, albeit as a one-time move, after more than three decades. Recently, Social Welfare Minister Priyank Kharge had written to Kumaraswamy urging him to implement a five-day working week for the state government employees. This was recommended by the sixth Pay Commission. “We welcome this. There are holidays, especially the “Jayanthis” (birth anniversaries of important persons), which we do not need.
Let the government cancel them and give us Saturday and Sunday off. We are okay with working additional one hour every day, if we get off on all Saturdays. But unfortunately, political leaders who largely depend on caste do not want to cancel the holiday on the ‘Jayanthis’ of their religious heads,’’ a member of the state government employees’ association said.
Source: Indian Express
