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Weekend Extension Unlikely

Weekend Extension Unlikely
Weekend Extension Unlikely

The Majlis is unlikely to favor proposals put forth by the government to extend the official weekend to two days, said an MP.  

Abbas Salahi, a member of the Majlis social commission also criticized official efforts to formulate a plan to reduce the six-day working week to five, ICANA news agency (affiliated to parliament) reported.

Stating that any measure to extend the one-day weekend to two days will not be “feasible”, the lawmaker pointed out that the level of employee productivity in most government departments “is already low.”  Increasing the week-end will further reduce efficiency, he noted.

Reduction of working hours will severely harm the economy with the loss of several manhours, he said, adding that the official weekend in Iran (Fridays) itself interrupts the process of doing business with other countries, where the weekend falls on other days.

“Should we extend our holidays to include Thursdays, trade will face greater problems.”

The lawmaker also criticized the number of official holidays in the country, saying that the figure is “too high.”

  Not Rational

The judicial and legal committee  of parliament had previously suggested reducing official holidays by eliminating Oil Nationalization Day (March 20) and Tasu’a (the ninth day of the lunar month of Muharram) from the list of official holidays, “which has been suspended now,” for reasons he did not mention.  

The parliament also sees no reason for declaring a day that falls between two official holidays as a holiday. Due to the already high number of holidays such an action will not be rational.

The government reportedly is said to be preparing a plan for declaring Tuesdays a holiday, in a bid to reduce air pollution as well as traffic congestion.

The parliament does not believe increasing the number of holidays will have any influence on these issues, the lawmaker added.

 

Financialtribune.com