Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala: The state government employees’ organisations have reached a broad consensus on a proposal to reduce the number of working days in offices to five a week. However, union representatives have made it clear that they will not accept any reduction in public holidays or casual leave.

The views were conveyed during an online meeting between the Chief Secretary and representatives of government employees’ organisations.

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The service organisations said that, in principle, they have agreed to the proposal to cut the number of working days in state government offices from six to five a week. Furthermore, they have also agreed to an increase in daily working hours.

During the meeting, it was suggested that the loss of two weekly holidays could be compensated for by extending working hours on the remaining days. At the same time, the organisations opposed any move to curtail leave in order to declare Saturdays as holidays.

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The Chief Secretary informed the meeting that the government’s decision on the demands raised by the representatives would be communicated in the coming days.

It is being assessed that reducing the number of working days from six to five a week could bring financial benefits to the government, mainly by cutting administrative expenses. At present, the total weekly working time stands at 42 hours.