Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Workers to have 4 extra days off next year




Dina Indrasafitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 06/16/2010 10:09 AM | National
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Employees will have four extra holidays in addition to the 14 official national holidays next year, the government announced Tuesday.

The three extra holidays will be in between Idul Fitri (the Islamic holiday after the fasting month) and the subsequent weekend and another day between Christmas and the subsequent weekend.

Next year, the Idul Fitri holidays fall on Tuesday Aug. 30 and Wednesday Aug. 31. Rather than giving workers one day off before the weekend, the government added one more day, making it a week-long holiday.

“It is assumed employees will not go to work on Friday Sept. 2,” Coordinating Public Welfare Minister Agung Laksono said after witnessing the signing of the ministerial joint decree on the 2011 holidays.

The decree was signed by Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali, Administrative Reforms Minister E.E Mangindaan and a representative from the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry.

Scheduling more holidays is expected to improve efficiency and effectiveness during working days, the document said.

The number of extra holidays had decreased gradually from six days in 2007 to three days this year.
“The joint decree was made with certain considerations, such as the need to improve the efficiency and effectiveness in utilizing the working days, input from the public, and an evaluation of previous extra holiday policy. These all contribute to aspects such as the number of domestic tourists,” Agung said.

The extra holidays are considered part of employees’ regular leave.

Culture and Tourism Ministry Director of Domestic Promotion Fathul Bahri said extra days off had a significant effect on the number of domestic tourists.

“The key [to boosting local tourism] is to make the most holidays such as [Idul Fitri], New Year, school holidays and holidays that are close to weekends,” he told The Jakarta Post.

Fathul added that in 2009, the number of local tourists reached 227 million. This year, the ministry is aiming for 231 million.

Culture and Tourism Ministry Director of Domestic Promotion Fathul Bahri said extra days off had a significant effect on the number of domestic tourists.

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