- News>
- States
NCP demands cut down on holidays in state
Shillong, July 02: Opposition Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) today urged the Meghalaya government to declare Saturday as a working day to increase the number of man hours and the government assured to look into the matter.
Shillong, July 02: Opposition Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) today urged the Meghalaya government to declare Saturday as a working day to increase the number of man hours and the government assured to look into the matter.
NCP's Timothy D Shira moved a motion on "urgent need for
addressing the question of rationalising the government
holidays with a view to optimum utilisation of man hour in
government offices."
The NCP member contended that by calculating the number of Saturdays, Sundays and other leaves, it has been noticed that state employees got 127 days working days in the 365 days of year.
Shira said the E K Mawlong government in 1999 declared Saturday as a holiday, "ostensibly to break the work monotony of the employees and infuse a new spirit of work culture at the beginning of week." But despite getting so many holidays and leaves, "the work culture of employees was not satisfactory," he said.
Supporting him, Ardhendu Chaudhuri (NCP) said the problem of excessive holidays was not only confined in Meghalaya but in other states also. He urged the government to show an example by changing the practice and declare Saturday as a working day. By such step, Chaudhuri claimed, the numbers of working day could be increased to about 200 from the present figure of "a little above 150".
Chief Minister D D Lapang said the intention of declaring Saturday as working day was to give time to the employees who did not get enough scope to spend with their family, on weekends.
But if work culture did not improve satisfactorily and absentism continued on Mondays, the government would look into the issue again, Lapang asserted.
General administration minister H D R Lyngdoh said the government reduced the number of holidays this year.
The NCP member contended that by calculating the number of Saturdays, Sundays and other leaves, it has been noticed that state employees got 127 days working days in the 365 days of year.
Shira said the E K Mawlong government in 1999 declared Saturday as a holiday, "ostensibly to break the work monotony of the employees and infuse a new spirit of work culture at the beginning of week." But despite getting so many holidays and leaves, "the work culture of employees was not satisfactory," he said.
Supporting him, Ardhendu Chaudhuri (NCP) said the problem of excessive holidays was not only confined in Meghalaya but in other states also. He urged the government to show an example by changing the practice and declare Saturday as a working day. By such step, Chaudhuri claimed, the numbers of working day could be increased to about 200 from the present figure of "a little above 150".
Chief Minister D D Lapang said the intention of declaring Saturday as working day was to give time to the employees who did not get enough scope to spend with their family, on weekends.
But if work culture did not improve satisfactorily and absentism continued on Mondays, the government would look into the issue again, Lapang asserted.
General administration minister H D R Lyngdoh said the government reduced the number of holidays this year.
Bureau Report