Idul Fitri, Christmas vacations extended<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government has officially extended the Idul Fitri and
\nChristmas holidays for civil servants for the sake of efficiency
\nand to boost domestic tourism following the Bali bombing.<\/p>\n
Minister of Manpower Jacob Nuwa Wea, Minister of Religious
\nAffairs Said Agil Husein Al Munawar and State Minister for
\nAdministrative Reform Feisal Tamin signed a joint ministerial
\ndecree on Monday obliging all civil servants to take leave one
\nday before and two days after Idul Fitri.<\/p>\n
As for Christmas, the decree obligates all civil servants to
\ntake one day's leave after the celebration.<\/p>\n
Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla said
\nafter the signing of the joint decree: \"The decision applies to
\nall civil servants and private sector firms are advised to follow
\nsuit.\"<\/p>\n
The joint ministerial decree also regulates the shifting of
\nnational holidays that fall over the weekend to either Friday or
\nMonday to give the people long weekends.<\/p>\n
The decree stipulates that public holidays falling on Tuesday,
\nWednesday and Sunday would be shifted to Monday, while those
\nfalling on Thursday would be shifted to Friday.<\/p>\n
Not all public holidays, however, would be shifted to Friday
\nand Monday.<\/p>\n
Idul Fitri, Christmas, the New Year, the Muslim Idul Adha day
\nof sacrifice, Hindu day of silence and Independence Day on Aug.
\n17 would not be shifted even though they fell on a weekend.
\nHowever, if any of these holidays fell on Sunday, they would be
\nextended to include Monday.<\/p>\n
The aim of the extended holidays for Idul Fitri and Christmas
\nas well as the shifting of weekend public holidays to either
\nFriday or Monday is obviously to support the domestic tourism
\nindustry, which has been hard hit by the Oct. 12 Bali terror
\nattack.<\/p>\n
Speaking on the new holidays for Idul Fitri and Christmas,
\nKalla said that the extended holidays would be counted as leave
\nfor civil servants and would automatically reduce their 12-day
\nannual leave.<\/p>\n
\"As four days will already have been taken for these holidays,
\neach civil servant will only have eight days of leave for the
\nyear,\" Kalla said.<\/p>\n
As for civil servants working in units that needed to remain
\nopen during the extended holidays, Kalla said office managers
\nwould have to arrange the roster for their respective units.<\/p>\n
Besides reviving the domestic tourist industry, Kalla said the
\nextended holidays for civil servants were aimed at improving
\nefficiency as most civil servants skipped a few days before and
\nafter Idul Fitri and Christmas anyway.<\/p>\n
Minister Jacob Nuwa Wea added that the new regulation on
\nextended holidays for Idul Fitri and Christmas did not apply to
\nprivate sector companies, but they were encouraged to follow
\nsuit.<\/p>\n
\"Private sector companies are not obligated to follow the
\nregulation, but advised to do so. Should they not be able to do
\nso, they should consult the labor unions,\" Jacob said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/idul-fitri-christmas-vacations-extended-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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