Workers Who Never Receive Eid Holiday Leave Endure Sadness Away from Home

JAKARTA — Gathering with family during Eid al-Fitr is an annual tradition observed by most Muslims worldwide. However, not everyone is fortunate enough to celebrate this significant moment with their families at home.

For many workers, they are forced to remain in the cities where they work, unable to obtain leave during the Eid holiday period. A single mother who has worked in minimarket retail for seven years says that her decision to pursue this career has consistently dashed her hopes of reuniting with her family in her hometown.

This is because Erna has rarely received approval for Eid leave over the long years. “Initially, I couldn’t take leave because the shop manager always had priority, and that was non-negotiable — they took their leave first,” Erna explained during an interview at her residence in Manggarai, South Jakarta, on Wednesday.

However, this situation also depends on the staffing levels at each minimarket. If there are only five or six employees, simultaneous leave becomes impossible as it would disrupt scheduling for subsequent shifts. If the minimarket employs more than six people, the chances of obtaining Eid leave improve, though competition for those slots remains fierce.

“Sometimes it’s sad mixed with frustration, because during Eid, everyone is busy gathering with their families and travelling home, while I’m sitting in front of a computer doing cash register work,” she said.

In her early years of employment, she even blamed her decision to become a minimarket cashier. Over time, however, she has come to accept that being unable to take Eid leave is a risk inherent to working in retail.

Farah Fadilah, a 25-year-old mall employee, has also not returned to her hometown in Cirebon, West Java, for nearly five years. “I haven’t gone home in almost five years because of the hard work,” Farah said when visited at her residence in Manggarai, South Jakarta, on Wednesday.

During Eid, she sometimes only gets the opportunity to perform the Eid prayer with family in the morning, after which she must return to work until evening. On rare occasions, she receives a full day off on Eid, but must return to work the next day as normal.

This situation makes it impossible for her to join her extended family for the annual homecoming journey. Each time she sees her parents off as they prepare to travel home, Farah is haunted by sadness.

“When I’m seeing them off as they get in the car, honestly, I’m sad because I can only carry their bags — I can’t be part of the homecoming celebration,” she said.