Saturday weekly off likely to be abolished in federal govt offices

ISLAMABAD: The government is mulling abolishing Saturday weekly off to restore six-day work week in the federal government offices. 

The Cabinet Division has sought recommendations from all ministries which would be referred to the federal cabinet for the final decision.

A final decision will be announced in the coming days as the federal government requested recommendations on the holiday. If approved, two days weekly off will be eliminated starting July 1, 2024.

Currently, most federal government departments observe two weekly holidays – Saturday and Sunday.

The public sector employees are also expected to oppose the proposal to end one of the weekly holidays.

It is noteworthy to mention here that the federal cabinet had approved two-day weekly holidays in the government offices in 2022 under an energy conservation plan as the country is still facing severe energy crisis which usually spikes during the summer season.

During Shehbaz Sharif’s last term, the government considered reinstating the Saturday holiday for government employees. However, the decision faced significant resistance and was not implemented.

NEPRA restricts electricity bill installments to once a year