Source

DELHI, INDIA, August 7, 2003: The Indian government plans to cut down on the number of public holidays. A review, announced yesterday in parliament, will come as some relief to those who argue that urgent steps are needed to raise the productivity of India’s civil service. Last year India’s 20 million public sector workers were all entitled to 201 days of paid leave. This included holy days from minority religions, including Christianity, the Sikh religion, Buddhism and the Jain religion. It also included a multitude of Hindu (81 per cent of India’s population) and Muslim festivals. Government employees were also entitled to sick leave, casual leave, normal holidays and compassionate leave. P.C. Alexander, a member of India’s upper parliamentary chamber, said: “Why should Good Friday be a holiday for the 98 per cent of Indians who are not Christians?” However, economic reformers say reducing religious holidays will not be enough to raise public sector productivity even if New Delhi manages to get the plan past the religious lobbies. They point out large numbers of public sector employees have no incentive to work hard because they cannot be fired. India’s coalition government is quietly reducing the headcount of the civil service. Three percent of employees retire every year but only 1 percent are replaced. Public sector enterprises have also reduced their payrolls by adopting generous voluntary retirement schemes.

Post Views: 625