Maharashtra Govt employees to soon have 5-day working week

In a major development, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra Government on Wednesday announced that Maharashtra state government employees will have a 'five-day working week.' The decision was cleared in Maharashtra Government's cabinet meeting.              

The decision will be brought into implementation from February 29 onwards, and the state government employees will receive 2 holidays each week. Post the five-day working week policy comes into action, the state government employees will have an extra 45 minutes added to their work time. The extra 45 minutes would add up to 3.75 additional working hours per week. The emergency services will also be excluded from the new working program.

The Maharashtra cabinet decision was aimed at increasing the productivity and efficiency of the employees, and also to reduce absenteeism at the workplace. 

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State Government Gazetted Officers' organisation meet CM Thackeray

The decision also comes after the State Government Gazetted Officers' organisation met CM Thackeray and put forward their pending demands. According to the current working pattern, Maharashtra state government employees are given a holiday on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month. 

An officer present at the officers' organisation meeting had stated that the demand for a 5-day working week was raised after a study was conducted to look at the outcome of a similar arrangement. Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had also given his nod to the idea, but no official decision was taken.

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5-working days week in Sikkim

Earlier in 2019, the Sikkim government had announced a 5-day working week for the state government employees. Sikkim's Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang had stated that this new measure has been taken to ensure that government officials find sufficient time to take care of their health and spend more time with their families. 

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