Cabinet nod for govt holiday on 4th Saturdays

The State Cabinet on Thursday decided that 4th Saturdays will be a government holiday, approving the recommendation of the 6th Pay Commission that is expected to improve the work-life balance of over five lakh employees.

This will apply to all departments, except schools and colleges.

While the Cabinet approved this to be implemented with immediate effect, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, while briefing reporters, said he had no clarity on whether it will apply this year or from the next.

At present, every 2nd Saturday is a government holiday in Karnataka.

Holiday on for Jayantis

A Cabinet sub-committee recommendation to cancel holidays on Mahavir Jayanti, Basava Jayanti, Maharshi Valmiki Jayanti, Kanaka Jayanti, Labour Day, Good Friday, Mahalaya Amavasya and Eid Milad has been set aside. The panel had said these should be restricted holidays. “We decided to retain holidays on various Jayantis and festivals keeping in mind the sensitivity of various communities,” Gowda said.

Right now, there are 54 Sundays, 12 second Saturdays and 21 other holidays. If the recommendation of the 6th Pay Commission to declare 4th Saturday as a holiday is implemented, another 12 days will get added.

The Cabinet did not approve a long-pending recommendation to provide a 5-day work week. “We studied the list of holidays in many other states. About 17 states have a 5-day work week whereas four states have two Saturdays off in a month. Giving a 5-day work week would lead to too many holidays,” he said.

The Cabinet has also decided to reduce the number of casual leaves from 15 to 10 for government employees. The Cabinet has approved a draft law to introduce counselling while transferring Group C&D (non-supervisory) employees.

“The government wants to bring in transparency in transfers through a counselling process for Group C&D employees. This is an administrative reform measure. The draft law will be placed before the Legislature and we hope to implement this next year onward,” Gowda said.

The law also proposes an equitable distribution of Group C&D posts across the state. “Some districts like Bidar, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Raichur among others always account for a high percentage of overall vacant posts. We will ensure equal distribution of filled-up positions,” he said.

Currently, the departments of education, health and forest have a counselling process in place for transfers.