Government departments: KCCI concerned over five-day workweek

Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI), President, Mian Abrar Ahmad, in a press statement, has expressed deep concern and discontentment over the five-day working week/two-week holidays for all government departments and its affiliated institutions in the name of energy conservation.
He demanded the government to de-notify banks, customs and ports from observing five-day week while customs, ports and banks should be operative six days a week in the larger interest of commerce, industry and the country. He said that five-day week has severely hampered the commercial and industrial activity, exports of consignments, while timely clearance of goods could not take place. Due to such practices, Pakistan remains cut off for three and half days with the rest of the world. Last year, due to five working days for banks, trading and industrial circles faced tremendous problems, he added.
Abrar pointed out that nowhere in the world, banks close when the commerce and industrial sector is operative. Even in the countries where five-day week is observed, commercial banks are open on Saturdays. He furthered that exporters maintaining trade ties with Gulf Countries face great trouble because of Friday's observance as holiday in the Gulf. The same is for the customs and ports and they cannot close down for two days as this will stop valuable exports of this country and timely clearance of imported goods, he maintained.
President KCCI said that the country is passing through most difficult times of its history when the injured economy due to manifold internal and external problems is demanding that we work 365 days in a year. He was of the view that in order to uplift the economy, government must consider to curtailing gazetted holidays, reject once for all the proposals of bureaucracy for two weekly holidays and advancing the clock in the name of energy conservation.
He stated that such exercises proved futile in the past and every segment of life was disturbed by such activity. He voiced that conservation is a crying need of the day but same must not be done while penalising the commerce and industry and ultimately this will severely impede business activities, leading to decline in government's revenue and economic instability.-PR