5-day working week likely for Maharashtra state govt. employees

Employees will have to start work 10 minutes earlier in the morning and leave the office 20 minutes later in the evening.

Maharashtra state government employees may now have five-day working weeks – with Saturday and Sunday off. As per media reports, Devendra Fadnavis, chief minister, Maharashtra has considered the employees’ demand for five-day working week and has given his consent for implementation of the same. However, the condition is that the employees will have to work 30 minutes extra each day.

The state government had ignored the employees’ demands for five-day working weeks for the last 10 years. It had apprehensions about creating inconvenience for the public and the high workload at government offices.

Earlier, the government had made an offer to extend the working hours by half an hour each day to consider the demand for the five-day working week pattern; however, the employees had rejected that offer. Now, the employees have accepted to work half hour extra and so their demand is likely to be fulfilled.

Subhash Gangurde, general secretary of the Maharashtra State Employee’s Confederation said, “Since the working hours of Saturday will be adjusted with half an hour extra work during the weekdays, there won’t be any inconvenience to people.”

The government has divided the extra 30 minutes of workday in two parts. Following the five-day week pattern, the employees will now have to start work 10 minutes earlier in the morning and leave 20 minutes later in the evening.

This sudden acceptance of five-day working week may be a step taken to pacify the employee unions, which have further demands of increase of retirement age from 58 to 60 and acceptance of January 1, 2016 as implementation date of 7th Pay Commission recommendations in the state.