Abu Dhabi: The Federal Authority for Government Human Resources was instructed to study a proposal by the Federal National Council to give government sector employees a holiday during the last 10 days of Ramadan, the House heard yesterday.
Mosabbah Al Katbi, an FNC member from Sharjah, called for a decision to declare the last 10 days of Ramadan a holiday for the government sector.
Al Katbi said a holiday for the last 10 days of Ramadan will offer an opportunity for better i’tikaaf or stay in the mosque for worship, which the Prophet used to practise in the last ten days of Ramadan until his death.
Al Katbi said such a holiday would also give an opportunity for several people to perform Umrah or the minor pilgrimage.
Al Katbi argued that the body tends to get exhausted by the last 10 days of Ramadan, with the elderly, pregnant women and adolescents especially susceptible to stress and fatigue. He added that the physical exhaustion could also affect productivity and quality of service of employees.
Al Katbi said several countries, such as Saudi Arabia, give holidays during the last 10 days of Ramadan.
He said it was known that the full impact of fasting begins 20 days into the month, marking the start of the last, and holiest, 10 days of Ramadan.
Government employees have about 15 public holidays every year, including four for Eid Al Fitr at the end of Ramadan.
However, other countries in the region such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia have more public holidays.
Staff in the private sector have considerably fewer public holidays, and some companies even deduct them from employees’ annual leave entitlement.