Maharashtra Govt Announces Five-Day Working Week For Its Officers, Employees

The Maharashtra government on Wednesday announced five-day working week for its officers and employees from February 29. The decision was taken at the state Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai. There are more than 20 lakh officers and employees in government, semi-government and local bodies in the state.

The Cabinet also decided that the state department for OBCs, SEBCs (socially and educationally backward classes), VJNTs (vimukt jati and nomadic tribes) and special backward classes will now be known as the 'Bahujan Kalyan Department'.

According to a report, the employees will have to work 45 minutes extra from Monday to Friday to earn their Saturdays off -- means they will have to put in 3.75 hours of extra work every week, which is equal to half a day’s duty. However, this five-day week will not be followed by emergency services.

In July last year, then chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had assured the state employees' union that their demands of a five-day week would be considered positively, like Central government employees.

State government employees have a five-day week in the second and fourth week of the month, and the retirement age is 58. One of the demands of the State Government Gazetted Officers’ Organisation was that all employees should get all Saturdays and Sundays off.