Sri Lanka announces Fridays as holiday to boost agriculture

By Saadet Firdevs Apari

ANKARA (AA) – The Sri Lankan government approved a proposal to declare Fridays as a holiday for civil servants to boost agricultural works, according to media reports on Tuesday.

The cabinet endorsed two key proposals which feature a four-day work week for employees and a five-year unpaid leave for those who would like to migrate for overseas jobs, China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.

“With three non-working days, public sector employees will be encouraged to carry out agricultural work to increase production in the country,” the report said, citing a Cabinet paper.

Last week, Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the South Asian country needs $5 billion for essential needs such as food, fuel, fertilizer, and gas over the next six months.

In April, Sri Lanka announced that it had defaulted on all of its foreign debt as the island nation grapples with massive anti-government protests amid its worst economic crisis.

In mid-May, it said the crisis-hit country had run out of petrol.