KCCI urges six-day workweek to revitalise economic growth

KCCI highlights difficulties faced by businesses due to reduced operational days, urging for changes.

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Mohammad Javed Bilwani, President of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), has appealed to the government to immediately restore six working days for all relevant federal and provincial departments and agencies to enhance both the economy and the volume of industry and trade.

In a letter sent to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Bilwani noted that since 2011, the additional weekly holidays for ministries, government departments, the State Bank, the Federal Board of Revenue, the Pakistan Stock Exchange, and financial and banking institutions have caused significant hardships for the business and industrial community.

Shipping companies also take Saturdays off without providing any services, leading to difficulties in managing export and import consignments, resulting in heavy demurrage and detention charges.

He further stated that the lack of banking services on Saturdays severely impacts commercial activities, particularly affecting those businesses dealing with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, which observe Friday as a holiday.

Consequently, businesses have only four days a week to conduct financial transactions with these countries.

Bilwani highlighted that commercial centres across the country, including retail and wholesale networks, struggle to deposit cash on Saturdays due to the unavailability of banking services, raising security concerns.

 

During the two weekly holidays, businesses must secure their funds, leading to an increase in cash theft incidents observed on Saturdays.

He clarified that the federal government had issued a notification on October 13, 2011, to implement a five-working-day week due to severe energy shortages at that time, resulting in prolonged load-shedding and breakdowns.

However, in 2024, energy shortages no longer exist, and the federal Ministry of Energy has periodically confirmed that the country has an excess of electricity, while the government continues to pay Independent Power Producers (IPPs) for inactive capacity.

Bilwani stated that the current circumstances demand maximum electricity capacity to operate industries, trade houses, and commercial centres effectively, but this will only be practically achievable if the government issues a notification for six working days.

He mentioned that, under the current five-working-day system, government employees barely work the full 40 hours a week, often leaving their offices after Friday prayers.

Consequently, the actual weekly working duration is reduced to 36 hours. Thus, it is essential to inform about a six-day working week so that all federal and provincial ministries, departments, and authorities can offer weekly services for 48 hours.

He emphasised that private sector employees work six days a week, totalling 26 days and 208 hours a month, receiving only one weekly holiday on Sunday.

In contrast, government employees enjoy two weeks of holidays and work only five or four and a half days a week, equating to 22 days and just 176 hours of service per month, clearly demonstrating the discriminatory treatment against the private sector.

The President of the Karachi Chamber pointed out that there exists a peculiar situation across Pakistan, where taxpayers work six days, while government employees, whose salaries are paid through these taxes, only work four and a half to five days.