The Economy minister confirmed this Monday, in the Assembly of the Republic, that the Government will even cut four holidays, but should not interfere with the remaining ones, reveals Antena1.
Contrary to what was requested by some employers' confederations, Álvaro Santos Pereira refused the possibility of pasting holidays to the weekend, or even changing them to Sunday, since there are many holidays that cannot be changed, which leads the Government to abandon this idea.
Therefore, the Government will not tamper with the so-called “bridges”, which will remain.
The minister added that the reduction of four holidays will be presented by the Government "to the social partners and to the church itself", but argued that "most of the remaining holidays are not exactly mobile".
The Church, through Dom José Policarpo, the Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon, has already admitted that it accepts to do without two religious holidays – Corpus Christi, which falls in May or June on a variable date, and that of the Assumption of Our Lady, the 15th of August – if the Government dispenses with another two.
Apparently, the civil holidays that should fall are December 1st (Restoration of Independence) and October 0th (Implementation of the Republic).
The minister is being heard in the AR on the 2012 Budget.
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