The Hindu : Kerala News : Need for efficiency of public services

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Saturday, Sep 23, 2006
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Kerala

Kerala

Need for efficiency of public services

There are 11 public holidays, some of them bunched up, this month in Kerala. Do we have too many of them, confined largely to the government sector and organised public sector, leading to disruption of work that affects citizens? Or are these but well-deserved breaks? Some organisations recently came out against the pattern. Our readers respond:

ALL OUT: Work keeps accumulating. — File photo

Change policy

The bunching of holidays is not the creation of the employees in the State Government service. It so happened that the holidays came in a bunch. In Kerala, the five-day week system has not been implemented and the efficiency level has always remained low when compared to Central Government offices. If the Government of Kerala is keen on increasing the efficiency in the functioning of offices, they should adhere to a promotion policy which gives due consideration to working knowledge, punctuality, efficiency and sincerity of the employees instead of a policy which considers only the employees' community and reservation status. Considering the reservation status should at least be limited to the time of the appointment.

H. Ravikumar Pai

Kochi

Unions should act

The eleven public holidays, some of them bunched, should be regulated in the national interest. Major holidays apart, all other holidays should be declared `restricted.' This would increase productivity and bring down loss in Government offices. Trade unions should take the responsibility of convincing the employee community about the necessity for regulation. Trade unions should rise to the occasion.

S. Padmanabha Mallya

Fort Kochi

Adapt to change

Many years ago, people did not have any real employment or work schedule. Hence, in India, they devoted all their time in organising festivals to spend their time. Now this is not the case. So many holidays are not required because there are enough Sundays. Employees in the Government have casual leave facility as well. So the Government should restrict the number of holidays. There are holidays that commemorate certain individuals. The Government must review these also.

P.M.G. Pillai

Thiruvalla

Political strategy

Holidays now have nothing to do with the importance of the day. Religion and caste should not be the only criterion. Politicians try to appease all religions and communities and as a result the number of holidays has gone up. Precious time is lost causing irreparable damage to our economy. We should be bold enough to get out. On Gandhi Jayanthi, let us work half day, as that is the best way to remember the great man. All other religious festivals should be made optional holidays. Employees should be allowed to avail these according to one's belief and requirement, without forcing others to abstain from work. This will save us from the ridiculous situation where offices, banks and factories have long vacations.

M.P. Bipin

Kochi

Work and progress

The Government calendar 2006 has in all 84 `red-letter days.' September has 11. For a society, which cannot boast of a work culture based on the `work is worship' philosophy, too many holidays may not appear odd. We can see that the private sector is any day more productive. As our existence and progress depends on hard work, all these holidays should be abolished. Even our leisure should be profitably utilised. Children have to be groomed in such way that they do not detest work. Teachers and parents have to set examples by being punctual and hard working. In fact, holidays become really enjoyable only if they do not come too often. Certainly the number of holidays needs to be curbed.

N.K. Vijayan

Kochi

Use technology

Public holidays are rest-days which come in between tight working days. It is true that all public servants are not hardworking, but some are. Anyway, almost all the countries in the world are giving holidays to the common man, whether he is in the Government service or in private sector. As we are in a technologically advanced age, business may be managed using ATM facility for banking/finance purpose, e-mail/FAX/SMS, video conferencing, etc. If more people use technology, there would not be as much hardships even during holidays. But the Government should declare some of the holidays `restricted.'

P. Sankaranarayanan

Kochi

Curb the trend

The impact holidays create depends on how work is done on other days. Continuous holidays for Government offices and institutions like banks cause great hardship. This may be reduced if they operate with at least skeletal staff on those days. Technology is costly and only a minority have access to it. So the trend of long-holidays, that affect the public, should be curbed.

Devraj Sambasivan

Alappuzha

Change attitude

Continuous holidays for any institution are undesirable. One could find that the Kerala Government was not transacting any business for a week in September. Even financial institutions like banks were closed and there was complete paralysis of the system. Productive man-hours were lost. A developing nation like ours cannot afford this. A Government should declare national holidays well in advance and that should be meticulously followed. It is time for us to evolve a mechanism to keep offices functioning on holidays. A change in the attitude of the employees is also necessary. They should realise that their job is to serve the society and not to grab privileges using organisational strength. Let the Government give more casual leave to its employees than closing down office in the name of festivals and religious functions.

M.K. Balakrishnan

Thrissur

To retain the charm

Holidays are intended to provide a relief from the monotonous and often tiring working days. However, this purpose is not served when too many holidays disrupt activities. Such holidays granted to employees in the government sector and the organised public sector lead to difficulties in more ways than one. Firstly, it becomes close to impossible to get any matters done. And when such holidays come in a cluster, the situation gets worse. On the other hand, private sector institutions and companies, whish adhere to a different work ethic do business as usual. Hence, a large number of (seemingly unnecessary) holidays result in a standstill of all work. This does not augur well for a State that is looking to attract national and foreign private investment. Besides, while religious sentiments must be given due regard, not all religious or other occasions warrant a holiday. Even if the above concerns can be countered, there should not be too many holidays for the very reason that a holiday would then lose its charm and become routine working day.

Priya Narayanan

Thrissur

Political will needed

To have a few public holidays in a bunch would help an employee to occasionally join his family and friends. It is certainly a matter of pleasure and relief. This privilege is mostly enjoyed by employees in the Government sector. We should also consider the plight of the common man who is badly affected during the holidays. The Government should work out a mechanism to

Address the needs of the citizens. There should be cells working on holidays at the taluk or district level when three or more public holidays come bunched. Too many public holidays in a calendar year would affect the efficiency and functioning of the Government machinery. There are enough public holidays now. Pressurising the Government for public holidays by various groups should be stopped. The Government should not entertain such demands or encourage it considering the larger public interest. Nobody would willingly surrender one's privilege. Therefore the Government should step in and regulate. The Government should also evolve an accepted solution to reduce the number of public holidays to the minimum. Strong political will is vital for a positive move in this direction.

R. Purushothaman Pillai

Alappuzha

Rearrange holidays

Public holidays, particularly when bunched up, seem to be unwelcome as it causes several hardships to the public. Even employees would not like to have so many holidays at a stretch. Holidays for Departments like Revenue, Civil Supplies and Registration, with which the public has regular interaction make problems severe. Government should think and act on these lines. The `restricted holiday' system seems to be a viable solution. Instead of week-long disruption of work in the offices, usual functioning should be ensured after two consecutive holidays. Public holidays should be rearranged in such a manner.

V. Viswnathan Nambiar

Thrissur

Holidays needed

There is not much to be envious about the clustering of holidays. Holidays are a solace in the midst of official stress. The nature, responsibilities and issues of the job, the work culture, the pay and perks are some of the parameters to be analysed while comparing a Government employee with an employee in the private sector. The clustering of holidays does not happen often. There are months that have no public holidays at all. The Government announces these holidays well in advance so that people can plan their activities. Public must make arrangements for emergency operations, if called for. Normally it is observed likewise.

K. Jiji Panicker

Chengannur

Do a rational rethink

It is absolutely true to state that there are many occasions when we have many holidays bunched together creating a total lack of activity in Government and public sector offices. This year, during `Onam' Festival we had five holidays together even for the banks. As such, we have many National holidays. There are regional and restricted holidays in addition. With all these holidays and the Central Government offices working only five days a week, the loss of output is phenomenal. There should be a rational rethink to rationalise the holidays. In a pluralistic society, having many religions and festivals, it may not be advisable to cut all these holidays. Therefore, holidays for religious festivals and celebrations can be restricted to communities concerned. The number of such holidays a group can have may be decided by the Government. This would ensure that the offices do not get completely closed down during such occasions. Such a system, if properly worked out, can reduce the number of closed holidays to five or six in year. There are commercial organisations working with four holidays in a year. Such a step would also need the cooperation of employees.

Capt. O.B. Nair

Poonithura

Vote bank and holidays

The number of holidays in India is very high. Many holidays are religious in nature. Nobody dares to withdraw such holidays, as it would affect the vote bank. Even now, political parties and pressure groups are crying for more holidays. India cannot afford to have so many holidays. The Government should conduct a survey and find out what the public thinks. No office should be given more than ten holidays a year.

S.N. Thiruvazhiode

Poonithura

Holidays a blessing

Employees of Government and public sector undertakings look forward to holidays because it is only during such occasions that they get to see the members of their family.

Almost all Keralites get back home, exchange gifts, honour the old people and feast together. Children also love these holidays since they get a temporary break from their busy schedule at school.

The salaried employees get far less in our country than their counterparts in western countries. In the West, with their heavy purses, they avail their eligible leave and move to pleasure resorts or engage in activities of their choice. They get rejuvenated and get back to work. In India, nine out of ten employees surrender their eligible leave for money.

In such a situation, public holidays are the only alternative. Hence, holidays are a blessing for employees, especially those in Government service.

K. Ramdas

Harippad

Make arrangements

It is true that we have too many holidays in the State especially in the Government sector.

But that is necessary because these days are important to different groups of people.

On such occasions, the Government should make arrangements to see that the office function without long breaks.

C. George Varghese

Thrissur

Kochi

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