Pretoria - Workers have endorsed the call for President Cyril Ramaphosa to add a paid public holiday in December as Christmas falls on a Sunday this year.
The Federation of Unions of South Africa (Fedusa) said it had written to Ramaphosa to request the additional paid holiday this year.
It said its leaders were alerted to the fact that during 2022, working South Africans would enjoy only 11 out of the 12 paid public holidays.
General secretary Riefdah Ajam said: “The matter was raised that Christmas falls on a Sunday this year, and in terms of the Public Holidays Act, whenever any public holiday falls on a Sunday, the Monday shall be a public holiday.”
Consequently, Monday, December 26, the Day of Goodwill, will then be deemed to fall outside of the ambit of the Public Holidays Act.
“The federation remains resolute that working South Africans should not be dealt with a further injustice to their income security, already eroded during the pandemic, and must therefore be able to enjoy their full 12 paid public holidays.
“We believe that this gesture will go a long way in strengthening workers’ morale.”
The federation believes Ramaphosa should seriously consider proclaiming December 27 as a paid public holiday.
Retailers Kamogelo Mosehla and Ditheko Mabilu said that for them, it matters a lot because the kind of work they did forced them to work even on the quietest of holidays.
France Shabane, a plumber, said: “I believe workers should always benefit from paid public holidays, and it is times when they fall on weekends that they must be moved to the next available day. South African workers have already been through enough these last couple of years.”
Itumeleng Sebola, who also works in retail, said: “These holidays are a right that workers have, and the government should ensure that workers benefit from them. People are not necessarily asking to be off, but to be paid the correct rate for this one particular holiday when they work. It is always painful when a holiday falls on a weekend.”
Pretoria News