Portugal Cancels Four Public Holidays To Boost Economy
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The Portuguese government has decided to eliminate four public holidays from its national calendar so as to increase the national productivity, claimed a report by the BBC on Wednesday.
The Portuguese government has decided to eliminate four public holidays from its national calendar so as to increase the national productivity, claimed a report by the BBC on Wednesday.
The four days now excluded by the government were two religious festivals – All Saints Day (on November 1st) and Corpus Christi (60 days after Easter) – and two civil occasions – October 5th, which commemorates the formation of the Portuguese Republic in 1910; and December 1st, which marks Portuguese independence from Spanish rule in 1640. According to the government officials, the Portuguese government only cancelled the two religious holidays after seeking approval from the Vatican.
In a statement to the press, the center-right Portuguese government thanked the Holy See and the Portuguese Bishops’ Conference for their “constructive approach” to the negotiations.
The government added that they would re-evaluate whether to reinstate the public holidays in five years, though economy ministry spokesman Hugo Soares could not explain exactly how cancelling the public holidays would work.
Still, Portuguese Finance Minister Vitor Gaspar asserted that the nation had to remain focused on bringing its public finances in order.
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[quote]”There is no room whatsoever, no margin at all to proceed with policies of artificial incentive for economic growth, because that would certainly be unsustainable and counter-productive.”[/quote]“The only growth that matters is sustainable growth that requires balance and sustainability of public accounts and financial stabilization,” he said, as quoted by The Telegraph.
Portugal has already cut public sector salaries and raised taxes in an austerity drive to meet with targets set during the 78 billion euro ($101 billion) bailout plan offered by the European Central Bank, European Union and International Monetary Fund. The largely Catholic nation will now have only ten public holidays in a year.
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