Member of Parliament (MP) Fernanda Lay urged the government through the Public Service Commission (KPF) to reduce the leave entitlement of public servants because too much leave will make the Timorese public service less productive.
She added that Timor-Leste has a wide range of leave entitlements for public servants such as annual leave, medical leave, leave for mourning, maternity leave, paternity leave, leave for marriage, leave for study, and special leave without pay.
“We have too many holidays in a year but we keep asking our pubic service to be more productive,” said MP Lay at the National Parliament, in Dili.
She added that according to the Timorese Labor Code Law approved in 2012 by the national parliament on leave entitlements, it states that a worker is only entitled to 12 annual leave days, or one day per month in a year.
“But government is implementing a roster of 20 days leave. How is this so?” MP Lay questioned compared to the UNTAET administration period where public workers could only take 12 days annual leave.
MP Lay urged the Public Service Commission to review and current work arrangement applicable to the public service and to follow the rules during the UNTAET period and as stipulated in the Labour Code Law to ensure the sustainability of the public force.
In response to the concern, KPF President Commissioner Faustino Cardoso said he acknowledged the concern but cautioned about the need to differentiate between a public holiday and days of tolerance.
The president added a holiday is set by a law passed by the national parliament but the days of tolerance are about the flexibility that is afforded to workers based on the cultural context of Timor-Leste.
“The state allows workers to take part in religious or cultural events. Nonetheless workers also need to be aware they need to return back to work in an adequate manner,” said President Cardoso.
He added that some workers sometimes misunderstand the definition of days of tolerance and holidays and he urges head of department across the state institutions to better explain the different to their staff.
“So workers are able to understand the differences in the definitions,” said President Cardoso.
