Wood framework of the Town God's Temple in the old city of Yuci,Jinzhong. [Photo by Jiang Dong/Asianewsphoto]

Reports say that on April 1, Jinzhong city, in North China's Shanxi province, will introduce a 2.5-day weekend for all government departments and State-sponsored institutions. That might constitute a privilege for government staff, says Beijing Youth Daily:

The Jinzhong authorities said they were echoing an initiative of the central leadership. By saying this, they were referring to a document issued by the State Council, China's Cabinet, last August, which encouraged employers to give their employees 2.5-day weekends instead of the current 2-day one.

Actually, despite the State Council initiative, not many enterprises have granted their employees two-and-a-half-day weekends. That's because enterprises need to make profits and giving their employees an extra half day off at the weekends might shrink their profit margins. Some employees in private enterprise even work over 40 hours a week.

That makes Jinzhong's new move controversial. Since most workers cannot enjoy it, a longer weekend for the employees of State organizations might easily become a privilege for government officials. Instead of increasing social welfare, that will mean more inconvenience for the public.

Unequal welfare between State employees and their counterparts in private enterprises has always been a hot topic and there is no reason to widen the gap.

Data show an average Chinese worker enjoys 116 days, including weekends and public holidays, off a year, which is in the middle of workers' holiday entitlements around the world. However, the protection of the right to paid leaves falls quite far behind many other economies.

The government should better implement the law and protect people's right to paid leave This will also have the additional advantage of boosting tourism as people will have more time to travel.