Tourists flock around Tiananmen Square in Beijing in this file photo. (Photo : Reuters)
China’s top tourism body has just announced that the government will be encouraging employees to have a two-and-a-half-day long weekend during the hot summer days, the state-owned China News Agency reported on its Chinese language website Tuesday.
The advisory comes in anticipation of the weekend starting Friday this week, according to the report.
According to a survey conducted by Sina.com.cn, nearly 80 percent of estimated 30,000 respondents believe that spending two and a half days off during the weekend is feasible.
China is ramping up its efforts to implement a paid holiday policy that was put into law in 2008. Under the policy, employees working for more than one year and less than 10 years can avail a five-day paid holiday, while those who have worked for more than 10 years and less than 20 can enjoy a 10-day paid holiday. Workers who have been employed for more than 20 years can have a 15-day paid holiday.
However, although China's State Council has pushed for the implementation of the paid holiday five times this year, half of the country's employers, particularly small- and medium-sized enterprises as well as private companies, still refuse to offer paid holidays to their employees in order to save costs.
As employees are afraid of losing their jobs, most of them will not argue if their companies refuse to give paid holidays.
Liu Simin, an official from the Beijing Tourism Association, said that a lack of supervision and punishment has led to the poor implementation of the policy.
Both the paid holiday policy and the two-and-half-day long weekend statement are part of China's bigger plan to boost the current slow economic growth, the report said.
