CPA unveils 2008 working schedule for public servants

The public servants will have a total of 112 days off — including the two days off every weekend — in the whole year, according to the administrative calendar proposed by the CPA and approved by the Executive Yuan (Cabinet).

Schools, banks, stock and other financial markets will operate in accordance with the timetable. They will all close during the holidays.

CPA officials stressed that the government calendar applies to government agencies and employees.

For convenience, most companies and private organizations generally follow the same timetable, although it is not mandatory for the private sector to stick to the schedule for public servants.

But the schedules adopted in the private sector should not violate the regulations stipulated in the Labor Standards Law governing the operations of enterprises and employees.

Public servants, all hired with taxpayers’ money, will have six consecutive days off for the traditional Chinese New Year holidays in early February.

They will also have three days off in a row each for the traditional Tomb Sweeping Day in early April and National Day of the Republic of China.

According to the CPA, the public holidays (including national commemorative days and traditional folklore festivals) for 2008 will include:

— Republic of China Founding Day (Monday, Jan. 1).

— Chinese New Year’s Eve (Wednesday, Feb. 6, the last day of December on the traditional Chinese lunar calendar).

— Chinese New Year (also known as Lunar Spring Festival) (Feb. ~~~7-9, which are Jan. 1 to 3 on the lunar calendar).

(Public servants will also take Monday, Feb. 11 off to make up for the routine off day on Saturday, Feb. 9 to extend the total days off for the New Year holidays to six.)

— Peace Memorial Day (Thursday, Feb. 28 for promoting peace and harmony among all different communities of immigrants from China and neighboring nations along with indigenous Taiwanese who now account for only a little over one percent of the total population in Taiwan).

— Tomb Sweeping Day (Friday, April 4 for people to pay homage to ancestors) (There will be three days off in a row when including the immediately following Saturday and Sunday);

— Dragon Boat Festival (Sunday, June 8, which is May 5 on the lunar calendar);

— Moon Festival (also known as Mid-Autumn Festival) (Sunday, Sept. 14, which is Aug. 15 on the lunar calendar).

— National Day of the Republic of China (Friday, Oct. 10, marking the Chinese people’s Wuchang Revolution led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen on Oct. 10, 1910 that overthrew the Ching [Manchu] imperial dynasty to found the first democratic republic in Asia on Jan. 1, 1911).

There are a total of 366 days — including one extra day of Feb. 29 — for 2008, which is a leap year at the interval of every four years.

The total number of 112 off days for government employees next year is two days short of the 114 days for 2007 because both the Dragon Festival and Moon Festival fall on Sundays, which are already routine holidays.

Information concerning the full-year calendar for government servants is available at the CPA’s Web site www.cpa.gov.tw.

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