ISLAMABAD, Sept 19: The federal government on Monday rejected a proposal for a five-day working week and decided to continue with the existing practice of the six-day work.

A meeting, presided over by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, took this decision and noted that the proposed five-day week would not contribute to any substantial conservation of energy.

The meeting, however, decided to convert public transport to compressed natural gas and offered incentives for the import of CNG and LPG kits to reduce dependence on high cost diesel and other petroleum products.

Last week, the ministry of petroleum and natural resources and the Central Board of Revenue were asked to examine if the five-day week would have economic benefit in terms of energy saving and overall work output.

The meeting also discussed a number of other measures for energy conservation and its efficient utilization. Since most of these measures pertained to higher-level policy decision, it was decided that a federal cabinet meeting should discuss such steps.