DHAKA, Sept 6: The leaders of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), has rejected the government decision to observe Friday and Saturday as weekly holidays

The disapproval of the FBCCI came at a post-election ceremony of passing the baton to the new committee on Tuesday. The government has decided to extend the weekend to two days at a cabinet meeting on Monday.

The business leaders discounted the austerity and frugality as the causative aspects of the measure and held the contrary view that the change and the extension of the weekly holiday in the usual no-work-and-all-play government work-ethic will hurt ‘economic productivity’.

The incoming and the outgoing FBCCI leaders demanded that the one-day weekly government holiday be restored on Sunday.

‘When we need to work seven days a week, if not overtime, we cannot afford a five-day working week and thereby keep the wheels of the economy idle on two precious days,’ said FBCCI president Mir Nasir Hossain, referring to the fierce competition in the global market and the country’s need to stay apace, particularly for its export dependent economy.

Implemented, the two-day holiday would hurt the exports as the world would literally shut off for three days in a row, he said. ‘We want weekly holiday on Sunday only,’ he said.

Nasir said that the FBCCI, having sought an appointment with Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, was likely to call on her on Wednesday. At the formal meeting, he and his committee would seek withdrawal of the decision on two days holiday.

In his first speech as the president of the FBCCI in its annual general meeting where he took over charge from the immediate past president Abdul Awal Mintoo, Nasir focused on a lot of issues affecting the economy including rising oil price, emerging competition in global export markets.

The newly elected President of FBCCI assured the members of the business and industry community that he would do his best to serve and secure the legitimate interest of the Business Community, develop the capacity of the private sector and the FBCCI through reforms and capacity development.