TEHRAN: Iran’s parliament approved changes to the working week for all government employees on Wednesday that would establish a 40-hour working week with a Friday-Saturday weekend.

The legislation, which still requires a green light from constitutional watchdog the Guardian Council, would replace the existing 44-hour working week with a half-day Thursday and a full-day off Friday.

The change had been hotly debated, and 136 lawmakers voted in favour with 66 against and three abstentions, the official IRNA news agency said.

Lawmaker Mohsen Pirhadi told parliament on Wednes­day that leading cleric Ayatollah Javadi Amoli had raised no objection to Saturday as a weekend day.

Published in Dawn, May 16th, 2024