Longer weekends not a perk for govt employees

REPORTS SAY THAT ON APRIL 1, Jinzhong city, in North China's Shanxi province, will introduce a 2.5-day weekend for all government departments and State-sponsored institutions. That might constitute a privilege for government staff, says Beijing Youth Daily:

The Jinzhong authorities said they were echoing an initiative of the central leadership. By saying this, they were referring to a document issued by the State Council, China's Cabinet, last August, which encouraged employers to give their employees 2.5-day weekends instead of the current 2-day one.

Actually, despite the State Council initiative, not many enterprises have granted their employees two-and-a-half-day weekends. That's because enterprises need to make profits and giving their employees an extra half day off at the weekends might shrink their profit margins. Some employees in private enterprise even work over 40 hours a week.