China's State Council on Friday approved in principle a draft
plan on adjusting its national holidays and a set of regulations on
paid vacations.
The final plan and regulations will be promulgated after further
revisions.
According to the draft plan on national holidays, made public in
early November for public discussion, three traditional festivals
are added as national holidays.
According to the draft plan, New Year's Day remains a one-day
holiday. The Spring Festival remains a three-day holiday, but it
will now start a day earlier from the eve of the Spring Festival,
also known as the lunar New Year.
The National Day golden week will remain unchanged.
The May Day golden week will be replaced by a one-day
holiday.
Tomb-Sweeping Day, the Dragon-Boat Festival and the Mid-Autumn
Festival shall all become one-day national holidays.
The proposal will increase the number of legal national holidays
from 10 to 11 days.
The tradition of designating weekends on one side of the three
main holidays as two working days still continues, so people enjoy
seven consecutive days off. In future, New Year's Day,
Tomb-Sweeping Day, May Day, the Dragon Boat Festival and the
Mid-Autumn Festival will become holidays of three days each.
According to the draft regulations on paid vacations, also made
public in early November for public discussion, all employees of
government organs, civil organizations, enterprises, and
public-service institutions are entitled to take paid vacation
after serving the same employer for one year.
Employees who have worked from one to ten years would have five
days paid vacation; those who have worked for ten to 20 years would
have ten days; and those with more than 20 years 15 days. Legal
holidays and weekends will not be included as paid vacation.
However, the paid vacation time would be deducted from winter
and summer vacations, which some professions were entitled to.
They shall also be deducted from vacations designed for
employees to visit their parents or spouses, if they are not living
in the same city, according to the draft.
The draft stipulates that "employees should enjoy their full
daily salary and welfare during the vacation just as when they are
working".
(Xinhua News Agency December 8, 2007)