Amid its worst financial crisis in decades, Sri Lanka has approved a four-day work week for public sector workers. As per the government, the four-day workweek will help them cope with a chronic lack of fuel and encourage them to grow food at home, as the country struggles with the worst shortages of basic commodities in decades.
The island country of 22 million, which defaulted on international debts of more than $50 billion last month, has been facing a severe shortfall in imports of essential goods, including fuel and food.
The country has about 1 million employees in the public sector, many of whom have struggled to travel to their offices as transportation has been upended by fuel shortages.
Sri Lanka's Cabinet late on Monday approved a proposal for public sector workers to be given leave every Friday for the next three months, partly because the fuel shortage made commuting difficult and also to encourage them to farm.
"It seems appropriate to grant government officials leave of one working day ... to engage in agricultural activities in their backyards or elsewhere as a solution to the food shortage that is expected," the government information office said in a statement.
The United Nations had last week warned of a “dire humanitarian crisis” in Sri Lanka and said that four out of five people in the nation of 22 million were forced to skip meals. The UN plans to provide $47m to help more than a million vulnerable people in the crisis-hit nation.
Currency depreciation, rising global commodity prices, and a now-reversed policy to ban chemical fertilizer had reportedly pushed food inflation to 57% in April 2022.
The government is also reportedly in talks for a bailout package with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and a delegation is expected in Colombo on June 20th, 2022.
The island country of 22 million, which defaulted on international debts of more than $50 billion last month, has been facing a severe shortfall in imports of essential goods, including fuel and food.
The country has about 1 million employees in the public sector, many of whom have struggled to travel to their offices as transportation has been upended by fuel shortages.
Sri Lanka's Cabinet late on Monday approved a proposal for public sector workers to be given leave every Friday for the next three months, partly because the fuel shortage made commuting difficult and also to encourage them to farm.
"It seems appropriate to grant government officials leave of one working day ... to engage in agricultural activities in their backyards or elsewhere as a solution to the food shortage that is expected," the government information office said in a statement.
The United Nations had last week warned of a “dire humanitarian crisis” in Sri Lanka and said that four out of five people in the nation of 22 million were forced to skip meals. The UN plans to provide $47m to help more than a million vulnerable people in the crisis-hit nation.
Currency depreciation, rising global commodity prices, and a now-reversed policy to ban chemical fertilizer had reportedly pushed food inflation to 57% in April 2022.
The government is also reportedly in talks for a bailout package with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and a delegation is expected in Colombo on June 20th, 2022.
