Today is Labor Day in the United States. In India we celebrate a similar holiday, May Day on the first of May to acknowledge the achievements of the working class.
Labor Day is celebrated on the first Monday in September. So a long weekend is always guaranteed. But for us May Day was on a Tuesday this year. So only for those who had taken a leave on Monday, it was a long weekend. And for others it was just a day off in the middle of the week.
In fact in the U.S. many federal holidays falls on a Monday. Memorial Day is celebrated on the last Monday in May, Columbus Day on second Monday in October and Washington’s Birthday on the third Monday in February.
Yes you read it right; George Washington’s Birthday is celebrated not on his birth date, Feb 22, but on the third Monday in February. If you wonder how this many holidays falls on Monday in the U.S., it’s not by sheer chance but due to the Uniform Monday Holiday Law enacted in 1968 to give federal employees more three-day weekends.
Will the Left propose a similar law in India to give us more three-day weekends? Even employers would welcome this, as this will reduce the bridge leaves and the loss of productivity in work before and after the holiday, if it falls on the middle of a week.
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