An entire week for the public sector and just two days for the private sector. The disparity in Eid holidays in the UAE for the two sectors is too stark to be ignored, particularly given how the bar has been raised so high this year for public sector employees. Not to say that this issue was never contentious. The private sector has typically been discriminated against when it comes to Eid holidays. After all, the spirit of Eid and its celebrations are as integral to the happiness index of private sector employees as they are to those employed in the public sector, and such a skew in the downtime ratio challenges the logic of it.
When it comes to national holidays, all employees, irrespective of their domain of employment, need to be on a level field. Not only does this lead to a sense of parity in a nation’s human resource pool, it also acts as a motivational tool apart from being an effective device to make the private sector equally attractive for nationals, as the UAE moves speedily towards Emiratisation. By bridging the gap, the UAE would be ensuring the spirit of Eid is enjoyed by all in equal measure.
