FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- Portuguese workers will give up four public holidays beginning in 2013 as part of the government's austerity drive, news reports said Wednesday. Under the agreement, two religious festivals and two other public holidays will be suspended for five years, the BBC reported.
The Portuguese government negotiated which Catholic festivals to drop with the Vatican, reports said. The move cuts the total number of public holidays to 10 from 14. Portuguese workers will now head to their jobs on All Saints Day on Nov. 1; Corpus Christi, which falls 60 days after Easter; Oct. 5, which marks the formation of the Portuguese Republic; and Dec. 1, which celebrates Portuguese independence from Spanish rule in 1640, the report said. Portugal received a 78 billion euro ($101.2 billion) bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund last year.
(source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/portugal-drops-4-public-holidays-in-austerity-move-2012-05-09?siteid=rss)
The Portuguese government negotiated which Catholic festivals to drop with the Vatican, reports said. The move cuts the total number of public holidays to 10 from 14. Portuguese workers will now head to their jobs on All Saints Day on Nov. 1; Corpus Christi, which falls 60 days after Easter; Oct. 5, which marks the formation of the Portuguese Republic; and Dec. 1, which celebrates Portuguese independence from Spanish rule in 1640, the report said. Portugal received a 78 billion euro ($101.2 billion) bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund last year.
(source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/portugal-drops-4-public-holidays-in-austerity-move-2012-05-09?siteid=rss)