The joke about Kerala government employees leaving office right when the clock strikes 5:00 pm will now have to be modified, at least for one day.
Many Secretariat employees in Thiruvananthapuram will work overtime on Tuesday.
Contrary to Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan’s directive to refrain from Onam celebrations during working hours in government offices, the Secretariat employee’s association's Onam celebration on Tuesday lasted a little more than the allotted time. The working hours are from 10:15 am to 5:15 pm.
On August 26, the CM had said that since a major portion of work hours get affected during the festival season, government offices should celebrate Onam only after duty hours.
While many employees reported to work on time after the celebration, some others reported to work half an hour late.
Representatives of the employee’s association justified their action saying that it was impractical for them to finish making pookkalams (floral carpets) before the work hours commenced. They said that they will work overtime to compensate the loss.
“The people are no doubt our king. We are committed to our work and will not do anything that will cause them trouble. Therefore, we will work for an extra 30 minutes to compensate,” an employee who is part of the association told media.
According to reports, five pookkalams were put in the five blocks of the secretariat on Monday night and the inauguration of these pookkalams happened on Tuesday morning.
The activities that commenced at 8 am lasted till about 10 45 am. Ministers including KT Jaleel, VS Sunil Kumar and Kadakampally Ramachandran took part in the inauguration ceremony which was held before 10 am.
However, the inauguration of two pookkalams took place post 10:15 am, as a result of which some employees reported late to work.