Prime minister approves 5-day Reunification Day holiday

Public servants and workers nationwide will take April 29, Monday, off, and then go to work on May 4, Saturday.

Under a dispatch issued by the government on Friday, Chinh noted that agencies and departments taking breaks according to this schedule should arrange appropriate personnel to serve the people and handle unexpected events that may occur.

Previously, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs noted that agencies and units that do not have a fixed two-day weekend off should arrange the make-up work day appropriately based on their specific plans.

People at the Hanoi Zoo on May 2023. Photo by Giang Huy

The government schedule applies to public servants, but the Ministry encourages private enterprise owners to apply it to their employees, ensuring full salary and bonuses.

This is the first time in many years an extension to the Reunification Day-Labor Day holiday has been proposed. However, with the proposal coming only three weeks away from the holiday, it has disrupted the work plans of many units, enterprises and people.

Starting in 2021, Vietnam added an extra day off to the National Day holiday (Sept. 2), either on Sept. 1 or Sept. 3. In total, there are 11 official days off for holidays in a year. Foreign workers in Vietnam have two extra days off: one on their traditional New Year holiday, and the other on their countries' National Day holiday.

At the end of 2023, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor asked authorities to consider adding two days to the National Day holiday, which would take place September 2-5 every year, so that workers have the opportunity to take their children to school.