The Manipur government has restored Saturday as a holiday for state employees by withdrawing its April order declaring Saturdays as working days.
Imphal, July 9: The Manipur government has restored Saturday as a weekly holiday for state government employees by withdrawing its earlier notification that had declared all Saturdays, except those falling on general holidays, as working days.
In a notification issued on Thursday, the General Administration Department (GAD) stated that the Governor of Manipur has withdrawn the April 24, 2026 notification with immediate effect.
The latest order said the decision was taken "keeping in view the reduction in disruptions to work in Government Offices in the last two months." It added that all Saturdays will once again be observed as holidays, except where they coincide with notified general holidays. The notification was issued with the approval of the competent authority.
The now-withdrawn April notification had required government employees to work on Saturdays as part of efforts to compensate for working days lost due to disruptions caused by the prolonged law and order situation in the state.
The restoration of the Saturday holiday comes amid an ongoing indefinite cease-work strike launched by several employees' organisations, including the Manipur Government Services Federation (MGSF), Manipur Secretariat Services Association (MSSA), Manipur State Pensioners Union (MSPU) and the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of AMTUC and AMGEO.
Revocation of the Saturday working order had been one of the key demands raised by these organisations during discussions with the state government.
According to representatives of the employees' bodies, Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh had recently assured them that the government would consider restoring the Saturday holiday while seeking additional time to examine other service-related demands. These include issues concerning allowances, filling of vacant sanctioned posts and other administrative matters.
Although the government has accepted one of their demands, the employees' organisations have maintained that the cease-work strike will continue until a comprehensive settlement is reached on all pending issues.
The latest notification is expected to provide relief to thousands of state government employees who had been working six days a week since the April order came into effect. However, with negotiations still underway over the remaining demands, the ongoing standoff between the government and employees' organisations is yet to be fully resolved.
