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Oman announces Eid Al Fitr holidays for public and private sector

The government has declared five days of leave – including the weekend – in the country

by Staff writer

June 6, 2018

Oman’s government has announced Eid Al-Fitr holidays for private and public sector workers in the country.

Public sector employees will be off for five days from Thursday, June 14 until Monday, June 18, the official Oman News Agency reported. They will resume work from Tuesday, June 19.

Meanwhile Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Al Bakri, minister of Manpower, issued a decree stating that the holidays for Eid Al Fitr for private sector employees will also begin on Thursday, June 14, 2018, and end on Monday, June 18. Similar to the public sector, they will resume work on Tuesday, June 19.

“The decision points out that employers and employees may agree to compensate for the leave if necessary, and workers who coincide with their weekly leave should be compensated during the holiday,” the ONA statement added, according to a Times of Oman report.

The exact start date of Eid has yet to be officially announced by the other Gulf countries but an astronomer in Sharjah said this week that it will likely begin on Friday, June 15.

The sighting of the crescent moon marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan – when Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset – and the start of the Shawwal month.

Read: Eid Al Fitr 2018: UAE astronomer predicts end of Ramadan

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman also issued a directive on Tuesday to extend this year’s Eid Al Fitr holiday.

Under the plans, government and military staff will receive around a full working week off to mark the holiday. They will resume work on Sunday, June 24.