Panchayat Polls: Paid Leave Announced For Employees Working In Private Establishments

Bhubaneswar: The Government of Odisha has instructed all business, trade, industrial undertakings and establishments to grant Paid Leave to their employees on the date of Panchayat polls fixed for their local area. This will facilitate the voters in rural areas to exercise their franchise.

Principal Secretary, Labour And ESI Department, Government of Odisha, Chithra Arumugam, has written a letter to all the RDCs, Collectors and establishments in this regard. The letter reads “To facilitate the voters in rural area to exercise their franchise, the State Election Commission has been pleased to direct that every person employed in any business, trade, industrial undertaking or any other establishment and desiring to vote at the said election shall be granted paid holiday on the date of poll. All business, trade, industrial undertaking and establishments are hereby instructed to grant paid holiday to their employees on the date of poll fixed for their local area. Any violation to the above instruction will be treated as an offence. The written application by the employees will be sufficient to show their enrolment in a particular GP.”