Source: Saipan Tribune. Government offices will be closed on March 22, in celebration of Commonwealth Covenant Day, usually observed on March 24. As that holiday falls on a Saturday this year, it was supposed to be commemorated on Friday March 23. However, it was moved to a day earlier because Friday, March 23, is a scheduled austerity holiday (when government offices will also be closed).Analysis: While it is clear from the above that government will close for 4 consecutive days, from March 22-25, inclusively, it begs the question of what will happen to private sector employees on Friday March 23, which is not a public holiday for the private sector. Last time this type of conflict occurred, in November 2006, the issue was resolved the opposite way, by moving the austerity holiday from November 3rd to the 2nd, leaving the CNMI public holiday on the 3rd. We were able to confirm with local media sources that this would indeed be the case again; private sector workers will have Friday the 23rd off, meaning that public and private sectors will observe Commonwealth Covenant Day on different dates.
See also: Saipan Public Holidays.
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