Chile September 17 Public Holiday Approved By Chamber Of Deputies

Sources: Diario el Gong, 123 Chile and Chile public holidays. Earlier today, Chile's Minister of Labor and Social Protection, Osvaldo Andrade, announced that the bill that would make Monday, September 17, 2007, a one-off bridge public holiday in Chile, was approved by the Chamber of Deputies (Cámara de Diputados) by a vote of 86 for, 9 against, and 5 abstentions. The law must now be ratified by the Senate, a process that should occur later this week, given the high priority given to this bill by the government.

Analysis: Recall from our news posting of July 10 and August 3, that a bill was proposed to make Monday, September 17, 2007, a one-off public holiday, to bridge the gap between the weekend and the annual 2-day Fiesta Patrias of September 18 and 19. The bill proponent's main argument was to be realistic; most people have half the day off on September 17, anyways, and civil servants and upper and middle management set things up to have the day off also. Any loss in productivity would be made up amply by the boost in internal tourism for a 5-day public holiday.