A holiday means an incomplete suspension of the effects of the employment contract; No work is done, but the corresponding wages are paid. In our legislation, holidays correspond to civic or religious festivals of very ancient date. Legislative Decree No. 713, Law of Consolidation of Paid Rest, issued in 1991, lists holidays in its sixth article. There are twelve of them, the previously valid half-day holidays have disappeared – used when dividing the working day, but do not have much meaning today – and the days of civic work holidays have also been abandoned.
For thirty years the situation regarding the subject in question has not shown any major changes. However, in the last 20 months, four laws have been published creating additional holidays, two of which were dictated at the insistence of Congress. So, today we have holidays for the battles of Ayacucho, December 9; Junín, celebrated on August 6; in Morro de Arica and Flag Day, on June 7 and, most recently, on July 23, in commemoration of the sacrifice of Captain FAP José Abelardo Quiñones.
This sudden burst of holidays makes more sense. Congressional approval does not increase significantly by increasing paid days off. Only a miracle can achieve such an event, considering the scandals we know every week in which the founding fathers are unfortunately involved – with exceptions, of course. For others, it is clear that the Congressional Work Commission – led for the past two years by the wise representatives of the left and currently Mr. Pasión Dávila, representative of the Magisterial Bloc – works with the rudest population. The best tribute to national heroes is to reduce poverty, and this can be achieved through work, not vacations.
Two aspects of the problem should be very clear. In principle, the only thing that can be achieved by creating holidays is to increase labor costs or – in other words – complicate formality and favor informality. In informality there are no holidays, no maximum working hours, no vacations, or any labor protection.
Second, understand that the more holidays there are, the services the employer provides or the products it sells are likely to decrease due to shorter weekly hours. If they do not decrease, their costs will increase, because you have to pay two hundred percent more for holiday work, and that cost is likely to be transferred to the consumer by increasing prices. This means lower productivity and higher prices.
The importance of the anniversaries converted into holidays is not mentioned, they are all dates of special relevance, what is remarkable is that in a relatively short time – less than two years– Congress increased the number on holidays from twelve to sixteen. It is based on a wrong concept of things, it is not necessary that all dates of importance in the history of a country can be holidays, this is the good reason for civic or military celebrations that do not interfere with productive activities. The battles of Junín and Ayacucho sealed national independence and thus are studied in school, the same can be said of the battle of Morro de Arica or the sacrifice of Captain Quiñones.
If there are some dates that actually have all the grounds to be declared holidays – in addition to the twelve days included in the original text of the Law – it is the rescue of hostages from the residence of the Japanese ambassador, not only. for the military success that it means – and that is the object of study and praise all over the world – but also because it means a clear defeat of the communist terrorism that is bleeding in our country or the day when Abimael Guzmán, leader of the Sendero criminal group, arrested Bright. We must show respect and gratitude to our national heroes in life, not mistreating them or attacking them with unjust persecutions and endless judicial procedures, as done by the ideological relatives of the brutal not for many years.
Returning to the strict issue of work, with sixteen holidays and thirty days off, we are at the top of the countries with the most paid breaks … are among the least productive.
Finally, if there was an award aimed at rewarding the promotion of idle entertainment, the current Congress would undoubtedly win it.
