ASJA: Eid to be celebrated on Saturday

IT is confirmed.

The religious observance of Eid-Ul-Fitr will be celebrated on Saturday. Friday will be a normal working day for Muslims in TT.

This was confirmed by Imam Raffaic Mohammed of the Macoon Street ASJA Jamaat and PRO of ASJA who said that up until 7.45 pm on Thursday, after keeping watch for close to two hours, they had no sighting of the moon.

In Islam, the sighting of the moon in the Holy Month of Ramadhan initiates the start of the fasting period and again, the breaking of the fast at the end.

Imam Mohammed explained that the moon was born at 12 am on Thursday, which marked the 29th day of the Holy month of Ramadhan and would have been 18 hours old at sunset.

At 7.45 pm, Mohammed said the moon had not been sighted and they had taken a decision that the observance would be on April 22, as President Christine Carla Kangaloo had earlier declared.

“If you don’t see the moon on the 29th day, you have to complete 30 days, which will be on Friday. If the moon is sighted then you have to declare Eid on Friday. If it is not sighted, then you have to continue fasting so Eid will be on Saturday."

While there was some uncertainty about the exact date of the observance, Mohammed said they officially advised the Government that the safest day to declare the public holiday was Saturday April 22 and was satisfied that the prediction was accurate.

He said TT did not follow the declarations of Saudi Arabia, which has a different time zone, approximately nine hours ahead of TT. He said he had experienced Eid in Saudi Arabia, saying that it was called before the sighting.

Given that the holiday is on the Saturday, some workers have been agitating for a holiday on Friday.

Ministers of Rural Development and Local Government, Faris Al- Rawi and Labour Minister Stephen Mc Clashie confirmed that Friday is a normal working day and urged public servants to show up for work.

Newsday sought clarification from Al-Rawi, after chairman of the San Juan/Laventille Regional Corporation Anthony Roberts, confirmed that his corporation would remain closed on Friday.

Roberts explained that the majority of the workers at that corporation fell into the daily-rated category.

Based on their collective agreement, he said whenever a holiday fell on the Saturday, daily rated workers got the Friday off.

He said, because there are few monthly paid workers at the San Juan corporation, it was not practical to have them come out, since there wasn’t much they can accomplish in the absence of the daily rated workers.

“Our corporation would remain closed on Friday,” Roberts said, adding that, as a result, there will be no garbage collection on that day. Arrangements have been made to collect waste on Saturday instead.

San Fernando mayor Junia Regrello and chairman of the Penal Debe Regional Corporation Dr Allen Sammy, said their corporations would remain open.

While they are adhering to the regulations for daily rated workers to get the day off, they said it would be work as usual for the rest of staff not in that bargaining unit.

“From a general policy perspective, Friday is a regular working day because Saturday is the public holiday, subject to any obligations which may include collective agreements,” Al-Rawi said.

Sharing a similar perspective, Mc Clashie said traditionally, when a holiday falls on a Saturday, the energy and some private sectors, based on their collective agreements, give workers the Friday off.

“In the public service, that is not the case. If the holiday falls on a Sunday, they get the Monday off.”

Pointing out that it was the office of the CPO and not the Labour Ministry that pronounced on such directives, which they follow, Mc Clashie said if there was any change in the holiday that would have already been announced.

Communications Minister Symon de Nobriga said the date of the observance had no bearing on the public holiday and the holiday on Saturday stands.