Tengrinews.kz — Kazakhstan needs to rethink its approach to professional holidays and abandon the practice of dedicating commemorative dates to specific government agencies. Mazhilis Deputy Sergey Ponomarev addressed this proposal to Minister of Labor and Social Protection Askarbek Ertayev,
In his parliamentary inquiry, Ponomarev noted that professional holidays should serve as a form of public recognition for the individuals who create the country's national wealth.
However, the MP pointed out that Kazakhstan currently observes 74 professional holidays, about 20 percent of which are dedicated to specific government bodies rather than professions.
"We want to honor the working person, but we end up celebrating the founding date of a department," Sergey Ponomarev stated.
In his view, the sheer number of holidays is causing the original meaning of professional dates to fade. He cited journalists as an example, noting that due to constant changes in the name and date of their holiday, many no longer remember exactly when it is celebrated.
For the record, Mass Media Workers' Day is celebrated annually on June 28.
The deputy also drew attention to the uneven distribution of holidays throughout the calendar.
"The distribution of holidays remains extremely uneven: 15 are celebrated in October alone—effectively one holiday every two days," Ponomarev said.
Furthermore, the MP criticized the current holiday system in the education sector. There are currently three separate dates for industry workers: Teacher's Day, Higher Education Workers' Day, and Technical, Vocational, and Post-Secondary Education Workers' Day.
"Everyone only knows Teacher's Day—a truly national and widely recognized holiday," he noted.
According to the deputy, additional dates for related categories of workers only dilute the significance of the industry's primary professional holiday.
In this regard, the Mazhilis member proposed developing a unified methodology for establishing professional holidays based on the priority of professions rather than departments. He also suggested auditing the current list and merging duplicate or highly specialized holidays within a single industry.
Additionally, he proposed that the list of professional holidays be approved by government decree rather than ministerial order, with a mandatory review every two years. The deputy believes this approach will help restore the original meaning of professional holidays and increase respect for working people.
Earlier, the Ministry of Labor did not rule out that Kazakhstan might consider introducing an additional day off in honor of Constitution Day.
