Some governments have proposed reducing public holidays, claiming it helps budgets and boosts growth. Scrapping public holidays is in vogue. But is there sufficient evidence to suggest that countries with fewer public holidays are more economically productive? Public holidays and paid vacation timeThe debate on public holidays is part of a wider discussion on working hours overall. It has 11 public holidays, but according to Adewale Maye, many industries such as retail, tourism and transportation still operate during public holidays as workers are not guaranteed paid days off.