The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour (M.C.I.L.) has confirmed that next Monday is a public holiday to mark Mother’s Day.

A public notice signed by the Ministry’s Chief Executive Officer, Pulotu Lyndon Chu Ling, advised Government agencies and the private sector that the day after Mother's day Sunday is to be treated as a public holiday.

The confirmation puts to rest suggestions that the Mother's Day holiday could be canned given the S.O.E. orders.

According to the M.C.I.L., shops could open on Monday but employers are reminded they should comply with Section 39 of the Labour and Employment Relations Act 2013, in relation to the rate of wages to be paid to employees who work on public holidays.

Pulotu added that the state of emergency (S.O.E.) Order 9 dated April 30, 2020 is still in effect.

“Accordingly, the public and private sector must adhere to this order. As per the state of emergency Order 8, the opening hours for supermarkets are as follows: Monday to Saturday are strictly from 6am to 6pm and Sunday 3pm to 7pm.”

The public notice from M.C.I.L. was published Wednesday on the Ministry’s Facebook page.

Confusion over whether next Monday is a public holiday was partly driven in part by the six-week long S.O.E., which the Government declared in March this year to mitigate potential risks associated with the coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic.

Samoa, to date, remains one of less than 10 countries in the world that remains free of the COVID-19.