The UAE Cabinet has announced that private sector employees will benefit from the same public holidays as the government sector from this year.

On Tuesday it approved a list of public holidays for the public sector for the years 2019-2020, stressing that it granted the same number of days off for the private sector.

2018 holidays for the private sector used to be 11 days but will now be 14 days for both sectors.

The UAE Cabinet approves public holidays for the public sector for the years 2019-2020, and grants the private sector equal holidays. The decision aims at achieving a balance between the two sectors and supporting the national economy. #UAEGov pic.twitter.com/VqQqU8IBFx— UAEGov (@uaegov) March 5, 2019

The holidays include the Islamic New Year, Eid Al Fitr, Eid Al Adha, Hijiri New Year, Commemoration Day and National Day.

It added in a tweet that the decree aims to achiev a balance between the two sectors and supporting the national economy.

The move comes as the UAE is keen to encourage more Emiratis to join the private sector as part of its Emiratisation policy.

More than 338,000 private sector companies are operating in UAE with a combined workforce of 5.26 million, a senior official at the Ministry of Economy said in January.

"The private sector's contribution to the UAE GDP grew 5 percent to 70.5 percent in 2018 in translation of the government's growing interest in the sector, being a key driver of economic growth," said Abdullah Al Saleh, Under-Secretary of Ministry of Economy for Foreign Trade, in comments published by state news agency WAM.