The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Kenya is criticizing a government six-day work week proposal that would require civil servants to work on Saturday, the biblical Sabbath and day of rest for more than 25 million Adventist Christians world-wide.

Kenya's Minister of State for Public Service, Asman A. Kamama, introduced the proposal after a government team examined a new work model.

Adventist Church leaders called on the government to suspend the proposal, saying requiring members employed as civil servants to work on Saturday would conflict with the constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion.

"While appreciating the minister's zeal to drive our nation to a 24-hour economy, we are of the opinion that any moves in that direction should be sensitive to the fundamental and God-given rights of all Kenyans," Paul Muasya, executive director of the Adventist church's East African Union Mission, said in a statement during a press conference in Nairobi last week.

His entire statement also appeared as an open letter advertisement in national newspapers, including Daily Nation and The Standard.

Church leaders in Kenya said the proposal could affect 15 percent of the country's civil servants. Union of Kenya Civil Servants representatives said they would accept working Saturdays if they were treated as overtime, according to the Nation.

Last week, The Nation reported Minister Asman A. Kamama as saying he had urged public servants to stop being "conservative" and "embrace change." Kamama was not immediately available for comment.

Kenya, a country of about 37 million people, is home to roughly 565,000 Adventists. Church leaders estimate that figure jumps to nearly 3 million when including children who have not yet chosen to join the church through baptism. [Editors: Ansel Oliver and Christian B. Schäffler for ANN/APD]