Called to work on Christmas

I work for a government institution whose name I cannot disclose. Our boss has to present an urgent report to the Minister’s office before the end of the year. This report is lengthy and very important, and we have been called to work on Christmas day. I am a Christian, so Christmas is very important to me and I believe no one will even read the report and the urgency is inflated. I want to know whether asking an employee to work on a public holiday is lawful. Please guide me.
DC, Dodoma

Public holidays are governed by the Public Holidays Act, Cap. 35 [R.E 2002] (Public Holidays Act). Section 2 of the Public Holidays Act directs that public holidays in a year shall be the holidays listed in the schedule of the Act. The President can designate any other day not listed in the schedule as a public holiday. Christmas is listed as a public holiday in the Schedule of the said Act. However, asking an employee to work on a public holiday is lawful. Section 5 of the Public Holidays Act provides that it shall be lawful for the head of any Government department to open the offices and works thereof and to call any persons employed in such department to perform their duties on a public holiday as he may deem fit.

Employees who work on a public holiday are entitled to payment. Section 25 of the Employment and Labour Relations Act, Cap. 366 [R.E 2019] provides that If an employee works on a public holiday specified in the Public Holidays Act, the employer shall pay double the employee’s basic wage for each hour worked on that day. You may consult your institution’s human resource department for further guidance as you will have to work but get double the pay.