27th October 2008
LABOUR CANDIDATE AGREES A NEW BANK HOLIDAY IS NEEDED TO CHEER UP STRESSED-OUT WORKERS
A local Labour Party Parliamentary Candidate has backed calls for a new bank holiday.
Donna Hutton, who will be seeking election as MP for Clwyd West constituency (which includes Colwyn Bay, Abergele and Ruthin), marked today (Monday 27th October), marked the halfway point of the longest gap between UK bank holidays, by backing calls by the TUC and the UK's leading voluntary organisations for a new bank holiday.
The consortium of trade unions and community groups want the Bank Holiday called ‘Community Day’ to celebrate the contribution that volunteers make to society, help community groups publicise the work they do and involve more people in their work.
Ms Hutton said, “I think this is a great idea. Community Day bank holiday in late October would bridge the four-month gap between the August and Christmas bank holidays, and give parents a day off during half-term. It would cheer up workers across the UK worried about the recession and their jobs.
“The earliest date Community Day could come into effect would be October 2010, and most experts think the economy will by then be well on the road to recovery, so there is no question the country cannot afford it. To find out more and sign up to the Community Day campaign, I hope people will visit www.communityday.org.uk.
“We currently have eight bank holidays, compared to an EU average of 11 days – and only Romania has fewer bank holidays than Great Britain! So a new bank holiday would be a modest move for employers, but would really give a boost to stressed out workers”.
ENDS.
FURTHER INFORMATION:
- The Community Day campaign is backed by the TUC, the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), Volunteering England, Community Service Volunteers (CSV) and the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA).
- The economic case for a new bank holiday is made in the TUC report 'Why the UK can afford a Community Day', available at www.tuc.org.uk/extras/bankholidaybusinesscase.pdf