TUC presses for more public holidays
On the eve of the August bank holiday, the TUC has called on the Government to introduce new public holidays to bring the UK into line with the rest of Europe.
UK workers have eight public holidays a year, whereas the European average is 11. Only the Dutch have as few days as the UK, with Slovakia at 18, Cyprus, Malta, Spain and Portugal at 14.
An online survey for the TUC revealed that the most popular days for an extra public holiday were the autumn half term (41 per cent) national saint’s days of England, Scotland and Wales (32 per cent), and New Year’s Eve (11 per cent).
Only one per cent thought that the UK didn’t need any more public holidays.
The TUC argue that the UK economy could “comfortably absorb” the extra time off. It points to the positive effect on other areas of the economy, like retail and tourism and a reduction in work related stress – which is estimated to cost the UK £4.4 billion a year. The TUC argues that “extra bank holidays would have a positive impact on staff motivation, recruitment and retention.”
Its further economic argument is that between 1997 and 1999 UK productivity grew by 4.6 per cent, whilst the number of contracted hours worked fell by 0.7 per cent, “showing that when extra days holiday are granted there is not a negative impact on output. The granting of additional public holidays merely gives back a small slice of the benefits of increased output to employees.”
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber, said: “In the past, bosses have wildly exaggerated the costs of introducing more bank holidays, but our calculations suggest that the UK can well afford to bring in extra days. If we all were able to take a few extra days off work, rather than losing out, employers would benefit from less-stressed, more contented, productive staff.”
He stressed that in the UK there is currently no statutory right for workers to take a bank holiday off or be paid extra for working, estimating that over three million people find themselves losing out.
Mr Barber added: “The TUC welcomes Labour’s Policy Forum decision that ministers are committed to change the law so that bank holidays are taken in addition to annual leave, as they are throughout the rest of Europe. But we want the Government to go further and introduce three extra public holidays. It would be a real vote winner.”
The Forum of Private Business (FPB) though said it was “vehemently opposed” to any more bank holidays. Chief executive Nick Goulding said: “Bank holidays already cause enough problems for business particularly as they are clustered together on the calendar.
“Not only will the cost of this proposal be absolutely colossal it will also cause massive disruption.”
