Today, St Andrew's Day, will reiterate Labour’s
commitment to introduce UK-wide bank holidays for each of the
patron saints of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Labour will work with the governments of Wales, Scotland and
Northern Ireland to agree four more UK-wide public holidays.
These would be held on St David’s Day (1st March), St Patrick’s
Day (17th March), St George’s Day (23rd April) and St Andrew’s
Day (30th November).
Despite people in the UK working some of the longest hours in
Europe, the Conservative’s manifesto offers nothing to reduce
working hours or increase holiday leave. With only eight public
holidays, the UK currently has the fewest of any G20 or EU
country, giving workers less time to spend with their family and
enjoy a healthy work-life balance.
This change would give workers a much needed break and work to
bring the four nations of the UK together after nine years of
divisive policies pursued by the Conservative government.
, Leader of the , said:
"I am patriotic about the UK and what that means to me is caring
for the entire society.
"Patriotism is about supporting each other, not attacking
somebody else.
"Labour will work with the devolved governments to introduce four
bank holidays for the whole of the UK, one for each of our patron
Saints.
"Labour would bring the number of public holidays workers enjoy
in line with countries across Europe and give people more time
with their families and friends."
, Labour's Shadow Secretary
for Wales, said:
“The Conservatives continue to fail the people of Wales, having
slashed our budgets and treated us with contempt. Under the
Tories, people have been forced to work harder but for less.
“Labour believes in working together to improve the lives of
everyone. That includes making sure they have a decent work-life
balance.
“This policy will finally make Saint David’s day a bank holiday
and bring the UK in line with other major economies, providing
workers with a much needed rest while celebrating the best of
Welsh culture with the world.”
, Labour's Shadow Secretary
for Scotland, said:
“Our country is divided by the English nationalism of the
Conservative Party on one side and the divisive politics of the
SNP on the other.
“Scottish Labour believe that the best solutions are those which
involve working together for the good of all rather than the
benefit of the few. That is why a Labour government would
introduce four new bank holidays across the UK to honour each of
our patron saints.
“St Andrew's Day celebrates the great traditions of our nation.
Under a Labour government it would become a bank holiday for the
whole of the UK, giving workers a break and emphasising our
shared heritage.”
Ends
Notes to editors
The UK has the lowest number of public holidays of the major
economies - 8 compared with a G20 average of 12. Four extra
holidays would take us to the G20 average.
On average, workers in the UK work some of the longest hours in
Europe. One study estimated the usual weekly working hours for
full-time employees as over 42 in the UK compared to 38.5 in
Denmark.
https://progressiveeconomyforum.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/PEF_Skidelsky_How_to_achieve_shorter_working_hours.pdf
Despite working long hours, the UK lags behind other G7 countries
in terms of productivity. 2018 figures (the most recent
available) found that compared with the rest of the G7, the UK
had below average real productivity growth in both output per
hour and output per worker terms in 2016.
