The TUC has repeated its call for a new autumn holiday to celebrate the “great British tradition of volunteering”.
The union group is using the 30th anniversary of the creation of the May Day holiday – the last bank holiday to be introduced in the UK – to press the government for a new Community Day in late October to celebrate and encourage volunteering and community activity.
No new bank holidays have been introduced since 1978, leaving the UK with just eight, the second lowest in Europe.
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: “A new bank holiday would give everyone much-needed time with friends and family. Timing it around late October would also create a welcome pit-stop to break the gruelling four-month stint between the August bank holiday and the Christmas break.
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“But a new bank holiday should not just be a day off work, it should be a special day that brings the nation together. What better cause for us all to celebrate than our great British tradition of volunteering.”
The TUC has supported an early day motion in parliament calling for a new bank holiday, with 55 MPs signing up so far.
