Workers favour extra October bank holiday

UK
workers’ top choice for a new bank holiday would be a Monday in late October,
an online survey has found.

The
TUC is calling on the Government to introduce three extra public holidays to
bring the UK
in line with the average across the EU. Its website poll of almost 20,000
people found that 41 per cent favoured a break during the October half-term.

However,
the CBI employers’ group said extra breaks would hurt the economy. The TUC
disagrees, saying there would be "no impact" on the economy, as
retail and tourism industries would receive a boost.

There
is also a potential reduction in work-related stress, which it says costs the UK
£4.4bn a year.

"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," TUC general secretary Brendan
Barber said.

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Almost
a third of the respondents opted for St
George’s day (23 April), St
Andrew’s day (30 November) or St David’s day (1 March).

By Mike Berry