I don't know anyone who will scoff at the offer of an extra bank holiday, especially when it'll lengthen Whitsun weekend. After all, UK workers are at the bottom of the league when it comes to public holidays, with only 8 per year. The European average is 11, the USA has 13, as does Austria. In Wales, all four parties represented in the Assembly have been united in calling for St. David's Day to be made a public holiday. Of course, the Assembly doesn't have the power to make it happen, and Westminster has shown no appetite to legislate on our behalf. Yet they are more than happy to pass the legislation for this bank holiday.
The TUC have said that we should have an extra three annual public holidays to bring workers in the UK in line with their counterparts in the rest of Europe.
Free holidays are good, no matter what they are for. But it will be interesting to see how many people take part in the government organised "nationwide (sic) series of celebrations." Some groups are already gearing up to counter what will undoubtedly be an expensive, tax-payer funded, heavily promoted "celebration" of the monarchy.
Meanwhile, radio DJ Tom Binns was sacked from his job after referring to Mrs Windsor's Christmas day speech as "bor-ing", live on air. A facebook group has been set up calling for Birmingham based radio station BRBM to reinstate him, and for people to send complaints to OFCOM.
...you will not oppose the monarchy, you will celebrate the monarchy...
1 comment:
no, we won't!! ;)
on the other hand, I think we should all take St Davids Day off, whether London declares it a bank holiday or not...
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