Usdaw calls for a Community Day

Shopworkers’ union, Usdaw, is joining the campaign for a national Community Day, by calling for an extra bank holiday with a special focus on celebrating and promoting voluntary community activity.

The Community Day campaign, which is a joint venture from the TUC and four of the UK’s largest voluntary organisations, is proposing a bank holiday that would fall during the October half term.

Currently England, Scotland and Wales all have eight public holidays per year, whilst Northern Ireland has ten.

John Hannett, Usdaw General Secretary, said:

“Most of us spend a large part of our waking lives at work. It can be easy to forget that we are part of a wider community or to find the time to make our contribution. We want to redress that balance between our members’ working lives and the rest of their lives.

“Great Britain currently has fewer holidays than the average for EU member states, with no public holidays at all in the long dark weeks between August and Christmas. That’s why we believe a Community Day in October would be a great benefit to our members.”

Notes to Editors:

• Contacts for newsdesks: Usdaw’s Media Officer, Cherry Hamilton, can be contacted on 0161 249 2469 or e-mail cherry.hamilton@usdaw.org.uk
• Usdaw (the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK’s fourth biggest trade union, with over 365,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemicals and other trades.
• More information and news releases are available at our online Newsroom.
• Subscribe/unsubscribe to Usdaw news releases via our online e-news service at: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/site/email.html

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© 2003 (USDAW) Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers
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