Staff at a Dundee printing firm were told they have to work today even though their counterparts at the company’s Wolverhampton factory are getting the day off to celebrate the royal wedding.
Around 150 staff at the Dundee plant of the Flint Group, formerly Day International, will work as normal today. The company says their contracts entitle them to 28 days’ holiday per year the legal minimum and therefore no additional bank holidays, even though Flint’s employees in England are receiving the extra holiday.
John Moist from the GMB union said, “The UK Government declared Friday, April 29, as a public holiday but this means precisely nothing in many workplaces.
“GMB has members in Dundee required to come into work while their colleagues in Wolverhampton working for the same employer, the Flint Group, get the day off with pay. All this is utterly unfair and unacceptable.”
Mr Moist said the public holiday should be regarded as additional to any previously agreed days off. However, a spokesman for the Flint Group said the situation is not “clear cut”.
He said, “Flint Group negotiated all holiday entitlements at the beginning of this year in full agreement with the union representatives at its Dundee facility.
“All contractual holiday arrangements are inclusive of statutory holidays in order to cover the patterns of shift work required to run an important factory, supplying printing products around the world.”
GMB members at Fife plants have also been told they must work today, including Fife Joinery Manufacturing in Glenrothes and JD Donaldsons in Leven and Buckhaven.
Mr Moist said, “Many thousands of workers in the private and public sectors are being required to come into work as if it was a normal working day.
“At the same time workers in the NHS and employees of companies such as Eddie Stobart will get no recognition for them being at work while the nation celebrates and parties. All this is utterly unfair and not acceptable.”
He added, “The same thing will happen again for the Queen’s jubilee next year unless the UK Government takes action to properly legislate for universal public holidays across Britain for special occasions.”