The TUC today launches its campaign calling for a new autumn bank holiday to celebrate volunteering.

On the 30th anniversary of the most recently created bank holiday (May Day), the TUC points out that Britain’s eight existing bank holidays make it the country with the second lowest number in Europe.

It is campaigning for a new Community Day holiday in late October, believing that it would help repay employees for their part in the UK’s economic success.

Volunteering England and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations support the campaign, among others. Fifty-five MPs have also shown support for an early day motion for a new bank holiday, including Glenda Jackson and Dennis Skinner.

“We’ve gone 30 years without a new bank holiday and the UK is now languishing behind the rest of Europe,” says TUC general secretary Brendan Barber. “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.”