Falkirk Council: Staff will get coronation holiday after opposition councillors and unions step in

Labour and Conservative members of Falkirk Council’s executive, along with Independent councillor Robert Spears, voted to give staff both May 1 and May 8 as a public holiday.

Officers had urged members to move the existing May 1 holiday for the royal event in a bid to save cash.

A report to councillors said that the cost to the council of an additional public holiday would be £260,000, at a time when budgets have never been more under pressure.

The SNP administration suggested a compromise, which would have meant offering staff a “fixed day” rather than a public holiday. This would reduce the cost by half, as it would have meant that staff who had to work on the day would not get overtime.

The leader of the council, Councillor Cecil Meiklejohn, warned members that the cost of funding the holiday “could be people’s jobs” as the money will have to be found from budgets that are already under severe pressure.

“That’s unfortunately the reality of our finances right now,” she said.

But both Labour and Conservative councillors agreed that it was wrong to cancel the May 1 holiday, which traditionally celebrates International Workers’ Day. Equally, they thought people should have the chance to celebrate the historic occasion of the King’s coronation, which most people will not have seen in their lifetime.

Councillor Euan Stainbank said: “May 1 is International Workers’ Day and the coronation holiday has been announced by both the UK and Scottish governments as an additional bank holiday.”

He added that the extra holiday was there to “make a coronation weekend” and the fact that it was so close to the traditional bank holiday “should not create a dynamic of competition” between the two events.

Mr Stainbank also said that refusing to grant the holiday in the face of trade union opposition could have a damaging impact on the council’s relationship with its staff.

Conservative councillor James Bundy said: “The people of Falkirk expected two bank holidays in May: the traditional May Bank holiday and the additional bank holiday announced to celebrate the King’s coronation.

“The Falkirk Conservatives believe that the people of Falkirk deserve both these bank holidays, and that is why we voted for both May 1 and May 8 to be bank holidays.”

The opposition groups backed the council’s three trade unions, including Unite which wrote to all councillors asking them to reject the advice to simply move holiday away from May 1.

While the UK and Scottish Governments have both confirmed that there will be an additional bank holiday on Monday, May 8 to recognise the coronation on Saturday, May 6, there will be no government funding to cover the cost.

It is up to individual councils to make and fund their own arrangements.

Nationally, the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) has confirmed that the exams that were planned to take place on Monday, May 8, will be re-scheduled.