Spare a thought for Christmas Day workers, including clergy - TUC boss

The brag of Britain's commercialized unions has urged those who are celebrating Christmas to spare a thought for those who person to enactment – including clergy astatine religion services.

Paul Nowak says 1.2 cardinal radical volition beryllium moving connected Christmas Day, galore of them attraction workers, nurses and different NHS staff.

Speaking to Sky News, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) wide caput said: "On Christmas Day, astir of america volition beryllium spending it with our loved ones, our friends and household and enjoying the day.

"But there'll beryllium much than a cardinal radical astatine work, galore of them, for example, successful attraction homes oregon successful retail, preparing for the Boxing Day sales.

"And it's truly important that we recognise the publication of those workers arsenic we spell into Christmas."

Speaking astatine the TUC's Congress House HQ, Mr Nowak said galore of those moving volition beryllium connected zero-hours contracts oregon successful low-paid jobs.

"For those workers, hopefully they'll beryllium getting a Christmas contiguous this twelvemonth successful the signifier of the government's Employment Rights Act, which volition get escaped of exploitative zero-hours contracts and hopefully thrust up wage and tackle insecure employment," helium said.

Asked astir the clergy, Mr Nowak said: "There are members of the clergy who are national members, and of course, being a subordinate of the clergy is simply a vocation, but it's besides a job.

"And alongside those who volition beryllium delivering sermons connected Christmas Day, there'll beryllium radical opening up churches and keeping radical harmless and making definite the heating's turned on.

"So, it's important to spare a thought for those workers arsenic well."

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He besides claimed the Employment Rights Act, which received Royal Assent past week, arsenic the cleanable Christmas contiguous for galore radical moving implicit the festive season.

Mr Nowak said: "For galore of the workers who are moving astatine Christmas, they volition beryllium successful low-paid, insecure employment.

"They're precisely the benignant of workers who volition payment astir connected the government's Employment Rights Act. Up to 8 cardinal workers adjacent April volition get sick wage from time 1 for the archetypal clip ever, acknowledgment to that Act.

"And there'll beryllium a full caller big of different rights coming online during the people of the adjacent 18 months oregon 2 years, including an extremity to exploitative zero-hours contracts.

"So this is simply a truly large measurement guardant for low-paid workers successful this country."