Spare a thought for Christmas workers

Marc Astley
Authored by Marc Astley
Posted Tuesday, December 18, 2012 - 11:53pm

As many workplaces prepare to shut down for the Christmas break and thoughts turn to family and friends, mince pies and presents under the tree, the South West TUC is today (Tuesday) urging everyone to spare a thought for the tens of thousands of people who will be working this Christmas Day.

TUC analysis of official statistics shows that the number of people who work on 25 December rose by 78 per cent between 2004 and 2010 (the most recent year for which figures are available).

In 2010 almost 172,000 employees were in work on Christmas Day, compared to just over 96,000 in 2004.

Just over 87,000 women and 84,000 men were working on 25 December 2010. The number of female employees working was 70 per cent higher than in 2004 and the number of male workers working on Christmas Day was 88 per cent higher than in 2004.

NHS and social care workers are likely to make up largest group of people working this Christmas.

Nearly 75,000 were at work in 2010 compared to just over 47,000 in 2004.

As well as hospitals asking more staff to work during the festive period, over 14,000 people worked in hotels, pubs and restaurants on Christmas Day two years ago with a similar number working in local shops and garages.

Nigel Costley, regional secretary of the South West TUC, said: “There has been a significant increase in the number of people working on Christmas Day in recent years, reflecting the changing nature of the way we live our lives.

“We should all spare a thought for the people next Tuesday who will be hard at work while we’re opening our presents, messing about with our new gadgets, tucking into our turkey dinners, sipping a glass of sherry and relaxing with our families.

“Unions have worked hard to make sure that the UK’s Christmas Day employees get premium rates, earning double or even triple their normal pay.

But whether it be the emergency services, those in the health service, call centre workers, people working in petrol stations or in hotels and restaurants, let’s remember all those whose work helps keep the country ticking over while the rest of us are enjoying ourselves.”

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