Fife Council Rejects Calls for World Cup Bank Holiday

Fife Council has rejected plans to grant its employees an additional public holiday to mark Scotland’s first appearance in the men’s World Cup since 1998. Councillors followed in the lead of eleven other local authorities across Scotland in rejecting the move, including Perth and Kinross and Stirling councils.

First Minister John Swinney previously stated that Monday 15 June, should be designated as a national bank holiday, and the proposal was later approved by King Charles. 

According to the Cabinet Committee’s proposal, there is no statutory requirement for councils to close for the additional bank holiday, and observance is a local decision. Only Scottish Government employees will receive the day off; for all other workers, the decision depends on employer policy. 

Councillors voted to refuse the public holiday at a cabinet committee meeting on 5 March. This decision came alongside eleven other local authorities who rejected this plan. 

The holiday was set to coincide with Scotland’s opening World Cup match against Haiti in Boston, starting at 2:00 am BST on Sunday 14 June. 

According to the Cabinet Committee’s proposal, the cost of an extra holiday would be too expensive, with an estimated cost of £275,000. The proposal also cites concerns over school closures and claims of sexism if a similar holiday were not offered for the women’s World Cup. 

The proposal also added that “essential services would need to continue to operate and there would be no recognition for those working on the actual day of the match, potentially causing dissatisfaction in the workforce.” 

Labour Councillor Altany Craik for Glenrothes West & Kionglassie, said in the Council Committee meeting that a day off was “nice to have rather than essential.”

Labour councillor Patrick Browne said “giving the public holiday would effectively close schools which would inconvenience thousands of kids, thousands of parents who would then have to make their own arrangements in terms of taking the day off from their employment [...] A lot of them will be working in the private sector and there’s no onus on private sector employers to honour that commitment.” 

However, SNP opposition bench Councillor David Alexander said that the Council was underestimating the nationwide excitement that would come as a result. 

“I don’t think most of you have any idea of the absolute state of euphoria that will happen in the days before the World Cup,” Alexander said at the cabinet meeting. 

He continued, “The whole country will be talking about it. This is going to be fantastic. The negativity coming from this one day, I do not understand. The councils doing it will be heroes all over Scotland, and the ones who aren’t will be miserable. We can afford this.”

Photo by Wikimedia Commons