Travel company Thomas Cook urges MPs to create extra Bank Holiday

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Thomas Cook will show it is serious about the issue by giving all its staff an extra day off in 2008.

The company will also set up a petition for the public to sign before it is handed over to the Prime Minister, as well as lobbying MPs and giving holidaymakers a free day's stay in millions of its holiday deals.

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Extra day off: Thomas Cook has launched a television campaign to urge the Government to create one more Bank Holiday for Britons (photo posed by models)

A study commissioned by the travel firm showed that the UK gives workers fewer Bank Holidays than any other European country, with the sole exception of Romania.

Employees here get eight days off a year, compared with 18 in Slovenia and 16 in Spain and Cyprus.

Simon Carter, Thomas Cook's executive director of marketing, said: 'We're calling on the Government to look seriously at the number of Bank Holidays that Britons have.

"It is unbelievable that we sit at the bottom of the Euro Bank Holiday league, with only eight days off a year. Only Romanians rank below, with seven and a half days off.

"And with 121 days between the last Bank Holiday in August and the next public holiday at Christmas, we're really urging everyone to join us in our call to get this changed."

The travel firm claimed 57 per cent of MPs said they would support the introduction of a new Bank Holiday.

Mr Carter added: "Why should we wait for the Government to take action? We value our employees and think they deserve that extra day off.

"And if it's good enough for our staff - why not for all Britons? That's why we are offering all of our customers a free day on millions of holidays."

His colleague Simon Robinson added: "Normally at this time of year you'd expect holiday companies to offer just money off, but to show that we really want our campaign to make a difference we're prepared to offer our holidaymakers a day off now."

Holidaymakers wanting to sign the Bank Holiday petition can do so at any of Thomas Cook's 800 stores or online at www.thomascook.com.