– What we are asking the Danes for is to work one more day so that we can live up to our international obligations in defense and security policy, says Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. The announcement came when she presented the policy to the new Danish government at a press conference on Wednesday, writes Danmarks Radio. The holiday that stands for Fall is a day of great prayer. More about it further down in the case. According to the plan, the Danes will lose their day off from 2024. According to Frederiksen, the Danes must contribute “a little more” in order for the country to invest in defence. – The whole idea of this is that we need to finance increased defense expenditure, says Frederiksen. She believes the Danes get away “relatively cheaply” in this way. Danish trade unions do not fully agree with that. Jakob Ellemann-Jensen (Venstre), Mette Frederiksen (Social Democracy) and Jakob Ellemann-Jensen (Moderateren) presented the policy of the new Danish three-party government on Wednesday. Photo: RITZAU SCANPIX / Reuters Trade union: Like lightning from a clear sky HK Handel, which organizes shop employees, is surprised by the government’s plans. – We think this is a great pity. Great prayer day is for many of my members one of the few days of the year when you have time off and can be with family and friends, says leader Mette Høgh. – We work Saturday and Sunday and all other days of the week. Holidays are something very special for us. Fagbevegelsens Hovedorganisation (FH) organizes more than 1.3 million members, Leader Lizette Risgaard says the news came like lightning from the blue. – This is a right that wage earners have today. I believe that a government cannot simply remove such a right, says Risgaard. She says that she understands that the defense budget must be increased as a result of developments in Putin’s Russia, but believes that the government should have entered into a dialogue with the trade unions. – I think that you should call the parties in working life and say: “This is the situation, can you help solve it?” Holiday for over 300 years Great Prayer Day has been a public holiday in Denmark since 1686. The day falls on the fourth Friday after Easter and three weeks before Pentecost. Originally, the day was supposed to be used for penance, prayer and fasting. The night before, all trade was to cease and catering establishments to close. The reason was that the Danes should attend mass the following day refreshed and sober. On days of great prayer, the church bells rang for a total of three services. One was not to work, travel, play or play until the services were over. Today, the public holiday has become a welcome day off for many Danes. Store Bededag is a special Danish public holiday and was introduced in 1686. The public holiday was introduced so that people would come to church sober for the important day of prayer. The picture is of Møgeltønder church in South Jutland. Photo: Kyrre Lien / NTB Believes the government must prepare for resistance Work life researcher at Aalborg University, Laust Høgedahl, says the government plans to remove the public holiday by changing the law. – If that’s what they want, they can just do it, says Høgedahl. But according to the researcher, Danish wage earners are enormously happy with their holidays. The politicians must expect opposition. – I will be very surprised if the new request from the government is not going to meet relatively large opposition.
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Trade unions react to the fact that the new Danish government will abolish the holiday of great prayer – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
