Thousands of people gathered in Danish capital Copenhagen on Sunday (February 5) to protest against a bill moved by the government to scrap a public holiday. The move is being planned to help finance increased defence spending.
The protests were organised by country’s biggest labour unions. These oppose abolishing the Great Prayer Day. It is a Christian holiday that falls on the fourth Friday after Easter. The celebration dates back to 1686.
Unions organising the protest estimated at least 50,000 people took part, which would make it Denmark’s biggest demonstration in more than a decade. Local police don’t give such crowd estimates.
The holiday abolition was proposed in December to help raise tax revenues for higher defence spending in wake of the Ukraine war, and is part of the newly formed government’s sweeping reform programme aimed at overcoming challenges to the country’s welfare model.
The government has proposed moving forward by three years to 2030 a goal of meeting a NATO defence spending target of 2% of GDP. It says most of the extra 4.5 billion Danish crowns ($654 million) needed to meet the target could be covered by the higher tax revenues it anticipates from abolishing the holiday.
However, unions, opposition lawmakers and economists have questioned the effect of the proposal. Some economists have said it is unlikely to have long-lasting effects, as workers would find other ways to adjust their working hours.
(With inputs from agencies)
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