International Workers’ Day is not a heritage event, it is a call to action 

1. We celebrate what we have already won, and how we won it  

The early years of the industrial revolution were brutal and very many employers today are equally ruthless in tooth and claw. Shorter working time, weekends, paid holidays, pensions, health and safety, equalities policies at work, and employment laws, were won by collective action, struggle and sacrifice. We stand on the shoulders of women and men who were trade union activists who organised in adversity and won. We must remember them, and we must be inspired by them.  

2. It is uplifting  

You should feel a buzz. Being a trade unionist is not easy. That’s the point. We are constantly challenging wrongs, defending those weaker than ourselves, campaigning, organising and fighting for more and better. And so, it is important to sometimes take a moment to sit back and reflect. At our best we are principled, our causes are just, and our lives are noble and worthy.  So, feel good about yourself. 

3. Workers’ organisations across the planet share common goals  

We are working towards societies, communities and workplaces that deliver justice, respect, fairness and equality for all, decent, safe and secure work and sustainability for our planet and our future.  

4. We are the many  

If you are a trade union activist, then you are part of an international movement. The International Trade Union Confederation’s affiliates have more than 200 million members in 169 countries, and this number is growing. That is a mighty big hug. Internationalism and a commitment to peace for all are part of our core values. 

5. There are good people who need our help  

The ITUC researches and publishes an annual global workers’ rights index. In 2024 it found that the ten worst countries for working people were: Bangladesh, Belarus, Ecuador, Egypt, Eswatini, Guatemala, Myanmar, the Philippines, Tunisia and Türkiye, indicating "no guarantee of rights" due to the breakdown of the rule of law or internal conflict. This means workers in these countries have little to no access to their basic labour rights. And we have common cause with trade unionists in many countries. The "Make Amazon Pay" campaign involves strikes and protests in over 30 countries. This global campaign aims to hold Amazon accountable for labour abuses, environmental degradation, and threats to democracy. TUC LESE has a strong working relationship with unions in other countries. This includes the DGB in Germany at a regional level, as we are both organising against hate politics, the far-right and the evil of populism. At its best the union movement reaches across borders. 

6. International Workers’ Day is a call to action  

The legacy of May Day can be found by historians in books, on posters and on leaflets. But as trade unionists we believe that a better world is possible, and we know how to get there, through trade union organising and collective action. So, the real legacy of May Day is that as trade union activists, we recommit ourselves to collective action to win the better world that we have a vision of.  

With apologies to President Kennedy, “ask not what the labour movement can do for you, ask what you can do for our labour movement”.  

So, each of us needs to ‘agitate, educate, organise, fight and win’ - collectively.