Full Solidarity with French Workers in Defence of May 1st

On behalf of the Workers’ Group at the European Economic and Social Committee, I want to express our full solidarity with the French trade unions and workers in their fight to defend May 1st as a mandatory paid and non-working public holiday.

Once again, workers’ rights and hard-won social achievements are being called into question in the name of so-called “flexibility” and “economic necessity”. May 1st is not an ordinary holiday. It commemorates more than a century of social struggles for workers’ rights, including the tragic events of Fourmies in 1891, where workers were killed while demonstrating for dignity and justice.

This legislation is a serious setback for millions of workers and weakens the last common day of rest guaranteed to all employees.

We fully support the French trade unions and workers in their fight to protect May 1st as a non-working public holiday, a symbol of unity, dignity and rights. We call on the French National Assembly to reject this bill in the vote which will take place on 22 January. We firmly reject this attack on one of the most meaningful achievements of the labour movement.

In solidarity,

Lucie Studničná