In fact, what could give the workers greater courage and faith in their own strength than a mass work stoppage which they had decided themselves? What could give more courage to the eternal slaves of the factories and the workshops than the mustering of their own troops? Thus, the idea of a proletarian celebration was quickly accepted and, from Australia, began to spread to other countries until finally it had conquered the whole proletarian world.

For the second time, workers across the world are marking May Day in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The danger and threat of COVID-19 continues to weight heavy on working people and their communities across the globe.

May Day is when workers of the world stop and reflect. We’re seeing so many human rights abuses — workers being denied their right to free association, free speech being suppressed. It is the responsibility of us all to defend our fundamental human rights.

The right to strike. The right protest. The right to freedom of association. These civil liberties, that run through the veins of trade unionist globally are under attack. And collectively we need to stand shoulder to shoulder and say, “no more oppression”.