朱莉·沃德2016年国际劳动节致辞

Message on International Worker’s Day

Julie Ward, MEP for the North West of England,

1 May 2016

Today is International Workers’ Day, a day to celebrate workers’ rights and to remember the victories that have been won by working people over the centuries.

In 2016, workers in the European Union benefit from holiday pay, maternity and paternity pay, sick leave, the eight-hour working day, and health and safety at work. We gain these rights and protections through collective organization, not just in the UK, but across borders.

This idea that we are stronger together is central to both the Labour Movement and the EU. Without the EU, we would not have the gains we have today. But as much as International Workers’ Day is a time to remember the past, it’s also a time to think about the future, to think about the struggles that workers face that have yet to be overcome, from zero hours contracts to low pay and workfare; and it’s time to think about the best ways to address these challenges together as a united movement, and together with our comrades across the European Union.