Kimberley Mannion
UNION bosses have admitted their disappointment at the low turnout for International Workers’ Day in Gibraltar.
Unite the Union admitted it had hoped for a bigger turnout on Sunday. It would appear that the long weekend and warm weather trumped people’s desire to spread the message of solidarity for workers.
At its first Gibraltar Mayday rally in two years, Unite rallied against austerity and pushed the message that workers who pulled society through the pandemic should not now bear the economic burden of it.
Unite Chairperson Christian Duo said it is important to celebrate Workers’ Day workers rights, achieved by unions in the past, are gradually being eroded.
Unite stressed that in the aftermath of the pandemic, a long term economic plan was needed rather than ‘short-term decisions to balance the books’.
The Gibraltar General and Clerical Association (GGCA) also spoke at the rally and reiterated Unite’s concerns.
Photo: Wikipedia
In his International Workers’ Day message, Gibraltar’s Chief Minister Fabian Picardo acknowledged the importance of the date for trade unions and described the importance with which his own government holds it.
“I am proud to be able to say that, unlike our political opponents, the Government I lead has put up the minimum wage every single year since we were elected in 2011. This includes the years of the pandemic” said the Chief Minister.
Picardo also boasted that years of austerity experienced in the UK were not mirrored in Gibraltar.
He added that he knows he has “done the right thing” in racking up a deficit in attempts to protect Gibraltarians from the impacts of Covid-19, and this will be rebalanced in a way that does not harm the population, because “that is the socialist way.”
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