News: May 1 is Labor Day and public holiday in Spain

On May 1st it is Labor Day and that is celebrated by giving everyone a day off.

However, it is not for everyone in Spain because there are still more than 3.3 million job seekers who cannot find a job and there are many who do not even receive benefits. The largest unions CCOO and UGT are therefore calling on the streets to demand more work, better contracts, fairer wages and better working conditions from the new Spanish government.

May 1 is a holiday in almost all European countries including Spain and Belgium (Labor Day) but not strange enough in the Netherlands. As always, a link can be made to a Catholic festival, such as the day of Saint Joseph as a worker in this case. However, the 1 May celebration of the workers' movement is also based on the introduction of the eight-hour working day, something that was frequently introduced at the end of the 19th century in Europe, first in Great Britain and then in other countries.

Spain

In Spain, the Día Internacional de los Trabajadores or Primero de Mayo is a national holiday and therefore a day off throughout the country. However, it is also a day in which Spanish trade unions call for demonstrations against the government and demand better working conditions. This year too, the CCOO and UGT have planned dozens of events throughout the country at which thousands of people will take to the streets.

This year's demonstrations follow just a few days after the 28 April elections, during which there was much talk during the election campaign about work, contracts, minimum wages and unemployment, and as always many promises were made by political parties.

Many Spaniards, however, do not care much about demonstrations etc. and just celebrate a nice day off with the family. In 2019, May 1 falls on a Wednesday which will not stop many Spaniards from also taking the Thursday and Friday off, giving them a long weekend and visiting family somewhere on the Spanish coast or in the mountains, this is called in Spain 'puente de mayo'.

The Netherlands and Belgium

In the Netherlands, Labor Day is only an official holiday on the BES islands (Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba). Traditionally, meetings were organized by the SDAP (later PvdA) and the CPN. Until the 1980s, the CPN held an annual demonstration in Amsterdam on 1 May. For many decades, 1 May has been a day off for employees of the municipality of Amsterdam.

In many countries (including Belgium, France and Spain), 1 May is a paid day off. In the Netherlands this does not generally apply to workers, but does apply to a small group of civil servants, banks and stock exchange traders. Employees of trade unions are also free on this day. Today, the foundation of Labor Day is the feeling of international solidarity.