On International Workers’ Day, we rise in memory of those lost, stand resolutely beside those who labour, and demand a Europe where workers’ rights and lives are protected and valued above corporate greed.
Across the European Union, approximately 200 million people go to work every day, keeping hospitals functioning, children educated, transport running, and supermarket shelves stocked. It is workers – not shareholders or CEOs – who process our waste, staff our warehouses, clean our streets, and code the systems that run our daily lives. They don’t just keep society running; they build it from the ground up, day after day, often in silence and without recognition, yet everything around us depends on their labour.
It is their collective effort that generated almost 20 trillion EUR in 2024 across the EU. But who benefits from this wealth? Unfortunately not the workers. In 2024, billionaire wealth skyrocketed, increasing three times faster than in 2023. Over the past year, total billionaire wealth increased by $2 trillion and 204 new billionaires were created, on average almost four new billionaires per week. While the ultra-rich thrive, ordinary workers endure stagnant wages, precarious jobs, and deteriorating working conditions. The wealthiest 10% on the continent own a staggering 67% of the wealth, while the bottom half of adults possess only 1.2% of it. A concentration of riches not seen since before World War II.
Behind this vast inequality lie grim human costs. In 2022 alone, 3,286 people lost their lives while on the job, that is the equivalent of nine fatalities a day. These deaths are not accidents; they are the price of a system built to serve corporate profit over workers’ lives. Construction, transport, and manufacturing workers are systematically exposed to deadly conditions, with countries like Malta, France, and Bulgaria showing workplace death rates more than twice the EU average. These are not isolated failures but evidence of a ruthless economic order that treats workers as expendable in the pursuit of profit and a state that does not fulfill its duty of care.
This is also no accident – it is the direct result of political choices and corporate greed aimed at maximising profits. Over the past decade, EU workers’ productivity has risen steadily, yet wages have barely kept pace with inflation, effectively shrinking workers’ purchasing power. Meanwhile, corporate profits hit record highs. In fact, during the recent inflationary crisis, major corporations increased their profits while workers saw real wages decline.
This systemic injustice is enabled and perpetuated by political decisions shaped by corporate greed. Legislation intended to protect workers is often diluted, health and safety inspections reduced, and enforcement weakened—all to protect corporate profits. At the same time, tax evasion, elusion and avoidance by corporations and billionaires siphons billions from public coffers annually—money urgently needed to invest in safer workplaces, better wages, and robust social protection.
The solution is clear: it is time to tax the rich and redistribute the wealth workers have created. Implementing significant taxes on extreme wealth, corporate profits, and financial speculation would transform Europe. Such measures could fund safer workplaces, comprehensive healthcare, affordable housing, and social protections that lift everyone, not just a privileged few. Redistributive policies are not only just—they’re essential to economic stability and genuine social progress.
Yet, as we fight for justice, we must also confront forces that seek to divide through fear and hatred. Reactionary political actors exploit genuine grievances, scapegoating migrants and minorities, hoping to fracture worker solidarity. We reject their divisive tactics and choose unity across borders, sectors, genders, and generations. History shows us that solidarity is our greatest weapon in the struggle for justice.
Today, on International Workers’ Day, we reaffirm our commitment to fairness, dignity, and solidarity. We rise in memory of those lost, stand resolutely beside those who labour, and demand a Europe where workers’ rights and lives are protected and valued above corporate greed.
Inspired by the labour struggles of generations past, we renew our fight for economic justice and social equality. As Irish labour leader James Larkin declared, “The great appear great because we are on our knees: let us rise”.
Together, we rise for a Europe that values workers over wealth, safety over profit, and solidarity over division.