Joint Workers May Day Declaration 2020
The
working people of Cyprus honor this year's Workers May Day, the international
day of struggle and solidarity of working people.
We
pay tribute to the pioneering heroes of the 1886 Chicago uprising who, with
their sacrifice, became a symbol of the struggle of the international working
class.
We
pay tribute to the vanguard workers of our country’s worker’s movement, Greek
Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, who with theirfierce class struggles in the
spirit of internationalism and class solidarity, achieved fundamental
achievements for the working class of Cyprus.
This
year's Workers May Day finds workers confronted with unprecedented conditions,
as the entire planet is facing the coronavirus pandemic.
At
a time when the world is being plagued by the consequences of the pandemic,
wars, the uprooting of the peoples, the plight of refugees and ecological
disaster is continuing. The pandemic adds new dangers and challenges to the
future of the planet, to the social welfare and rights of the peoples and
workers.
In
the European Union, instead of solidarity, we see fierce competition and the powerful
economic interests of states and monopolies prevailing, while billions of Euros
are being channeled into the arms war industry instead of health and social
welfare.
That
is precisely why the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) is honoring this
year's International Workers May Day under the slogan "Workers' health
above profits".
We
salute all healthcare workers who, in arduous conditions, and in many cases
without the necessary means, are waging the battle to cure our fellow human
beings who have been infected by the coronavirus.
The
spread of the coronavirus pandemic has created unprecedented conditions for our
country as well. Unfortunately, health protection measures do not permit us this
year to celebrate Workers May Day together in the traditional way, with the
mass celebration of working people.
With
this Joint Declaration, we, the Cypriot class-based trade unions PEO, DEV-IS,
KTAMS, KTOS, KTOEOS, BES, KOOP-SEN, DAU-SEN that belong to the ranks of the
World Federation of Trade Unions, call on the working people, Greek Cypriots
and Turkish Cypriots, to rally their forces around the trade union movement and
to reaffirm on the occasion of Workers May Day, their commitment to the
struggle for peace and social progress.
We
are struggling for a just and mutually acceptable solution of the Cyprus
problem, for the reunification of our homeland within the framework of a
bi-zonal, bi-communal federation. For a state, with a single sovereignty, a single
citizenship and a single international personality, demilitarized and
independent, without any “protectors” and “guardians”.
We
are fighting to defend and expand the labour and social gains handed down to us
by the pioneering Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot trade unionists.
We
send out the message that we will not accept under any circumstances the
effects of the current crisis being put on the backs of the working people.
-
Long live Labor Day!
-
Long live the common struggles of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots for peace
and social justice!
- Working
people’s health above profits!