May 1 is not merely a date on the calendar.

May 1 is the name of the historic struggle waged by workers against exploitation, oppression, inequality, and the violation of rights.

May 1 is the dignity of labour.

May 1 is the will of solidarity.

May 1 is the memory, resistance, and future of labour.

None of the rights enjoyed by workers today were granted as a favour.

Trade union rights, job security, fair wages, social protection, and decent working conditions are not privileges bestowed from above.

Each and every one of these rights was won through the organized resistance, collective will, and determined struggle of workers who paid a heavy price.

For this reason, May 1 is not only a day of remembrance. It is a day to keep alive the historical memory of labour, to defend hard-won rights, and to renew our determination to struggle for a more just future.

In every period of crisis, the same assault has been staged. Every war, every crisis, and every political upheaval has been turned into a pretext for undermining the rights of labour. Capital has preserved its own order, while the cost has been imposed on the people and on workers. Wages have been suppressed, precarity has expanded, trade union rights have been curtailed, and social protection has been weakened. In every crisis, the first target has been workers’ rights, and the first voice sought to be silenced has been the organized voice of labour.

The same order continues today. Workers are not responsible for crises, yet once again the bill is being handed to them.

Losses of rights are presented as unavoidable necessities, while sacrifice is demanded only from those who live by their labour.

That is why, in every war, every crisis, and every conflict, we must ask the same questions:

Who is profiting?

Whose wealth is growing?

Which circles of capital are becoming stronger?

Which vested interests are accumulating more power?

Because history has shown us that while crises bring destruction to peoples, they also create new opportunities for profit, domination, and exploitation for others.

If workers are becoming poorer while the wealth of a few continues to grow, this is not a coincidence; it is an order of exploitation.

If the people are paying the price while capital continues to profit, then what we face is not merely a crisis, but the institutionalization of injustice.

We do not submit to this order.

We do not accept this imposition.

We reject any mentality that seeks to use crises as a pretext to strip labour of its rights.

We openly declare that we stand against every attempt to devalue labour, suppress organized struggle, and destroy social justice.

It is for this reason that, on the occasion of May 1, we declare clearly and unequivocally:

No crisis shall ever be allowed to become a pretext for stripping workers of their rights.

No crisis, no war, no economic downturn, and no extraordinary period can legitimize the devaluation of labour, the weakening of job security, the violation of trade union rights, the reduction of social protection, or the dismantling of the social state.

Any approach that targets the rights won by workers through historical struggle under the name of crisis management will produce nothing but greater injustice, deeper inequality, and the entrenchment of exploitation.

We will not leave labour rights at the mercy of crises.

We will not take a single step back from hard-won rights.

We will not bow down.

We will defend the dignity of labour and the acquired rights of workers to the end.

For us, labour is not merely part of the production process; it is the very foundation of social life.

Without labour, there can be no justice.

Without labour, there can be no prosperity.

Without labour, no social order based on human dignity can be established.

That is why our struggle is not only a struggle to defend acquired rights. It is also a struggle to advance them, expand them, and build a more just future.

Secure employment, fair wages, trade union freedom, strong social protection, equality of opportunity, the protection of women’s labour, decent working conditions for young people, and the empowerment of vulnerable workers are indispensable conditions of a just and democratic society.

May 1 is the name of hope.

May 1 is the power of solidarity.

May 1 is the will of collective struggle.

Today, what must grow is not fear, but solidarity.

What must spread is not submission, but organized struggle.

What must be accepted is not the loss of rights.

What must be raised is the will to claim rights.

Because the unity of labour is the strongest guarantee of the people’s future, social justice, and human dignity.

On the occasion of May 1, as the ILC, we once again declare clearly and strongly:

No crisis shall be turned into a pretext for stripping workers of their rights.

Workers shall not be made to pay the price of crises.

Not a single step shall be taken back from acquired rights.

Trade union rights shall not be curtailed.

Social protection shall not be weakened.

The dignity of labour shall not be trampled upon.

Solidarity shall be strengthened, struggle shall be raised, and justice shall be defended.

Because we know that:

Where labour is silenced, justice is silenced.

Where labour is weakened, society is weakened.

Where the rights of labour are violated, the future is darkened.

Therefore, defending labour does not mean defending workers alone.

Defending labour means defending human dignity, defending social justice and means defending our common future.

Long Live May 1!

Long Live Labour, Solidarity, And Struggle!

Long Live The Struggle For Rights, Justice, and a Dignified Life!

Long Live The ILC!