The 1st of May is the International Day of the Worker, with its origins in the struggle to win workers the 8-hour day in the USA in 1886. Few know that New Zealand workers already claimed this right over forty years earlier, thanks to carpenter Samuel Parnell who fought for it. This May Day, unions and community groups are calling on Aotearoa to show the world that workers matter and deserve more, especially in light of the Covid-19 pandemic and the climate crisis.

The Day of Action is designed to fit with physical distancing regulations and is open to everyone to participate by showing solidarity through chalked messages and postering in their community to be shared online.

There are a lot of campaigns fighting for better pay and conditions by different groups of workers and their unions, especially in light of this growing Covid-19 economic crisis. This pandemic is providing…