This year, we are celebrating Labor Day in an unprecedented situation. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic weighs on our workers in the public services; they continue to suffer on the economic, health and social levels, while making tremendous efforts to perform and carry on the duty of confronting the virus and providing basic services to their citizens, including water, electricity, and social services.

Health services have suffered tremendously, medical and ambulance personnel have faced major challenges, lots have been infected and, sadly, many have lost their lives. The latest reports issued by the World Health Organization indicated that we lose one or more health workers every 30 minutes internationally. PSI affiliated unions have regularly reported the loss of colleagues from all public sectors in the Arab region.

The first of May is a day to commemorate the workers we lost in public service sectors. We pay tribute to the workers who left, and the ones left behind by producing a digital memorial to pay tribute to our workers who have lost their lives with Covid-19.

Let us pay tribute to the efforts and struggles of our workers for social justice and keep public services in public hands.