On May 1st County Hall in Tallaght was lit up in red to honour essential workers on International Workers Day. Normally the day would be celebrated with an annual march organised by the Dublin Council of Trade Unions but the lockdown has prevented any gatherings of people. Instead South Dublin County Council agreed to light up County Hall following a suggestion from Councillor Madeleine Johansson.
Cllr Johansson commented: “This public health crisis has shown us how important our essential and frontline workers are. Workers in sectors such as retail, waste management and public services are continuing to provide essential services throughout this crisis. Health care workers are risking their own safety in order to care for our sick and vulnerable people. This is a very small gesture to show our support for all workers who are providing vital services.”
“International Workers Day is an important day to celebrate. But celebrations won’t be enough, we also need to support workers who are fighting for better pay and conditions, or for decent redundancy payments such as the Debenhams workers. When this crisis is over, we need to ensure that workers do not pay the price of the economic crisis that will follow.”
