Demonstrations and rallies took place across numerous major cities in Europe on Thursday, including 80 cities in Spain, in observance of Labour Day, with participants advocating for better wages, more equality, fairer dismissals, and the safeguarding of workers’ rights.
Labour Day, also known as May Day or International Workers’ Day, is commemorated annually on 1 May. It honours the struggles and accomplishments of workers and the labour movement worldwide. In Spain, as in many other nations, it is recognised as a public holiday.
Thousands joined marches organised by the country’s main UGT and CCOO unions, demanding a reduction in the working week to 37.5 hours and a redundancy reform in line with European standards.
Many also called for accountability for the huge power outage that affected the Iberian Peninsula earlier in the week, while others took advantage of the rallies to voice their opposition to far-right ideologies and even the policies of US President Donald Trump.
The draft bill for reducing the working week in Spain had been scheduled for approval by the Spanish cabinet on Tuesday. However, the blackout on Monday caused the cabinet meeting’s agenda to be postponed until Wednesday, and then later, deferred again to next week. The bill will still need to pass through parliament. ALSO READ: Spain to introduce shorter working week with same pay by end of 2025.
Under the slogan ‘Protect what has been achieved, win the future’, Madrid hosted the largest rally on Thursday, with the participation of key union leaders and several members of the government, including the Minister of Labour and deputy prime minister, Yolanda Díaz, who confirmed that the bill to reduce working hours will be approved next week. In her speech, Díaz anticipated that this will be ‘the last May Day with a maximum 40-hour workday in our country’.
‘Spain is a country that works excessively unpaid overtime hours that are absolutely indecent. Now the people have to speak, and I ask the political parties to rise to the occasion,’ said Díaz.
Marches also brought together thousands of people in cities such as Barcelona, Bilbao, Vigo and Santander.
In Catalonia, the protest stressed the need to reduce working hours without affecting wages. In the Basque Country, nationalist unions demanded their own minimum wage, while in Cantabria, the Bridgestone factory workforce took advantage of the day to protest against a collective redundancy plan (ERE) that could leave more than 200 workers unemployed.
In Madrid, the demonstration marched along Gran Vía (main image) to the Plaza de España, where the leaders of the UGT and the CCOO, Pepe Álvarez and Unai Sordo, demanded the political parties not to block the parliamentary debate on the working day, stressing that a majority of the population supports this measure.
Both union leaders also called for immediate dialogue to address changes to Spain’s dismissal system and bring it closer to the provisions of the European Social Charter.
In Barcelona, the march began in Plaza Urquinaona and continued along Via Laietana. The general secretary of CCOO in Catalonia, Belén López, said that society demands ‘a lifeline’ through shorter working hours and stressed that there are economic resources to achieve this without wage cuts. Spain’s Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, was also present at the Catalan protest.
Elsewhere in Madrid, ‘Solidaridad’ – the labour union aligned with the far-right Vox party – staged separate Labour Day rallies.
Solidaridad’s main gathering was held in Fuenlabrada, a traditionally working-class district in Madrid, and featured Vox party leader Santiago Abascal. The group rallied under Spanish flags, criticising the government and highlighting grievances related to Monday’s blackout. ALSO READ: Spain’s opposition parties blame PM’s renewable energy policies for blackout.
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📷 #1deMayo de Madrid
#ProtegerLoConquistadoGanarFuturo📢No vamos a dar un paso atrás en los derechos conquistados!#1MCCOO pic.twitter.com/F5o1YqVIZ6
— CCOO de Madrid (@CCOOMadrid) May 1, 2025
Hoy ha sido un Primero de Mayo multitudinario, frente a las políticas de la multinacional fascista que quiere derogar nuestros derechos.
Ni aranceles ni recortes. Europa tiene que tomar las riendas de su futuro. Es urgente!
Tenemos derecho a tener derechos. pic.twitter.com/dcOhUfHN1m
— Pepe Álvarez (@SG_UGT) May 1, 2025
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