Malta joins the rest of the world in celebrating International Workers’ Day on 1st May. For Malta, this day also marks the 21st anniversary of its accession to the EU.
Workers’ Day, known locally as Jum il-Ħaddiem, is a national holiday that honours the dedication, rights and achievements of workers across the country throughout the years. This is a moment that calls for reflection on the vital role that workers have played in past years towards shaping Malta’s present, and the crucial role they continue to play in shaping Malta’s economy, society and future.
This is a day that in many other countries across the world is also observed on the 1st May, with a few other nations marking it on a different day in the annual calendar. It has its origins in the United States when the American Federation of Labour had commemorated a general strike across the US which had begone on the 1st May 1886 and culminated in the Haymarket Affair on the 4th May. The demonstration subsequently became an annual event that is promoted and supported by international workers’ movements worldwide.
In 1955, the Catholic Church dedicated the 1st May to celebrate the feast of St. Joseph the Worker – San Ġużepp Ħaddiem – in view of the fact that St. Joseph is the patron saint of workers and craftsmen.
One of the key landmarks associated with this day is the Workers’ Monument in Msida, erected by the General Workers’ Union in 1980. Sculpted by the multi-award-winning Maltese sculptor Anton Agius, the monument symbolises a typical Maltese worker’s family carved in bronze, standing atop an elaborately stone carved plinth featuring figurines of workers busy toiling away, as if they are in the process of cutting, chipping and carving the very stone on which the monument rests. There are all sorts of tools represented and the hard labour is evident on the workers’ pained faces.
As we celebrate Jum il-Ħaddiem, we recognise the value and hard work, solidarity and resilience of all workers in Malta – the very qualities that continue to drive Malta’s economy and lifestyle forward.
On this same day, Malta also celebrates the 21st anniversary of its accession to the European Union on the 1st May 2004.
Dr. Stephan Gauci
Managing Director
