At least 550 people were arrested in Istanbul, Turkey, this Friday, May 1, during the demonstrations for Labor Day, after trying to commemorate the anniversary in Taksim Square, a bastion of the Turkish labor movement banned by the Islamist Government since 2013, according to the Association of Contemporary Lawyers (ÇHD). Meanwhile, unions are taking to the streets in countries like Argentina and Spain and on the five continents to ask for labor improvements, amid economic uncertainty due to the war in Iran.

First modification: 05/01/2026 - 16:26Last modification: 05/01/2026 - 17:22

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The global labor movement called for large marches and protests this May 1 to demand more labor protection, better wages and greater equality, while the world suffers from rising energy costs and declining purchasing power as a result of the US and Israel's war against Iran.

In that sense, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) maintained this Friday that "another crisis in the cost of living is not inevitable", which is why it demanded that community leaders take measures to protect employment and wages against inflation.

"Workers refuse to pay the price for (US President) Donald Trump's war in the Middle East," the document reads.

In parallel, the general secretary of the CES, Esther Lynch, advocated "boosting the economy by injecting money into the pockets of workers, taxing the exorbitant profits of large energy companies with extraordinary taxes and investing in renewable energy to prevent us from being immersed in a similar crisis in the future."

This was highlighted in the midst of global concern about the economic and energy effects of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the conflict in the Middle East.

At least 550 detained in Istanbul

Nearly 550 people were arrested this Friday for trying to commemorate Workers' Day in Istanbul's Taksim Square, a place prohibited by the Government since 2013 to commemorate the date, according to the Association of Contemporary Lawyers (ÇHD), an entity with experience in the defense of human rights.

A group of 37 militants from the HKP, a small left-wing party, was arrested when they tried to approach Taksim demanding to be able to demonstrate there, the newspaper 'Cumhuriyet' reported. Another group of 20 workers heading to the square from another point was also detained, Halk TV said.

The national press reported more arrests in other areas of the city.

The Police fired tear gas during several charges against the attendees. Some local media report that among those affected are parliamentarians.

A day earlier, the Istanbul Governorate, responsible for the security forces, recalled the ban on protests, marches and public events for May 1 in four districts, including Beyoglu, where the central Taksim Square is located.

In fact, the authorities of the Turkish capital, the meeting point of two continents, restricted maritime transport between the European shore, where Taksim is located, and the Asian shore, where the only two areas enabled for demonstrations are located.

Taksim has been a symbolic square for Labor Day celebrations since 1977, a year known as 'Bloody May Day' for the murder of 34 people after unidentified gunmen began shooting into the crowd. Another 130 attendees were injured that day. Most of the victims were crushed or suffocated to death in the human avalanche caused by panic.

After the military coup of 1980, marches were prohibited in that place, a veto that for decades fueled the left's demand to recover that space.

Between 2010 and 2012, Taksim once again hosted massive May 1 celebrations with the participation of hundreds of thousands of people, but a year later the Turkish government once again vetoed gatherings in the square, citing security reasons.

The explanation did not convince the unions that every year try to march towards Taksim, despite the robust police deployments and the foreseeable arrests.

In 2023, Türkiye's Constitutional Court ruled that the right to peaceful assembly had been violated by the May Day ban.

Amnesty International has called on Ankara to lift the veto. "The ban on International Workers' Day celebrations is based on completely spurious grounds of security and public order and goes against the recent decision of the Constitutional Court. It must be lifted urgently," Dinushika Dissanayake, Deputy Director of Amnesty International's Europe Programme, said in 2025.

Read also2025: Turkish police repress Labor Day protests

Milei's labor reform lights up Argentina

Argentine workers have been protesting since Thursday in Buenos Aires to show their discontent with the recent labor reform promoted by President Javier Milei.

Called by the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), the largest union group in Argentina, the march headed towards the Government headquarters in the center of the city under slogans such as "defend decent employment."

The new law, aimed at helping companies hire and fire new workers more easily, allows companies to increase the workday from eight to 12 hours, extend probationary periods during which employees can be fired without benefits, and substitute overtime for time off instead of additional pay.

In addition, it restricts workers' right to strike, diminishes the power of national unions to determine wages in entire sectors, and limits the discretion of courts in matters of severance pay.

The labor code, in force since 1974, had guaranteed generous protections and rights for Argentine workers, a scheme that has consequently also raised business costs.

Weeks of protests and a national strike did little to dissuade Milei from approving the labor reform package in February, which represented a major victory for his free-market agenda.

For decades, previous presidents tried to liberalize the labor market, but failed in the face of resistance from powerful Argentine unions.

Government opponents are clinging to an appeal process challenging the constitutionality of the law, while union leaders plan to file a new petition after a court last week overturned a court order that had suspended implementation of the rule. The case is expected to go to the Supreme Court.

Read alsoArgentine Senate endorses the labor reform: what does it propose and why does it cause the rejection of the unions?

A global commemoration

This Friday's celebrations began in South Korea, Australia, Indonesia and India.

In Manila, the Philippine capital, protesters burned a figure of President Donald Trump, after the Police blocked their path to the United States embassy.

"Bread, peace and freedom"

After the start of the mobilizations in the Middle East, the unions began to march in Europe. In Paris, France, home to one of the largest union movements on the planet, demonstrations took place under the slogan "bread, peace and freedom," linking the daily concerns of workers with the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.

In Italy, the unions accused the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, of inaction in the face of precariousness and the flight of talent, while in Portugal the protests focused on the Government's labor reform that unions and employers have negotiated for months without reaching an agreement.

In Spain, thousands of people took to the streets to demonstrate for "decent and affordable" housing, as well as for wage increases in a country where the cost of rent accounts for the majority of salaries and, in some cases, exceeds them.

In Russia, militants and sympathizers of the Russian Communist Party (KPRF) gathered this Friday next to the statue of Karl Marx, in front of the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow and near the Kremlin.

The leader of the KPRF, Gennady Zyuganov, congratulated all those present, who carried Soviet flags and bouquets of red carnations in respect to the tradition of Workers' Day, which was the most important celebration of the Soviet Union (USSR) during its seven decades of existence, but which has currently been limited to being a holiday.

With EFE and AP and local media

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