Thousands of workers gathered in Barcelona on 1 May, with approximately 2,500 according to the Guàrdia Urbana, to march through the city centre and demand improved working conditions. Union delegates and general workers took to the streets, calling for advancements such as higher wages, a shorter working week, and lower taxes for low-income earners.
The demonstration started at Plaça d'Urquinaona, filling Via Laietana with protesters chanting slogans like “Enough precarity” and “We want decent wages”. The march reached the end of Via Laietana just before 13:00, where union leaders delivered speeches from a stage in front of the Correus building.
Union Leaders Call for Action
Union representatives urged government officials to “stop with the tactical manoeuvres and focus on people's priorities”. Belén López, general secretary of CCOO in Catalonia, highlighted the main themes for this May Day as “the rejection of wars that punish civilian populations, access to decent housing, and improved wages”.
Camil Ros, general secretary of UGT in Catalonia, added that the day also served to reject fascism “that expels migrants who come to work” and to demand “gradual wage increases” in a context of “soaring prices”. Both major unions agreed on the need to revive blocked laws in the Congress of Deputies, such as those concerning rental extensions and the reduction of the working week. They also welcomed the Spanish government's initiative to help regularise thousands of migrants living in the country.
CGT Organises Separate Protest
In a separate May Day demonstration, hundreds of people participated in a CGT-organised march under the slogan “Year of revolutions and struggles”. This march began at Jardinets de Gràcia and proceeded to Plaça d'en Joanic, where speeches were delivered.
Throughout their route, participants shouted protest slogans, condemning the loss of purchasing power, difficulties in accessing housing, the deterioration of public services, and the criminalisation of poverty and protest.
