By María Josefina Arce
One hundred and 35 years after it was instituted, International Workers' Day continues to be a day of struggle in many countries around the world to demand labor rights and decent working conditions for all.
Every May Day, men and women take to the streets of the main cities, and this year has been no different, as social and labor injustices still persist at a global level.
The world has not yet fully recovered from the COVID 19 pandemic, which deepened inequalities and had a negative impact on the labor market, in which millions of jobs were lost and consequently a growth in unemployment was recorded.
Although in 2023 there was a certain decrease in this index, for the current year the forecasts are not favorable, as they point to a new rebound, with a rate of 5.2%. A situation that, according to the International Labor Organization, will first affect countries that faced a precarious outlook before the health emergency.
Informal work also continues to be a constant. Fifty-eight percent of the workforce continues to work in this condition, in which they do not have secure employment contracts, social protection or worker representation.
And the gender gap remains, mainly in salaries. It is a reality that women receive less remuneration than men. An inequality that is greater for women with disabilities, women with children and migrants.
Latin America presents a rather unfavorable context. Youth unemployment, informality, the loss of the purchasing value of salaries and the marked differences between men and women characterize the current panorama of the region.
Furthermore, forced labor and labor exploitation are still present in the 21st century. According to international organizations, millions of people are in forced labor around the world.
Services, industry, agriculture, construction and domestic work are the areas in which this problem is most evident, generating illegal profits of 236 billion dollars each year, the International Labor Organization has revealed.
There are still large inequalities between regions, gender and age groups in the workplace. The world still has a long way to go to meet Sustainable Development Goal number eight, referring to decent work for all.
