All workers in Bermuda are invited to attend a series of public meetings and a public rally to mark International Workers’ Day.

The events are being organised by the Bermuda Trade Union Congress and culminate in the rally at City Hall on Friday from noon.

Before the rally there will be a series of meetings held throughout the Island hosted by the Bermuda Industrial Union, and BTUC president Chris Furbert, BTUC vice-president Jason Hayward and Bermuda Union of Teachers president Shannon James. The first will be held today at Clearwater Middle School, St George’s. The second meeting will be tomorrow at St Paul’s AME Centennial Hall, Hamilton, and the final meeting will be held at Sandys Secondary School Hall. All meetings begin at 6.30pm.

On May 1, International Workers’ Day, there will be a May Day Rally held on the steps of City Hall.

Topics to be discussed at all four events will be “the adverse effects of immigration policies and the need for immigration reform; public-private partnerships (PPPs) and privatisation; and Government’s attack on workers.”

Mr Furbert said: “This is May 1, the international day of workers, and, recognising that, the BTUC has decided to address these three topics.

“People are very concerned about the immigration issue, so we thought we would touch on that and hear what the people have to say.

“The PPP issue is alive and well because the Government looks like they are still in conversation with Canadian Commercial Corporation about the new airport. “The feeling of the BTUC as it relates to the airport being outsourced or privatised, or whatever you want to call it, for the next 30 to 35 years is very concerning to us and certainly we have enough information that PPPs are not working in other jurisdictions.

“We will then have a general conversation about how we feel the One Bermuda Alliance Government is treating workers in general.

“We are talking about all workers as it relates to the state of employment in Bermuda — unionised and non-unionised. You still have a lot of people who are unemployed.” Organisers are still trying to finalise some school choirs’ performances to take place during the rally. All are encouraged to wear red to show support for the labour movement.

“Red is the International Workers’ Day colour as opposed to it being OBA’s colours,” Mr Furbert added.

“We had to make that distinction last year as some people were confused as to why we chose that colour.”