The Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) says that on this Labour Day workers must demand nothing short of respect for their labour.
A May Day message from the union's president, Patrick Yarde notes that the workers' day is a day of resolution, and "as members of the public service, and indeed as workers of Guyana, we must resolve to suffer no further loss of dignity."
"It cannot be unreasonable to demand that you be given a fair day's wage for the fair day's work you have been putting in," the GPSU president says, adding that it also cannot be unreasonable to demand being paid a wage that allows workers a roof over their heads, and food for their families.
Yarde notes also that Labour Day is the celebration of the value of the worker.
However, he says, the GPSU is being forced by circumstances to challenge the sincerity of these celebrations.
"How can those who are entrusted with the responsibility for this nation extol the virtues of the worker on Labour Day and spend the rest of the year offering salaries that guarantee life below the poverty line, while they seek to undermine your Union, which seeks to make you collectively strong?" Yarde asked.