Credit: Fairtrade Lëtzebuerg
On the eve of International Workers' Day, celebrated each year on 1 May, the NGO Fairtrade Lëtzebuerg distributed 1,000 Fairtrade croissants among healthcare staff in Luxembourg.
The NGO recalled that 1 May symbolises workers' struggles for decent working conditions. Today, at the time of COVID-19, this fight is just as present for the medical personnel who are fighting to save lives, for the producers and workers of the South who fight for their survival because of disrupted supply chains and for local workers who struggle to keep local activity running.
With this symbolic gesture, the members of the board of directors and the employees of the NGO Fairtrade Lëtzebuerg expressed their gratitude to all these workers and showed that solidarity knows no borders.
The gesture was a success thanks to the NGO's partner Jos&Jean Marie Neuberg who produced these croissants from Fairtrade cocoa and sugar and with local ingredients before distributing them this morning in Luxembourg's various hospitals (e.g. Centre hospitalier Emile Mayrisch, Hôpital intercommunal de Steinfort and Hôpitaux Robert Schuman).
Fairtrade Lëtzebuerg President Jean-Louis Zeien commented: "As an NGO committed to a fairer globalisation, this crisis affects us, too. We do not hide the fact that the difficulties for producers and workers will be immense, during and after this crisis. In this situation, fair trade has proven itself as a safety net for thousands of producers. A key question for the future of the economy in general will be how to strengthen supply chains so that they become solid, resistant, transparent and fair".
On 1 May 2020, the NGO is thus asking politicians to ensure that the economy of tomorrow respects all fundamental rights for workers when establishing stimulus packages.
"Let's hope that more resilience and solidarity will emerge from this crisis, which illustrates our interdependencies", stressed Geneviève Krol, Director of the NGO.
