On this May 1st, International Workers’ Day, we, the young people of the International Young Christian Workers (IYCW/JOCI), raise our voices together across the world.

We speak from our concrete realities — from factories and homes, from streets and digital platforms, from rural communities and urban neighbourhoods. We are part of a living history of more than a century of struggle, where generations of young workers have organized not only to defend the dignity of work, but to transform society through solidarity, collective action, and hope.

During a recent visit to the Philippines, a strong message resonated across regions and communities: young workers are actively organizing, learning from one another, and building collective strength to shape a more just and dignified future. Through dialogue, exchange, and shared reflection, the Young Christian Workers (YCW) movement continues to be a vital space where young people transform lived realities into collective action.

Today, on International Women’s Day, we stand in solidarity with every woman whose voice has been silenced by fear, violence, discrimination, or stigma — including in the very spaces where she should feel safe and valued: her workplace. While this day celebrates women’s achievements all through history, it must also confront a persistent reality: gender inequality and gender-based violence remain deeply embedded in the world of work.

In December 2025, YCW Argentina marked its 85th Anniversary, in the year of the Centenary of the Young Christian Workers (JOC/YCW). This was not a commemorative act detached from reality, but a week of militant presence, collective reflection, and public struggle, rooted in the daily lives of young workers. The activities were accompanied by the presence of an international team member of the International Young Christian Workers, whose participation strengthened international solidarity and reaffirmed the global dimension of the struggles faced by young workers in Argentina and around the world.

The International Young Christian Workers (IYCW) stands alarmed by the global rise of far-right ideologies. These movements threaten democracy, attack the rights of marginalized communities, and undermine decades of hard-won social progress. Across countries, we observe increasing precarity for young workers, scapegoating of migrants, rollback of gender and LGBTQIA+ rights, and weakening of international institutions and civil society.