London’s Green MEP Jean Lambert will today join thousands of marchers expected to descend on Trafalgar Square for the annual May Day rally.
Ms Lambert, who works closely with trade unionists and on workers rights issues at EU level as a member of the EP’s Employment and Social Affairs Committee, said there was a serious lack of decent jobs, and lack of employment for some groups in London, and the Government must work not only on job creation but on lifting the minimum wage to a living wage, and tackling the growing gap between rich and poor in London.
She said: “There are some 26 million unemployed people in Europe, according to the European Trade Union Confederation, and we need to create jobs now: one way of doing this is to adopt the tough targets on renewable energy generation and energy conservation as part of the EU 2030 Climate targets.
“This isn’t just about staving off the worst impacts of climate change – it’s about creating decent jobs for Europe and reducing our reliance on gas imports from Russia.”
The Green Party Trade Union Group and Green Party Women will be represented at the rally, which, as well as calling for better workers rights across the EU, will also play tribute to the two behemoths of the Labour movement who died earlier this year: Bob Crow and Tony Benn.