The President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, sent a message, today, Saturday, on the occasion of the celebration of the International Workers’ Day, which coincides with first of May each year.
Pt. Tebboune’s message was read on his behalf by the Minister of Labor, Employment and Social Security, Hachemi Jaaboub, at the headquarters of the province of Algiers in the presence of a number of government members, representatives of some unions and employers’ organizations.
Here is her full message:
“In the name of Allah, the most gracious and most merciful and peace and blessings be upon our prophet.”
Sisters and brothers the workers,
On the occasion of International Workers’ Day, I extend my greetings and esteem to you, and I highly acknowledge the efforts made by female and male workers, and the awareness and patience they show to overcome the difficulties and circumstances resulting from the Covid-19 epidemic, and its impact on the economic and social life… This awareness that characterizes the will of facing up to exceptional situations stems – undoubtedly – from the path taken by a generation of free patriots who preceded you, who chose to be the vanguards of our glorious revolution for freedom and independence … and to fight after that with honor and power a battle to extend national sovereignty over our wealth …
I bow to the enormous sacrifices that will remain immortal in the collective memory of the Algerian people, and I reverently pay tribute to the souls of all those who fell martyrs with pride and dignity in defense of Algeria during the armed struggle and during the years of barbaric terrorism … in addition to those who followed them from all categories and professions who were on the frontline in combating the novel Corona virus, martyrs of national duty, may Allah have mercy on them all.
Dear workers,
The celebration of the International Workers’ Day is not just a tradition we have perpetuated, and a habit by which we express appreciation and gratitude for female and male workers, to honor their work, efforts and sacrifice. The first of May, is rather a renewed opportunity to examine the basic issues raised in the labor world.. the challenges which await us in the future, and which require deepening awareness of the importance of work and considering it the true value of any development process or renaissance project. This is why we should reinforce workers’ status and provide the conditions that guarantee to them and to their children a decent life in dignity and serenity..
Based on this conviction, we made sure to instruct the government with maintaining job positions despite the constraints of the situation resulting from the Covid 19 epidemic … and to regularize the situation of pre-employment contract holders … we are gradually moving to accommodate numbers of our unemployed youth in job positions by setting up mechanisms to support the economic institutions that are invited to contribute to the absorption of manpower, and to reduce unemployment rate through approaches that are compatible with the requirements of the knowledge economy, especially through startups and small and medium-sized enterprises .. I, hereby praise all the efforts made by institutions to protect jobs and wages, despite the difficult situation .. I commend the access of our young people to the world of entrepreneurship and hail their capacity to create investment opportunities with the skills and creativity that they possess .. The initiatives of the youth’s contribution to creating wealth, and job positions have started to yield the desired results .. This requires more encouragement and motivation to engage in an attractive economic pattern that bears part of the burden of unemployment, which we are trying, by all the available means and tools, to reduce … in parallel with enhancing the workers’ status – as I mentioned before- especially the middle class – and the vulnerable class – and by preserving purchasing power and ensuring the sustainability of protection and social coverage for all categories of workers and retirees.
Dear sisters … dear brothers,
In fulfillment of what we have pledged, we have endeavored for over a year to prepare to enter into an economic movement free from the constraints of bureaucracy and from the practices of corrupt opportunists, and even if the emergency situations caused by the epidemic prevented us from achieving some of our goals on time, the political will has become stronger to accelerate economic recovery as part of a broad dialogue with social partners and economic operators .. We fully trust the capabilities and wealth of our country … and the efficacy of adhering to the realistic and courageous roadmap that we adopted, which is capable of getting rid of the patterns of managing economic affairs with mindsets of royalties, dependency and looting.
Our female and male workers are the lever of a wealth-generating economy .. and they are entitled to it. Therefore, all forms of expressing demands in the various sectors should take into account the interests of citizens .. and should not be under the umbrella of the republic’s laws and should not prone to suspicious exploitation intentions .. as the labor world has always demonstrated a high patriotic awareness and a strong desire to strengthen its ranks.
On this occasion, while commemorating the struggles of the General Union of Algerian Workers, and all activists in the trade union field, we invoke national symbols that were distinguished by their sacrifices and courageous stances in combating barbaric terrorism. We seize the opportunity to pay tribute to late martyr Abdelhak Benhamouda who was killed by bloody cowards and we affirm the great attention we pay to improving the social and professional conditions of our female and male workers in various sectors.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We are close to the start of the election campaign for the legislation of next June 12, and this date constitutes a vital challenge that the Algerian people will overcome with their free and sovereign will in order to build strong and credible institutions .. after all conditions for a fair and transparent election were guaranteed and all the necessary means were mobilized so that the voters perform their duty in an environment of serenity and confidence in the future.
We hereby call upon candidates from all lists, belonging to political parties or independent lists, to comply with the ethics of the political exercise and show a sense of fair competition during the electoral campaign. We call on the Algerian people once again to choose their representatives at the National People’s Assembly from the women and men who are worthy of trust, loyal, aware of the public affairs and whose biographies are trusted .. and to make this election an occasion to raise the voice of democracy .. and citizenship to bring change with the sovereign will of the proud Algerian people.
I reiterate my congratulations, greetings and esteem to all female and male workers.
Long live Algeria
Glory and eternity to our martyrs
Peace and the mercy of Allah be upon you”.
