International Workers’ Day – making workers a priority

May 1, as well as being known as May Day, is recognised by many countries around the world as International Workers’ Day (or Labour Day). The holiday began in the 1890s, to promote worker solidarity when labour movements across the world began the struggle for the 8-hour working day and 5-day week. Over the last 100 or so years the UK’S May Day bank holiday has become a focus not just for long weekends of damp barbecues, but for protest marches, rallies and demonstrations relating to anything from pay and conditions to personal freedom. Surprisingly though, May 1st has actually only been an official bank holiday in the UK since 1978!

At Priority Freight, we’re keenly aware of the differences in conditions and rights for working people around the world. Our teams work globally – 24/7, 365 – navigating their way through different working cultures, regulations and standards. We constantly strive to ensure that our own environment supports them as they deliver the quality time-critical services that we’re known for – and that our customers rely on.

Our professional, multilingual teams operate from several strategically placed offices around Europe. Specialist freight forwarders and logistics experts are based at each location, connected with and able to call on local support around the globe for our customers’ most urgent collections.

Looking after our workers has always been a big part of Priority Freight’s success – we know that people who are trained, supported and happy make the best workforce. We also recognise that the multicultural diversity of our global team is vital to our business. Together they bring a rich array of talent, ideas and experience all of which contribute towards providing a service that surpasses that of many other freight forwarding companies.

We’re not complacent. We know full well that we operate in a stressful and competitive sector. When the failure of just one element in a supply chain can have a knock-on effect on production, transport and delivery potentially costing millions in down-time, unfulfilled orders or lost sales. We take care of our workforce, and we help our customers control their anxiety levels, which can have long-term effects on workers’ health, by helping our customers take care of theirs through ensuring everything runs as smoothly as possible.

That’s why we commit to training, developing and supporting our teams to help them deliver the best quality, flexible and cost-effective service. We believe that, if our people can do the right job, on time, every time, turning supply chain stress into success, we’re helping our customers’ people all over the world.

If your workforce is looking forward to a well-earned day off on International Workers’ Day, spare a thought for the Priority Freight teams, still working around the clock to ensure your consignments arrive on time!