Worker's Day will take on a different meaning this year.

For decades, 1 May was the day when trade unions celebrated their achievements in their struggle to improve the working conditions of their members. Never free of political connotations, in socialist countries the event took on a bigger significance as labourers and the working class were acclaimed as being the foundations on which the country's progress was being built.

The more time passed, the more the true meaning behind Worker's Day was modified to fit the changing scenario in the workforce. Better salaries, more rights and a general uplifting of the environments in which work was carried out meant that workers had less to fight for, although unions would always say that their presence as the guardians of employees is still necessary to maintain an agreeable state of affairs.

In more recent years, in developed countries where working conditions greatly improved - some employers would say by too much - Worker's Day came to be an occasion for a reminder that workers have made great strides forward in their quest to be recognised as a fundamental component of society, and for trade unions to make sure that their employers understand that they will always be there to safeguard the interests of the workers they represent.

This year, Worker's Day comes at the height of a global problem which has been brought about by the Coronavirus pandemic. Apart from the health and social aspect of the disease, COVID-19 has also led to economic repercussions which will take the longest to overcome. Long after the disease is placed under control and the negative social effects it brought with it will be gradually removed, the economic consequences will still have a bearing on our lives.

In many countries hit by the disease, workers in the private sector have lost their jobs, or had their salaries cut, or are working three/four-day weeks, or had to give up some of their hard-earned conditions. Several governments, including the Maltese administration, took steps to limit job shedding as much as possible, but the measures taken were not across the board and there are pockets of the private industry which, although suffering the effects of the disease, did not get any help or the financial assistance given was not enough to satisfy the requirements.

Some say that we are still in the early stages of the economic difficulties the world will have to face in the prevailing circumstances, and that matters will have to get worse before they get any better. The more optimistic among us believe that the recovery will not take as long as is being anticipated and that, although sacrifices will have to be made, we will be back on our feet sooner rather than later.

The real economic effects of the post-Coronavirus will probably start to be felt more in the coming weeks and months when the gradual return to the re-opening of shops, restaurants, the airport and more will take us back to life as we knew it, or a new way of life, as some are anticipating.

Whatever the new normal will be, it is hoped that the Coronavirus pandemic will bring about more understanding of the different roles employers and employees have.

They both need each other.