Members of the public are invited to the May Day Fair and Rally in Chester city centre on Monday (May 1) in commemoration of international workers' day.
Organisers West Cheshire TUC say the event in Town Hall Square has added significance this year as Britain prepares to go to the polls on Thursday, June 8.
Secretary Ray McHale said: “Our annual celebration of the fight for workers' rights is overshadowed this year by the coming General Election. After seven years of cuts to public services and the driving down of wages, this is a chance to elect a Government that will side with ordinary working people rather than prioritise tax cuts for the rich and big business.
“Theresa May’s determination to focus on Brexit is her way of distracting from the crisis in the NHS, growing poverty and falling living standards.
“In reality her extreme version of Brexit poses a real threat to the jobs of thousands workers at Vauxhall’s, Airbus and other multinational companies.
“She has only called the election because she knows, despite a working majority, she can’t guarantee the backing of her own MPs for such an extreme deal.”
The rally takes place on Bank Holiday Monday between 11am-2pm, with stalls run by trade unions like Unison, Unite and RMT plus organisations such as the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), Chester Friends of Palestine, the anti-fracking campaign, Deeside TUC, the Shrewsbury 24 Campaign and the Labour Party.
Mr McHale said: “We are not having a formal programme of speakers but will be having pop-up speakers from unions and the labour movement during the event.”
Chester Labour MP Chris Matheson, who is busy campaigning door-to-door, may well attend the event but is not yet confirmed.
