Trade union leaders will hold a series of public meetings, demonstrations, seminars and other events over the next nine days to celebrate May Day.
One of the main events will be a march in Dublin from Parnell Square to Liberty Hall, beginning at 2.30pm on Saturday. Organised by the Belfast, Cork, Drogheda, Dublin and Galway trades councils, the events will be centred around the need for trade unions to intensify recruitment of new members.
In a joint statement, the presidents of the five councils said they were "acutely conscious" that membership levels were not keeping pace with employment growth.