1st May – International Worker or Labour Day

A skilled and proficient  task force is  imperative to any nation, without which a nation is spineless.  Though 1st May is a traditional northern hemisphere spring festival but this day,  across the globe, is more popularly commemorated as International Workers’ Day or Labour Day.

This day marks the day of winning rights and culminating atrocities of labors as the result of 19th-century movement in the United States, including the right of an eight-hour workday.

Countries including Germany, France, England, the US saw demand for reducing work time from 12-15 hours a day to eight hours.

Prior to this day, during the 19th century, at the height of the Industrial Revolution, uncountable men, women, and children were dying every year from inhumane working conditions and long hours shifts.

Theme of International Labour Day 2019

“Sustainable Pension for all: The Role of Social Partners”.

Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions ( later became the American Federation of Labor, or AFL) held a convention in Chicago in 1884. The FOTLU proclaimed “eight hours shall constitute a legal day’s labor from and after May 1, 1886.”

On May 1, 1886, countrywide strikes were held by more than 300,000 workers, who quitted jobs from 13,000 business. The strikes led to the Haymarket Riots of 1886 in Chicago, where a bombing attack was mounted on laborers protesting for their rights, by some unknown forces. Police firing, claiming 11 lives was reported, and the rally that ended in a riot. However, the blood of the labours didn’t go into vain, as their sacrifice came to be fruitful and eventually resulted in the official sanctioning of the eight-hour workday.

This day is marked as a public holiday in over 80 countries to celebrate the struggle and accomplishments of the working class.

May 1 is also marked as ‘Maharashtra Day’ and ‘Gujarat Day’ to mark the date in 1960 when the two western states attained statehood after the erstwhile Bombay state was divided into linguistic lines

In India, Labour Day was first celebrated on May 1, 1923, on the Triplicane beach in Chennai (then Madras), India when the prominent Communist leader Malappuram Singaravelu Chettiar raised the red flag in Chennai and introduced the country to the concept of Labour Day. This was the first time in India’s history that the flag was raised,  Malappuram also laid the foundation of his own party- The Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan. India celebrates Labour Day by different names.

In Hindi, it is called Kamgar Din/  Antarrashtriya Shramik Diwas. 

In Marathi, it is called Kamgar Din, and Uzhaipalar Dhinam in Tamil. The day is celebrated by Goa, Bihar, Kerala, Tripura, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Karnataka, and Jharkhand.