May Day - a workers' celebration

By Pramod DE SILVA

Today, workers all over Sri Lanka and around the world will come together to champion their rights and raise their voice for better working conditions. This is the essence of May Day or Labour Day, as it is called in some countries. How did May Day begin ? Following the Industrial Revolution which began in mid 18th Century England, many employers were ruthless as they made their employees work for 14-18 hours daily.

To stop this enslavement of workers, an agitation began globally to reduce work hours. The workers argued that in every 24 hours, they can give a third to their employers, one third for sleep or rest, and the balance eight hours for family, food and transportation to work. They wanted a 40 hour week, with two days off.

Thus began the agitation for "Eight Hours for Work-Eight Hours for Rest-Eight Hours for What Will". This was the foundation for what later became May Day.

The seeds of May Day were planted in the United States well over a century ago, however unlikely it may seem now. Between May 1- 4, 1886, some gallant workers' leaders in the United States called for a general strike to back their demands for a legal guarantee for eight working hours per day.

In the pursuit of the strike, a violent incident erupted at the famous Haymarket Square in Chicago, where armed policemen fired shots into the workers resulting in the killing of many of the workers and eight policemen.

Following the May 1 - 4 1886 disturbances, leaders of the workers, namely, August Spies, George Engel, Adolph Fischer and Albert Richard Parson were arrested, convicted and hanged on November 11, 1887. Others including Oscar W. Reebe and Michael Scwab were sentenced to life imprisonment.

The Haymarket Square martyrs were later honoured with a special monument at their graveside in Chicago on June 25 1893. The following day the Governor of Illinois overruled the court's judgement in the case and ordered that the surviving workers' leaders serving life sentence be freed.

In February 1889, the American Federation of Labour (AFL) eventually petitioned and obtained their desired minimum wage and eight-hour working day.

This workers' revolt against excruciating exploitation spread to many European countries culminating in the convening of the first International Congress of Socialist Parties in Paris, France on July 14, 1889, which gave birth to the "International Workers' Day". The Congress decided to dedicate May 1 every year as the "Workers' Day of International Unity and Solidarity".

The first May Day celebration was under the theme: "For Peace and Against Threats of War". Workers in United States, Chile, Denmark, Britain, Switzerland, Holland, Peru, Hungary, France and Italy marked the first May Day. It soon spread across the world.

Today, May Day is celebrated even in some of the most staunchly capitalist countries. Labour rights are taken seriously by all Governments and the UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO) has many guidelines on this aspect.

Sri Lanka has been working closely with the ILO for several decades. Sri Lanka has signed many Labour Conventions and Charters which had helped workers around the country.

Workers in Sri Lanka have been celebrating May Day for many decades. All Governments have been supportive of the May Day process.

Although some have argued that it should only be an opportunity to focus on labour issues and workers' rights, it is difficult to separate politics from these. It is very hard to separate the labour movement from politics. The workers in many organisations are represented by trade unions which are for the most part affiliated to the major political parties.

The May Day stage has evolved into a platform where apart from labour and political issues, critical issues facing the Nation are discussed. This year in Sri Lanka, most political parties and trade unions are likely to express their opposition to the Darusman Report.

Over the years, May Day has been transformed into a political event based on the significance of the day for the working class. It has become an opportunity for the political parties to show their grass roots strength and also their affinity to the working masses.

Although one can no longer witness the massive May Day rallies of yesteryear, the day has still not lost its significance in our country. People from all walks of life and all parts of Sri Lanka come to Colombo for the main rallies and meetings. Rallies and meetings are also held at regional level.

May Day is traditionally a forum for making various demands from the Government and employers. But do workers and trade unions pause to think of their obligations/responsibilities to their organisations and to the public ? This rarely happens. Thus May Day should also be a day for introspection in this regard. It should also be a day for fostering industrial peace - a smooth relationship between employers and employees, sans strikes, work to rule campaigns etc. Moreover, all employers, government or private, must respect labour laws and rights to ensure industrial peace.

At the end of the day, so to speak, those who are employed, be it in the Government, private or even in self-employment sectors must bear one thing in mind: they have a job. On the other hand, there are thousands who do not have a job at all even though Sri Lanka has a low unemployment rate. This is one more reason why the employed must be determined to do an honest job, literally.

May Day is an ideal opportunity for political parties, trade unions and workers themselves to reflect on these matters. The working masses have achieved many victories globally through agitations as well as through negotiations. Indeed, today's working places and conditions are a far cry from those of a century ago. By 2111, the working environment will be unimaginably different. But the labour movement will go on, raising its voice on behalf of the workers the world over. May Day will still play a very pivotal role, as it does today.