International Labour Day 2023

Every year on May 1, people around the world observe International Labour Day, which acknowledges the accomplishments and achievements of labourers and workers and making them aware about their rights. This day is frequently referred to as “May Day” and has its origins in the nineteenth-century labour union movement in the United States, notably the eight-hour day campaign.

History of “May Day”

In honour of the Haymarket Riot in Chicago in 1886, a group of socialist organisations and trade unions established May 1 as a day to support workers. However, five years later, the then US President Grover Cleveland signed legislation to make Labour Day, which was already observed in some regions on the first Monday of September, the official US holiday honouring workers. Cleveland was concerned about Workers’ Day’s leftist beginnings. Shortly after, Canada took a similar stance.

May 1 was historically associated with local pagan festivals in Europe, but the labour movement eventually overshadowed its original importance. Following the rise of the Nazi Party in 1933, Germany declared Labour Day an official holiday, but the next day they abolished free unions, effectively annihilating the German labour movement.

Leaders in the Soviet Union welcomed the new holiday, believing it would rally workers in Europe and the United States against capitalism. May Day became an important event in the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc countries, with significant rallies, notably the one in Moscow’s Red Square witnessed by prominent government and Communist Party officials, to honour the worker and demonstrate Soviet military power. Huge May Day celebrations in that region lost significance with the demise of communist governments in Eastern European countries and the Soviet Union in the late 20th century. However, May Day is still celebrated in a number of nations worldwide.

May Day celebrations in India

The first Labour Day celebrations in India took place in Chennai on May 1, 1923. This holiday is also known as “Kamgar Divas,” “Kamgar Din,” and “Antrarashtriya Shramik Divas.” The day is celebrated as a national holiday in the whole country and was initially observed by the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan.