Celebrating International Labour day

International Labour day, also known as Worker’s Day and May Day is celebrated on the 1st of May and considered to be a public holiday in many countries. Celebrated globally, the day is observed to celebrate labourers and the working class and spread awareness regarding the rights of workers and spotlight their achievements. This year, we also salute the tireless and unwavering efforts of the frontline workers as we battle the deadly pandemic that has gripped our nation. 

Origins of the Labour Movement

Labour appreciation movements date back to the late 1800s, during the height of the Industrial Revolution in the United States when labourers toiled under gruelling work hours, were cheated out of fair wages and child labour as young as 5-6 years of age was rampant in mills, factories and mines. People of all ages, especially the poor and immigrants, were exposed to extremely unsafe working without access to fresh air and basic sanitary facilities in an economy where manufacturing slowly supplanted agricultural avenues. 

These unfair conditions prompted the very first labour movements with strikes and rallies growing more vocal and often turning violent. One particularly infamous incident is the Haymarket Riot in 1886, Chicago, where a general assembly protesting for an eight-hour work shift turned violent when an unidentified man threw a bomb at the police to which they responded with open fire, killing four people. The Labour Day that we continue to observe till today was born as a commemoration of this incident.  

However, it wasn't until 1923 that Labour Day celebrations reached India. The first recorded Labour Day in India was started in Chennai in the year 1923 by Hindustan's Labour Kisan Party. 

Today, the labour movement is also marked by the presence of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), an agency of the United Nations that solely deals with Labour issues and works towards improving labour conditions across the globe.