International Labour Day:
International Labour Day is being celebrated across the world on May 1.
- International Labour Day/international Workers Day is often referred to as May Day.
- The day is celebrated to honour the contribution of working men and women and to pay tribute to workers sacrifices in achieving economic and social rights all over the world.
- It is observed on May Day (1st May), an ancient European spring festival.
- The date was chosen by a pan-national organization of socialist and communist political parties to commemorate the Haymarket affair, which occurred in Chicago on 4 May 1886.
- In India, the first Labour day or May Day was celebrated in 1923 in Chennai.
Haymarket affair:
- During industrialization at the beginning of the 19th Century, the industrialists used to exploit the labour class and made them work up to 15 hours a day.
- The workers at Haymarket affair, in Chicago, rose against this exploitation and demanded paid leaves, proper wages and breaks for the workforce.
- The day marks the victory of the workers’ movement for eight hours of work.
