What is International Workers’ Day?
International Workers’ Day is an international holiday that is celebrated every year on the first day of May in over 80 countries. It is also a day that helps us recall hardworking workers involved in the labor movement who helped fight for basic workers’ rights. Labor Day is a very important day that helps us recognize all the workers in the world and their hard work supporting their country’s growth and development significantly. This day is also known as May Day. May Day can also signify the coming of spring in the northern hemisphere.
History of the International Workers’ Day
In 1760, the Industrial Revolution started in the UK. This major event helped spark ideas and lead to many countries around the globe to go through a similar Industrial Revolution until 1840. The major influence of the Industrial Revolutions was that the agricultural industry became more industrialized as jobs in the industry decreased significantly. Inventions such as the railroad, cotton gin, and electricity were created during this time. Some workers even worked for 16 hours a day!
In 1864, an association called the International Workingmen’s Association launched in London. This association mainly fought to change the working hours to 8 and to help bring awareness to numerous workers’ poor working conditions. In 1871, a group of workers in France started their own labor movement. Later on, Pope Leo XIII got himself involved in the movement as he published the book “On the Condition of the Working Classes.” The book mentioned fair wages, decreasing working hours, preventing child labor, and continuously regulating working conditions.
In 1884, the Federation of Organized Trade and Labour Unions of the U.S. and Canada officially announced that May 1, 1886 would be the first day in history to officially decrease working hours to 8 hours. However, many problems were still unresolved. On May 1, 1886, about 500,000 workers protested violently in the U.S. As a result of a bomb, 7 police officers and 4 civilians died. This event is also known as the Haymarket Affair. In 1889, an international organization for workers and socialists in France officially announced May 1 as the date for International Workers’ Day.
Overall, this is what eventually lead to the present day normal 5-day workweek, 8-hour workday, and paid holidays as we know it today!
How do we Celebrate International Workers’ Day?
Many companies and corporations around the globe tend to celebrate this international holiday by giving a day off to their employees. Many people tend to hold rallies, parades, and similar celebrations on this day too. Others will meet up with close to distant relatives to celebrate the day together. Some countries, especially third world countries, actually still do not have these basic workers’ rights. So this day is usually used by these people to organize protests, marches, and demonstrations.
References
International Workers’ Day. (2023, March 17). LearnEnglish. https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/general-english/magazine-zone/international-workers-day#:~:text=May%201%20is%20International%20Workers,pay%20and%20better%20working%20conditions.
