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Turkish May Day protesters, 2006. (AP Photo/Murad Sezer)
Governments Prepare for International Labor Day Protests
May 01, 2008 09:43 AM
by
findingDulcinea Staff
This year’s May Day festivities brought protests over continued labor rights abuses around the globe.
30-Second Summary
Arriving amid a growing global credit crunch, this year’s International Labor Day is punctuated by a number of recent stories illustrating how workers’ rights abuses continue today.
For example, the International Herald Tribune reported Wednesday that Chinese authorities had freed about 100 Chinese teenagers who were being forced to work 300-hour weeks for meager pay in factories along country’s coast. But worker abuses are not limited to developing countries.
Workers in South Korea, a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, averaged 2,357 hours on the job in 2006. And the Korea Times writes that migrant workers coming to seek the “Korean Dream” are subject to “exploitation, abuse of human rights, occupational accidents and disease.”
Cities across the globe took precautions before this year’s May Day festivities. Istanbul municipal authorities are cutting off public transit and road arteries to the city’s central Taksim Square, a traditional home to protests. Turkish Interior Minister Besir Atalay told Reuters, “There are necessary reasons for this … Taksim Square has a lot of traffic, and it's difficult to control.”
A CNN clip shows Turkish police shooting a fire hose at protesters.
Although some in the United States dismiss May Day as a Communist construct, the day actually has Midwestern roots. Following a Chicago decree stating that "eight hours shall constitute a legal day's labor from and after May 1, 1886," thousands of workers celebrated by walking off their jobs and attending labor movement speeches.
For example, the International Herald Tribune reported Wednesday that Chinese authorities had freed about 100 Chinese teenagers who were being forced to work 300-hour weeks for meager pay in factories along country’s coast. But worker abuses are not limited to developing countries.
Workers in South Korea, a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, averaged 2,357 hours on the job in 2006. And the Korea Times writes that migrant workers coming to seek the “Korean Dream” are subject to “exploitation, abuse of human rights, occupational accidents and disease.”
Cities across the globe took precautions before this year’s May Day festivities. Istanbul municipal authorities are cutting off public transit and road arteries to the city’s central Taksim Square, a traditional home to protests. Turkish Interior Minister Besir Atalay told Reuters, “There are necessary reasons for this … Taksim Square has a lot of traffic, and it's difficult to control.”
A CNN clip shows Turkish police shooting a fire hose at protesters.
Although some in the United States dismiss May Day as a Communist construct, the day actually has Midwestern roots. Following a Chicago decree stating that "eight hours shall constitute a legal day's labor from and after May 1, 1886," thousands of workers celebrated by walking off their jobs and attending labor movement speeches.
Headline Links: Cities prepare for May Day protests
About 600 demonstrators were detained at last year’s May Day protests in Istanbul. It marked the 30th anniversary of the death of 37 people who were either gunned down or trampled during May Day demonstrations in the city in 1977.
Source: Reuters
Sri Lankan Minister Dallas Alahaperuma said that the ruling party, the United Peoples Freedom Alliance, will hold its annual May Day celebration “outside Colombo for the first time.” Although the capital city is the traditional home for the country’s Labor Day celebrations, this year they will be held in the town of Dehiyatttakandiya.
Source: Tamil Net
Video: May Day protests
Turkish police fire hosed May Day protesters in Istanbul. Banners soaked, members of the Turkish Communist Party continued to chant "Yasasin 1 Mayis," or "Long live May 1."
Source: CNN
Background: Worker abuses
Authorities in China’s southwestern Guangdong Province freed more than 100 workers aged 13 to 15 who had been shipped in from poor towns in the country’s interior. The teenagers had been forced to work as much as 300 hours a week in factories for little pay. Many of the children told local media they were kidnapped.
Source: International Herald Tribune
For the year of 2006, Koreans worked an average of 2,357 hours, the longest of any country in the OECD. The Korea Times writes that migrant workers in the country are in a noticeably worse situation than their native-born counterparts: “They came here to seek the ‘Korean Dream,’ but they soon found a miserable life waiting for them. Most of them are experiencing exploitation, abuse of human rights, occupational accidents and disease.”
Source: Korea Times
Historical Context: ‘The Brief Origins of May Day’
May Day’s origins stem from the rise of the U.S. labor movement. Workers in the late 19th century fought with management to secure the eight-hour working day. In 1884, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions announced at its annual meeting in Chicago, "eight hours shall constitute a legal day's labor from and after May 1, 1886." That day in cities across America, 300,000 workers walked off their jobs in celebration. Chicago was the center of the protests, with 40,000 workers congregating at the city’s Haymarket Square to listen to revolutionary speeches.
Source: Industrial Workers of the World
Reference: FindingDulcinea’s Web Guide to U.S. History
FindingDulcinea’s Web Guide to U.S. History outlines the Industrial Revolution and how it gave rise to the American labor movement.
Source: findingDulcinea
Related Topic: ‘On this Day: Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Kills 146’
On March 25, 1911, a fire at New York City’s crowded, unsafe Triangle Shirtwaist factory killed 146 workers. The fire brought attention to workers’ rights, galvanizing America’s labor movement.
Source: findingDulcinea
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