International Workers’ Day 2023 – May 1 

International Workers’ Day also known as International Labour Day is annually observed on 1st May to highlight the importance of workers and their contribution to the society.

• International Workers’ Day is also referred to as International Workers Day or May Day or Antarrashtriya Shramik Diwas or Kamgar Din.

Origin:

i.The origin of the observance of labour day traces back to the 1886 Haymarket riot of Chicago, the United States of America(USA).

• The Haymarket Riot (also known as the “Haymarket Incident” and “Haymarket Affair”) occurred on May 4, 1886, when a labor protest rally near Chicago’s Haymarket Square turned into a riot after someone threw a bomb at police. At least 8 people died as a result of the riot.

ii.In 1889, Second International, a worldwide organisation of socialist and labour parties, declared the 1st May of every year as the International Workers Day. 

Origin of Labour Day in India:

i.In India, the Labour day was 1st celebrated in Madras(now Chennai, Tamil Nadu) on 1st May 1923.

ii.The initiative for the celebration was taken by the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan led by Comrade Singaravelar (leader of the party) who arranged two meetings to celebrate India’s first Labour Day.

Labour Movement: 

i.A labor movement is an initiative where workers or laborers organize to demand better working conditions, wages, and working hours from an entire company or industry.

ii.The major issues included the right of the workers to organize themselves, and the right to an 8-hour working day.

8-hour day movement:

i.The eight-hour day movement was a social movement to regulate the length of a working day, preventing excesses and abuses of working time.

ii.The eight-hour day was the 1st topic discussed by the International Labour Organization (ILO) which resulted in the Hours of Work (Industry) Convention, of 1919 ratified by 52 countries as of 2016.

• An 8-hour shift is a global norm that full-time employees are required to work daily, 5 days per week, for the total hours worked per week to equal 40, according to the same norm.