International Labour day

International Labour day

Subject: International relations

Section: Msc

International Labour Day also known as May Day is celebrated by organising marches.

Content:

• The origin of Labour Day can be traced back to the United States of America in the 19th Century. May 1 in particular was chosen as the date to mark Labour Day to commemorate the nationwide strike for an eight-hour day in 1886 that began on May 1 and ended as the Haymarket affair in Chicago US.
• The Haymarket affair refers to the tragic incident where a labour protest rally turned violent after someone threw a bomb at the police leading to the death of seven police officers and at least four civilians.

In 1889, the Second International, a body of socialist and labour parties, held a meeting in Paris, after French trade unionist Raymond Lavigne put forth a proposal calling for worldwide protests on the 1890 anniversary of the Chicago demonstrations.

In 1890, May Day protests took place in the US and Europe. May Day was accorded the stature of a formal annual event at another meeting of the Second International in 1891.