May 1 marks International Workers' Day, also known in some countries as May Day or Labour Day. A public holiday in many countries around the world, the day commemorates the contributions of the working classes and is often observed in accompaniment of demonstrations seeking better working conditions, pay raises, and unionisation.
International Workers' Day—A brief history:
While it is standard practice today in most professions and across most countries to have an eight-hour, five-day work week, this was not the case a century ago. The modern labour movement demanding a eight-hour workday dates back to the Industrial Revolution in Britain, where it was common practice to have the working class slog for anywhere between 10 to 16 hours a day.
It was in this context that the first known celebration of International Workers' Day took place in the late 19th century, at a time when workers, especially in the rapidly industrializing European economies, started to call for better working conditions and more equitable treatment from their employers.
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The 1886 Haymarket affair in Chicago, United States, is widely recognized as one of the more significant events leading up to the creation of this holiday. On May 4 that year, a bomb was hurled at the police during what was originally meant to be a peaceful protest calling for an eight-hour workday. Consequently, violence erupted, and several labour leaders were arrested and executed in a trial that was widely seen as a miscarriage of justice.
May 1 was subsequently chosen by the Second International, an international organization of socialist and labour parties, to commemorate the Haymarket affair as the 'International Workers' Day'.
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Where is International Workers' Day celebrated?
International Workers' Day is observed as a public holiday in a large number of nations, including India, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Workers in these countries, both in the private and public sectors, are given the day off.
In many other countries, International Labour Day is observed, but not as a public holiday. In the United States and Canada, for example, Labour Day is instead celebrated on the first Monday of every September.
Japan, Australia, and New Zealand too are outliers with respect to commemorating the day on May 1. Although May Day is not an official national holiday in Japan, the fact that it falls in between other national holidays means that the majority of Japanese workers get the day off. When it's not given by the employer as a day off, employees take it as "paid leave." In Australia too, different states observe Labour Day on different dates, with only Northern Territory and Queensland acting as exceptions, where Labour Day is celebrated on the first Monday of every May. In New Zealand, Labour Day falls every year on the fourth Monday of October.