Labour Day was celebrated with full spirit and enthusiasm through out the city with rallies, seminars and walks held for raising awareness about the issues faced by labourers. Like other cities around the world Labour Day was celebrated in Lahore with high spirits with citizens showing solidarity for the labourers of Chicago.
It was a day full of activities across the city. Since the start of the day, Lahore seemed busy in preparing for different functions. Different organizations had arrange rallies, walks, seminars, workshops, award ceremonies, held discussions, talks and conferences to mark the day. People demanded that the rights of labour be implemented to the fullest. In the rallies and walks people were seen hold placards banners and posters demanding the rights of labour. Men were seen shouting slogans in favor of the labour class. People demanded a raise in minimum wage and expressed the need of health facilities for labourers.
The participants were of the view that the minimum wage should be at least Rs 15,000. They said that in the current age of inflation it is hard for a labourer to earn a decent living and keep their family happy. In other rallies, the participants demanded that the minimum wage of labour should be equivalent to one tola gold. Labourers demanded good education for their children and living facilities for their families. Rallies were held on Jail Road, The Mall and other important arteries of the city.
Women, children and adults belonging from different backgrounds took part in the rallies. Labourers belonging from different occupations flooded the roads asking for rights and showing solidarity. Paramedical staff, nurses, mill workers, collectors and inspectors were seen at the occasion.
History of Labour Day: May 1st, International Workers’ Day, commemorates the historic struggle of working people throughout the world, and is recognized in every country except the United States, Canada, and South Africa. This despite the fact that the holiday began in the 1880s in the United States with the fight for an eight-hour work day.
In 1884, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions passed a resolution stating that eight hours would constitute a legal day’s work from and after May 1, 1886. The resolution called for a general strike to achieve the goal, since legislative methods had already failed. With workers being forced to work ten, twelve, and fourteen hours a day, rank-and-file support for the eight-hour movement grew rapidly, despite the indifference and hostility of many union leaders. By April 1886, 250,000 workers were involved in the May Day movement.
The heart of the movement was in Chicago, organized primarily by the anarchist International Working People’s Association. Businesses and the state were terrified by the increasingly revolutionary character of the movement and prepared accordingly. The police and militia were increased in size and received new and powerful weapons financed by local business leaders. Chicago’s Commercial Club purchased a $2000 machine gun for the Illinois National Guard to be used against strikers.
Nevertheless, by May 1st, the movement had already won gains for many Chicago clothing cutters, shoemakers, and packing-house workers. But on May 3, 1886, police fired into a crowd of strikers at the McCormick Reaper Works Factory, killing four and wounding many. Anarchists called for a mass meeting the next day in Haymarket Square to protest the brutality.
The meeting proceeded without incident, and by the time the last speaker was on the platform, the rainy gathering was already breaking up, with only a few hundred people remaining. It was then that 180 cops marched into the square and ordered the meeting to disperse. As the speakers climbed down from the platform, a bomb was thrown at the police, killing one and injuring seventy. Police responded by firing into the crowd, killing one worker and injuring many others.
Political parties should take the issue of labour rights to the streets: BLLFP
LAHORE – Bonded Labour Liberation Front Pakistan (BLLFP) General Secretary Syeda Ghulam Fatima has called upon political parties to come forward to protect the rights of labour and stamp out forced labour instead of just making hollow claims She was addressing a Labor Day seminar titled “Social Protection and Who will guarantee better life to Labours” held under the aegis of BLLFP at Alhamra Hall here on Sunday.
Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan, Pakistan Awami Tehreek president Dr Syed Hassan Nasir, eminent social worker and journalist Saif Ullah Darvaish, Pakistan Workers Confederation President Muhammad Yaqoob and others attended the seminar. Earlier, BLLFP took a rally out from Regal Chowk to Alhamra building which was attended by labourers who were carrying placards and banners and raised slogans for their rights. BLLFP general secretary laid emphasis on prompt implementation of labour laws, adding that the laws remain unimplemented.
Under labour laws, Syeda Fatima said, Rs 7000 had been set as minimum wages for labour but in reality, laborers were only getting Rs 5000 or Rs 6000 even in government departments. She said protestors need to come out on the streets instead of holding seminars and walks. She demanded the construction of labour colonies, health and education facilities for labor. Rana Mashhood said that labour was the backbone of economy and Punjab government was leaving no stone unturned to uplift the standard of lives of labourers. Government was doing all it could to assure the provision of Rs 7000 as minimum wages to labourers, he added.
Saif Ullah Darwaish said the ILO was serving the government’s interest and despite announcement, labour inspection could not be restored. “There are 8200 kilns across Punjab and of them 3800 are registered according to government statistics. But question is that as to why social security cards have not been issued to labours,” he pointed out. If cards were issued, he said, forced labour would have ended. He also demanded the restoration of vigilance committees. Staff Report
