The government has started various programmes for the welfare of labourers, Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad said in connection with the May Day on Sunday. “The Workers Welfare Board and SESSI are doing a lot of work for the welfare of labourers without any discrimination,” he added.
He said that the government is determined to serve the labour community with complete honesty. He said that the government is taking all measures to ensure that the rights of the labourers are protected and the laws for their welfare implemented as they are the backbone of the economy. “It is the labourers, who help bring industry growth,” he added.
May Day originates with the United States labour movement in the late 19th century. On May 1, 1886, unions across the country went on strike, demanding that the standard workday be shortened to eight hours. The organisers of these strikes included socialists, anarchists, and others in organised labor movements. Rioting in Chicago’s Haymarket Square on May 4 including a bomb thrown by an anarchist led to the deaths of a dozen people (including several police officers) and the injury of over 100 more.
The protests were not immediately successful, but they proved effective down the line, as eight-hour work days eventually did become the norm. Labour leaders, socialists, and anarchists around the world took the American strikes and their fallout as a rallying point, choosing May Day as a day for demonstrations, parades, and speeches.
