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 International Workers' Day is the commemoration of the Haymarket Massacre in Chicago in 1886, when Chicago police fired on workers during a general strike for the eight hour day, killing a dozen demonstrators.[citation needed] In 1889, the first congress of the Second International, meeting in Paris for the centennial of the French Revolution and the Exposition Universelle, following a proposal by Raymond Lavigne, called for international demonstrations on the 1890 anniversary of the Chicago protests.[citation needed] These were so successful that May Day was formally recognized as an annual event at the International's second congress in 1891.[citation needed] The May Day Riots of 1894 and May Day Riots of 1919 occurred subsequently.[citation needed] In 1904, the International Socialist Conference meeting in Amsterdam called on "all Social Democratic Party organizations and trade unions of all countries to demonstrate energetically on May First for the legal establishment of the 8-hour day, for the class demands of the proletariat, and for universal peace." As the most effective way of demonstrating was by striking, the congress made it "mandatory upon the proletarian organizations of all countries to stop work on May 1, wherever it is possible without injury to the workers."
Through all this turmoil in the northern hemisphere, the Stonemasons Society in the then colony of Victoria, now the State of Victoria in Australia led the battle for the 8 Hour Day, the most dramatic achievement of the early trade Union Movement.[citation needed] By 1856 Australian workers were benefiting from the results of a decision by the Collingwood Branch of the Stonemasons Society of Victoria. The same year it was recognized in New South Wales, followed by Queensland in 1858 and South Australia in 1873. A memorial statue with the numerals 888, representing 8 hours of work, 8 hours of recreation, and 8 hours of rest, sits on the corner of Lygon Street and Victoria Parade in Melbourne, Australia to this day.
May Day has long been a focal point for demonstrations by various socialist, communist, and anarchist groups. In some circles, bonfires are lit in commemoration of the Haymarket martyrs, usually right as the first day of May begins. It has also seen right-wing massacres of participants as in the Taksim Square massacre of 1977 in Turkey.
Due to its status as a celebration of the efforts of workers and the socialist movement, May Day is an important official holiday in Communist countries such as the People's Republic of China, Cuba, and the former Soviet Union. May Day celebrations typically feature elaborate popular and military parades in these countries.
In countries other than the United States and Canada, resident working classes sought to make May Day an official holiday and their efforts largely succeeded. For this reason, in most of the world today, May Day is marked by massive street rallies led by workers, their trade unions, anarchists and various communist and socialist parties.
In the United States, however, the official Federal holiday for the "working man" is Labor Day in September. This day was promoted by the Central Labor Union and the Knights of Labor organized the first parade in New York City. The first Labor Day celebration was held on September 5, 1882, and was organized by the Knights of Labor. The Knights began holding it every year and called for it to be a national holiday, but this was opposed by other labor unions who wanted it held on May Day (as it is everywhere else in the world). After the Haymarket Square riot in May, 1886, President Cleveland feared that commemorating Labor Day on May 1 could become an opportunity to commemorate the riots. Thus he moved in 1887 to support the Labor Day that the Knights supported.
is a national holiday in Albania, Argentina, Aruba, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, China, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kenya, Latvia, Lithuania, Lebanon,Macedonia, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar (Burma), Nigeria, North Korea, Norway, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, the Philippines (spelled as "Labor Day"), Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Serbia, Sweden, Syria, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Little hands, ragged clothes and sparkling eyes, the children appear busy in earning their livelihoods, seemingly unaware of their rights written in the country’s constitution as well as the religion.
The sight of these little workers is hardly a source of surprise now, as every one of us has consciously or unconsciously accepted the cruel reality that these angels, still in their school going age, need to be busy in some job for their survival.
Oblivious of the May Day and its history, the only thing known to them is the money, which they have to earn to feed their family.
Dozens of kids engaged in some sort of labour gave a blank look when asked by this scribe about the International Labour Day. These children are unaware of their rights and most of them are working in poor conditions getting lower wages.
May 1 is International Labour Day to commemorate a civil unrest in the late 19th century, when workers in industrialised countries demonstrated for improved working conditions, pay raises and rationalisation of working hours.
According to Unicef, an estimated 246 million children work, and nearly three quarters of them have jobs in hazardous places like mines or working with dangerous tools like machinery and pesticides. A large number of child labourers are girls and are susceptible to sexual exploitation.
The children interviewed by ‘Geo news’ said that they belong to impoverished families and their parents are unable to work and depend on their income for survival.
A six-year-old boy named Abdullah, who was busy in car cleaning at Aabpara market, said he hasn’t chosen this job out of choice, but his poor circumstances led him here.
“It is not that I am the sole earner of my family, as my father and three brothers also work, but even then its hard to make both ends meet,” he said. The poor kid lives in a small house along with his parents and six siblings in Noorpur Shahan.
“I want to go to school, but my circumstances do not allow me to do so,” he said. Abdullah manages to earn Rs100-150 by the end of the day, which according to him, are spent on the dinner.
Another 11-year-old young boy named Faizan works in an auto workshop on the daily wages of Rs80 and is a resident of Phulgran. “We are seven brothers and all are working in order to earn our livelihood,” he said. Faizan has never been to school and is working from the time he was able to learn the technicalities of auto repairing.
“I learned from someone that children under 18 are not allowed to work, but how can we survive if we leave our jobs,” he said.
A bubbly girl, Shehla, who was busy in cleaning the windscreens of cars at Chandni Chowk, said she lives in a slum near Khayaban-e-Sir Syed and all of her siblings do the same job. “We can’t satisfy our hunger by going to school, so we have to work, as we have no other option,” she said hurriedly lifting the wipers of a car. She said no one wants to miss out on good education and a high social status, but all do not have the same destiny. “We also wish to be educated and play leisurely, but we cant due to our circumstances,” she said.
According to the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, “No child below the age of 14 shall be engaged in any factory or mine or in any other hazardous employment. All forms of forced labour and trafficking in human beings is prohibited.” A number of laws also contain provisions prohibiting child labour or regulating the working conditions of child and adolescent workers.
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) was adopted by the UN General Assembly on November 20, 1989. The scope of this convention that Pakistan ratified in 1990 extends to persons up to the age of 18.
Article 32 of CRC reads, “State Parties recognise the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child’s education, or to be harmful to the child’s health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development”.
Despite the presence of so many laws, the issue of child labour is still a major issue, which needs to be tackled on immediate basis. While almost everyone agrees that child labour cannot be overlooked, the issue is complex. The cycle of poverty and its implications must be addressed properly, so that families can find other means to survive.
A private organisation is currently running a scheme in which poor children are paid for attending school, so that their income is not compromised while getting basic education. Such projects are needed to be launched by the government on a larger scale, so that a big number of illiterate children, attached with different businesses, could at least be able to acquire basic education, which is their legal and religious right. |
