International Workers’ Day, also known as Labour Day, has been celebrated in South Africa on 1 May every year since 1994. Workers’ Day celebrates the role played by Trade Unions, the Communist Party and other labour movements in the struggle against apartheid. Following the first democratic elections in South Africa in 1994, 1 May was inaugurated as an official national public holiday.
The history of Workers’ Day goes back to the 1886 Haymarket Affair in Chicago, where police tried to disperse a large crowd of striking workers (they were protesting for a shorter work day of eight hours). Since then, Workers’ Day has been used by the working class across the world, South Africa included, to emphasise the need to establish fair labour practices and employment standards. While this public holiday doesn’t quite receive all the fuss it rightly deserves, it serves as a stark reminder to governments of the power of the working class.
Did you know?
May Day is not only celebrated as ‘workers’ day’ – the earliest May Day celebrations appeared in pre-Christian Europe, in the Celtic celebration of Beltane, and the Walpurgis Night of the Germanic countries. Many pre-Christian indigenous celebrations were eventually banned or Christianised during the process of Christianisation in Europe. As a result, a more secular version of the holiday continued to be observed in the schools and churches of Europe well into the 20th century. In this form, May Day may be best known for its tradition of dancing around the Maypole and crowning the Queen of the May. Today, various Neo-pagan groups celebrate reconstructed (to varying degrees) versions of these customs on 1 May.
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