What is May Day?
Workers around the world have, for over a century, fought to ensure the bare minimum of labour rights.
And May Day is just one day that commemorates their efforts.
But what’s the story behind the day in the United States?
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The struggle for a shorter workday, a demand of major political significance for the working class dates back to the 1800s.
On 7 October 1884, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions, in the United States of America and Canada resolved that eight hours should constitute a legal day’s labour as of 01 May 1886.
The Federation also recommended to workers organizations under their jurisdiction that they abide by this resolution by the said date.
Since then May Day has been celebrated on May 1 annually.
The first recorded celebration of May Day in South Africa is reported by Ray Alexander to have taken place in 1895 which was organised by the Johannesburg District Trades Council.
The next occasion was the visit of British labour and socialist leader Tom Mann, who came to South Africa in 1910.
Mann, like Kier Hardie before him, criticized the South African Labour Party (SALP) for its neglect of African workers, and urged the white labour movement to begin to think seriously of organising among African workers.
His visit inspired a mood of international worker solidarity and culminated in a mass May Day procession in which all sections of the labour movement participated.
South Africa:
The 100th anniversary of May Day in South Africa was commemorated on 1 May 1986.
The South African labour federation Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), formed in December 1985, demanded that May Day be recognised as a public holiday, Workers Day, and called for a stay-away.
It was supported by various organisations, significantly the National Education Crisis Committee (NECC) and the United Democratic Front (UDF), as well as many traditionally conservative organisations – such as the African Teachers Association, the National African Chamber of Commerce, and the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of South Africa (SEIFSA), the metal industry employers’ organisation.
Subsequently, more than 1,5-million workers observed COSATU’s call, joined by thousands of school pupils, students, taxi drivers, hawkers, shopkeepers, domestic workers, self-employed and unemployed people.
While the call was less successful in some regions, in the Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging (PWV) area, (now Gauteng Province), the heartland of industry, the response was massive.
Rallies were held in all the major cities, even though many of these were banned in advance by the state.
The majority of South Africa’s workers had unilaterally declared the day a public holiday and stayed away from work. Premier Foods became the first large employer to declare 1 May and 16 June as paid holidays. Following this, many other companies followed suit.
The media acknowledged that the majority of South Africa’s workers had unilaterally declared the day a public holiday, and Premier Foods became the first large employer to declare 1 May and 16 June as paid holidays. Following this, many other companies bowed to the inevitable.
Source: South Africa History on line
