International Workers’ Day, widely known as May Day, was observed across Bangladesh as elsewhere in the world on Wednesday, pressing workers’ demands, including announcement of minimum wages for workers in all sectors, workplace safety, and six-month maternity leave for women.
The other demands of the workers include ensuring eight-hour work in a day, ration facilities for workers, freedom of trade union activities and stopping forced termination.
On the occasion, different trade unions and labour rights organisations held rallies and discussions and brought out processions to mark the day.
The working class people joined the programmes and demanded that their rights should be ensured in the days to come.
Trade Union Kendra, Garment Sramik Trade Union Kendra, Garments Sramik Samhati, Sramik Karmachari Oikya Parishad, National Garment Workers Federation, Sammilita Garments Sramik Federation, National Domestic Women Workers Union and Rickshaw-Van-Easybike Sramik Union took up various programmes such as rallies, discussions and processions in different parts in the city as elsewhere across the country.
Labour leaders urged the government to fix Tk 20,000 as a minimum wage for workers and ensure workplace safety.
Garment Sramik Trade Union Kendra held a rally at the Purana Paltan crossing in Dhaka in the morning.
Addressing the rally as chief guest, Communist Party of Bangladesh former president Mujahidul Islam Selim said that the workers were suffering from the ongoing heatwave and high prices of essential commodities.
Highlighting exorbitant prices of essential commodities, Mujahidul demanded that the minimum wage of garment workers should be set at Tk 30,000 per month.
The theme of the day in Bangladesh this year is ‘Sramik-Malik Garba Desh, Smart Hobe Bangladesh’ (workers and owners together will build a smart Bangladesh).
Different political parties, including the ruling Awami League, the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, the Communist Party of Bangladesh, the Ganasamhati Andolan, the Amar Bangladesh Party, and the Jatiya Mukti Council also took up programmes to mark the day.
Jatiya Sramik League, the ruling Awami League’s labour organisation, organised a rally in front of the party’s headquarters on Bangabandhu Avenue in the capital.
Addressing the rally as chief guest, AL general secretary Obaidul Quader claimed that the Sheikh Hasina government was dedicated for workers and gradually it had increased the workers’ minimum wage to Tk 12,500.
Addressing a workers’ rally organised by Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal, the BNP’s labour front, in front of the BNP central office at Naya Paltan in Dhaka as chief guest, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said that the people across the country were now deprived of their minimum rights.
Following the rally, they brought out a colourful procession from in front of the party’s Naya Paltan office that after parading Bijaynagar, Dainik Bangla, Fakirapool, and Aramabagh areas ended at Naya Paltan.
Addressing the rally in front of the National Press Club, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal-Jasod president Hasanul Haq Inu said that it was possible to ensure fair wages of workers by stopping corruption, plundering, capital flight, looting banks and wastage of public money.
May Day marks the 1886 uprising of workers at Hay Market in Chicago in the United States for their rights, including an eight-hour working a day.
Several workers were killed in police firing, for which the day was initially marked as a black day.
May 1 was adopted as International Workers’ Day by socialist delegates in Paris in 1889. More than 400 delegates on the centenary of the French Revolution met in Paris at the Marxist International Socialist Congress, the founding meeting of the Second International.
The 1889 resolution called for a one-time demonstration but it became an annual event in course of time.
May Day was celebrated in Russia, Brazil and Ireland first in 1891.
