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May Day rallies worldwide Printer friendly page Print This
By Staff Writers, teleSUR
teleSUR
Sunday, May 1, 2016

People walk with flags at Red Square during a May Day rally in Moscow, Russia, May 1, 2016. | Photo: Reuters

Dozens of countries are commemorating the day for worker’s rights as reports of marches and clashes take place between demonstrators and officials. More than 90 countries across the globe are holding mass rallies and activities this Sunday, May 1, to commemorate International Workers' Day, a celebration of workers' rights achieved and a demand for fair working conditions and wages today.

In Turkey on Sunday demonstrators were met with tear gas and water cannons as clashes broke out with police officers, leaving at least one dead.

In Moscow, thousands gathered to march across the famous Red Square in a rally called for by the United Russia party, as demonstrators waved Russian flags and balloons.

While in Latin America, in the early Sunday morning hours, hundreds of thousands of Cubans came out for a May Day parade through Havana's Revolution Square, with workers were wearing red shirts as Cuban flags fluttered in the wind.

The date for the commemoration was chosen 127 years ago by a coalition of socialist and labor parties known as the Second International. However, Labor Day is observed in the United States on the first Monday of September.

The main intention was to commemorate the Haymarket affair, a tragic event  occurred in Chicago on May 4, 1886, when a bomb detonated near Haymarket Square after police arrived to break up a rally that was organized in support of workers striking for an eight-hour workday.

During the late nineteenth century, the working class fought for this gain —an 8-hour working day— instead of their severe 10 to 16-hour work in unsafe conditions.

Today pro-labor movements around the world have adopted this date to demonstrate for better wages and working conditions.

The International Labour Organization or ILO, is the United Nations’ body that deals with labor issues and international labor standards, social protection and work opportunities for all.

The ILO organizes the International Labor Conference in Geneva every year in June, where conventions and recommendations are crafted and adopted.

In 1969 it received the Nobel Peace Prize for improving peace among classes, pursuing decent work and justice for workers, and providing technical assistance to other developing nations.

A woman carries a photo of Fidel Castro during #MayDay protests in Istanbul, Turkey



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