Published: 01:02 AM, 01 May 2026
May Day: Reclaiming Workers’ Rights to Fair Wages
Every year, May 1 marks the International Workers’ Day. It is also recognized as the great May Day for the rights and demands of billions of working people of the world. May Day is a national holiday in more than 80 countries across the world including Bangladesh. In 1886, workers at the Haymarket in Chicago, USA, organized a mass movement demanding fair wages and an eight-hour work day.
The factories were swallowing the whole life of the workers like poisonous vapors. Workers had to work 16 hours a day in unbearable conditions. The health condition of the laborers was breaking down after working all week. Child laborers became skeletons for inhuman work pressure.
It was then demanded that the whole life of a worker in an industrial factory cannot be bought. The workers called a strike on May 1 of that year during the movement that began with the demand for 8 hours a day. About 3 lakh working people participated in the rally. Once the police force fired indiscriminately at the workers’ procession while trying to stop the protesting angry workers. In this incident, 11 unarmed workers were killed by the police, many more workers were injured and arrested.
Later, 6 workers from among the arrested workers were hanged for the crime of participating in the movement through a mock trial. The protests spread all over the world in a more visible form. Later, the United States government was forced to accept the demands of the protesting workers.
On July 14, 1889, the International Labor Conference was held in France, which declared May 1 as Labor Day. The following year, since 1890, May 1, has been celebrated globally as May Day or International Workers’ Day.
With the international recognition of May Day, there has been a great change among the working class all over the world. The impact of this day between the employer and employee relations is far-reaching.
As a result, the daily working time of workers is reduced from 16 hours to 8 hours. The workers of all the countries of the world started to get due status of their labor through this movement. They move forward to claim their rights. The working-class people began to be freed from their shackled lives of extreme slavery. Another new chapter of social change is added to the history of the world.
May Day is a day to herald revolutionary change in the working class of the world. When their lives were imprisoned in the web of caste discrimination, their chains were opened by the establishment of May Day. As a result, the class discrimination in the society started to disappear slowly. Millions of workers were spared the aggressive sting of illegal money-grubbers who capitalized on the weaknesses of capitalism. In the spirit of May Day, we expect a society free from discrimination and exploitation across the world. The up-and-down relationship that the workers had with the owners came to an end only as a result of the recognition of May Day.
Bangladesh is a developing country in South Asia. The number of working people in this country is huge. However, these working people are still deprived of their just rights. Labor exploitations, in this country, have not stopped yet. Workers who work in various sectors in Bangladesh are the most deprived of fair rights, and victims of discrimination. Haymarket workers protested for eight hours of work, but workers in various sectors in Bangladesh still have to work much longer than that. Accordingly, they do not have wages and salaries.
In light of May Day, the rights of workers in different countries of the world, especially in terms of wages, working environment, and facilities have changed, but workers in Bangladesh are victims of wage inequality. Except for one or two sectors, the working environment of the workers is also fragile, especially in the shipbreaking industry, and construction workers have to work at extreme risk. Besides, many industrial establishments do not pay fair wages to the workers even if they make them work overtime. This is a clear violation of the law. Government intervention and taking effective measures must be needed in this regard.
The most promising industry in Bangladesh is the garment industry. A large part of the country's economy comes from the garment industry. However, the workers of this garment industry are not paid properly. Although 80% of the workers in this industry are women, they have to live through a kind of insecurity. Garment workers do not get their wages, salaries and allowances on time. We often see these working people taking to the streets to protest for their salaries. A few days ago, we saw garment workers protesting for their salaries in the streets.
Celebrating May Day will be worthwhile only when the working people of the country are guaranteed fair wages and safe workplaces. Employers need to realize that cheating the workers cannot ensure the profitability of the industry or the growth of the economy. Let the fair-rights of workers be established in all countries of the world including Bangladesh—this is the expectation of May Day.
Emran Emon is an eminent journalist, columnist and
global affairs analyst. He can
be reached at [email protected]
