May 1st of each year has been regarded as the most important day for workers all around the world. And it is necessary for the workers to study the origin and background to join in this day's activity with class awareness.
In the period of the industrial revolution, many workers were in poverty and migrated to look for factory jobs in urban areas. During the extension of industrial capitalism, workers had been harshly exploited, wages had been pressed to the very lowest, and they worked between 16 – 18 hours without holidays and benefits.
With the bad working conditions, the workers stood up to struggle, strike and destroy machines. Between 1882 – 1886 there were many big strikes in Europe, USA, Japan and Australia, most of them demanding reduced working hours.
On 1 May 1886, workers all around the US went on strike and demonstrated on streets to call for three '8s' system which means 8 hours for work, 8 for rest and 8 for learning. To suppress the strikes, capitalists and state officials used violence to attack workers. The cruelest attack occurred in Chicago, workers were shot dead, hundreds were caught and 4 were judged to die by hanging. However, workers in the US continue to struggle, and resolved to organize the national demonstration again on 1 May 1890.
Then in 1889, the First (Paris) Congress of the Second Socialist International selected May First as a day for international celebration of the working man, no matter what day of the week it fell on. After that, workers all around the world called for reduced working hours and finally got the three '8s' system.
Therefore, May 1st of every year is the commemoration of the International labour day. It is a reflection of class struggle by workers around the world under capitalism. May Day in Thailand should not be just a holiday with free music, products on sale and speeches given by the prime minister. Moreover, almost every year, there would be a competition among labour leaders who hunger for being the chair of the ceremony for the budget given by the government while the demands proposed to the government is just a meaningless ceremony.
In the current situation of harsh business competition in seeking highest profits under globalization, our government runs the policy in accordance with neo-liberalism which freely allows investors to make profits in any area. For example, the free trade area agreements, privatization or even support of the war to grab natural resources in Iraq. In these circumstances, workers are severely exploited, and are working for low wages which forces them to work long overtime to gain more earnings to cover daily expenses. Flexible employment has pushed workers in large amounts out of legal measurement, while labour rights and right to association continued to be blocked.
Thus, on this coming May Day, the Labour Coordinating Center considered it is the time for sister and brother workers to unite and express our solidarity with our conscience of independence on the basis of workers' benefits, farmers and urban and rural poor to struggle together to press the government to truly protect our rights. Our demands are as follows:
The government has to stop privatization and it should improve the state enterprises' efficiency and open for public participation.
The government has to increase minimum wage fairly.
The government has to solve the farmers' debt problems.
The government has to ratify the ILO convention no.87 and 98.
The government has to issue the Health and Safety in Workplace Institution Act drafted by the people.
The government has to issue the law to protect workers' rights to cover every kind of employment particularly subcontracted workers and migrant workers with real enforcement.
The government has to protect HIV infected people to get access to medicine.
Before signing in any FTAs, the government has to disclose information and open the opportunity for the public to participate in the decision making process and express their opinion.
The government has to take an anti-war standpoint and remove the Thai military from Iraq.
Surely, we could not expect the government to immediately comply with our demands. It is necessary for every worker to join together with the conscience of 'All workers are brotherhood and sisterhood' to fight for concrete solutions.
The State Enterprise Labour Relation Confederation
The secretariat of the State Enterprise Labour Relation Confederation
Tel. 02-537-8958, 02-936-0401 ext. 16
Fax. 02-537-8958
Sources and Relevant Links:
ILO CONVENTIONS NOS. 87 AND 98*
Convention No. 87
Convention Concerning Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948)
Convention No. 98
Convention Concerning the Application of the Principles of the Right to Organise and to Bargain Collectively (1949)
Singapore has not ratified 87
Thailand has not ratified 87 and 98
IFBWW
Join the campaign on Respect for the 1st of May
The International Federation of Building and Wood Workers' (IFBWW) invites all its affiliates worldwide to join its campaign on the theme of "Respect" for Labour Day.
