West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee greeted workers of the nation on the occasion of International Workers’ Day.
The Bengal Chief Minister in a tweet said, “Greetings to all the workers and their families on the occasion of the International Workers’ Day”.
Greetings to all the workers and their families on the occasion of the International Workers’ Day pic.twitter.com/cCkaawCLj6
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) April 30, 2018
International Workers’ Day, also known as Labour Day or Workers’ Day or May Day in some countries is a celebration of labourers and the working class.
The date was chosen by a pan-national organisation of socialist and communist political parties to commemorate the Haymarket affair, which occurred in Chicago on 4 May 1886.
Haymarket affair refers to a bombing and killing of workers by police.
On 1 May 1886, there was a general strike for the eight-hour workday by labours. On 4 May, an unidentified person threw a bomb at the police, to which the law enforcement responded by firing on the workers. The event lead to the death of eight workers.
The first of May is a national public holiday in many countries worldwide, in most cases as “Labour Day”, “International Workers’ Day” or May Day.
In India, Labour Day is a public holiday held on every 1 May. It is celebrated as Antarrashtriya Shramik Diwas. The holiday is tied to labour movements for communist and socialist political parties.
Labour Day is known as “Kamgar Din” in Hindi, “Karmikara Dinacharane” in Kannada,”Karmika Dinotsavam in Telugu, “Kamgar Divas” in Marathi, “Uzhaipalar dhinam” in Tamil, and “Thozhilaali Dinam” in Malayalam. In North India, Labour Day is mostly not given its previous importance as a holiday now.
The first May Day celebration in India was organised in Madras (now Chennai) by the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan on 1 May 1923.This was also the first time the red flag was used in India.