CBOA-AP issued its circular No. 012 dated
30.04.2014 reproducing the circular issued by AICBOF on MAY DAY. We are placing
the same here for our readers.
CIRCULAR NO.: GS: 2014: 012 Date: 30.04.2014
TO ALL OFFICERS PLEASE CIRCULATE
Dear Friends,
We reproduce hereunder the Circular No.
CIRCULAR/GS/2014/12 dated 30.04.2014 received from our Federation for your
information.
With best regards
Yours sincerely
Sd/-
(C.A. MALLIKARJUNA RAO)
GENERAL SECRETARY
..............................................................................................
“REMEMBRING PIONEERS OF TRADE UNION
MOVEMENT
OBSERVING MAY 1ST - LABOUR
DAY AS ‘DEMANDS DAY’
Labour Day is an
annual holiday in many parts of the world to celebrate the achievements of
workers and has its origins in the labour union movement, specifically the
eight-hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for
recreation, and eight hours for rest. For many countries, Labour Day is
synonymous with, or linked with, International Workers' Day, which occurs on 1
May. For other countries, Labour Day is celebrated on a different date, often
one with special significance for the labour movement in that country.
In the late
nineteenth century, the working class was in constant struggle to gain the
8-hour work day. As early as the 1860's, working people agitated to shorten the
workday without a cut in pay, but it wasn't until the late 1880's that
organized Labour was able to garner enough strength to declare the 8-hour
workday. At its national convention in Chicago, held in 1884, the Federation of
Organized Trades and Labour Unions (which later became the American Federation
of LABOUR), proclaimed that "eight hours shall constitute a legal day's
Labour from and after May 1, 1886." This proclamation was without consent
of employers, yet demanded by many of the working class.
An estimated quarter
million workers in the Chicago area became directly involved in the crusade to
implement the eight hour work day. On May 1, 1886, more than 3,00,000 workers
in 13,000 businesses across the United States walked off their jobs on the
first May Day celebration in history. In Chicago, the epicenter for the 8-hour
day agitators, nearly one lac workers observed a peaceful strike. Two days
later on May 3, 1886, violence broke out at the McCormick Reaper Works between
police and strikers. During a speech near the McCormick plant, some two hundred
demonstrators joined the steelworkers on the picket line. Beatings by the
police enraged the strikers who resorted to rock throwing, and police responded
to with gunfire. At least two strikers were killed and an unknown number were
wounded. Full of rage, a public meeting was called by some of the leaders for
the following day in Haymarket Square to discuss the police brutality. Due to
bad weather and short notice, only about 3000 of people showed up from the day
before, which included families with children and the mayor of Chicago himself.
During the meeting, a bomb thrown by some unknown person enraged the police and
it fired into the crowd. The exact number of civilians killed or wounded was
never determined, but an estimated seven or eight civilians died, and up to
forty were wounded. Later evidence indicated that it was the police, not the
workers, who perpetrated the violence. Eight leaders were arrested and
convicted of murder, despite the fact that only three of them were present at
Haymarket and those three were in full view of all when the bombing occurred.
In a gross mockery of justice, in their trial, the jury comprising of business
leaders, eight organizers were convicted. The conviction was evidently not for
their actions as all were innocent, but for their political and social beliefs.
On November 11, 1887, after many failed appeals, one of them, in protest, took
his own life and four of them were hung to death while the remaining three were
pardoned six years later by the Governor. Today we see tens of thousands of
activists embracing the ideals of the Haymarket Martyrs and those who
established May Day as an International Workers' Day. Ironically, May Day is an
official holiday in 66 countries and unofficially celebrated in many more, but
rarely is it recognized in the country where it began.
In 1889, the first
congress of the Second International, meeting in Paris for the centennial of
the French Revolution and the Exposition Universelle, called for international
demonstrations on the 1890 anniversary of the Chicago protests. On May 1, 1890,
in accordance with the decision to commemorate these Haymarket martyrs, mass
demonstrations and strikes were held throughout Europe and America. The workers
put forward the demands for an 8 hour working day, better health conditions,
and further demands set forth by the International Association of Workers. The
red flag was created as the symbol that would always remind us of the blood
that the working-class has bled, and continues to bleed, under the oppressive
reign of capitalism. May Day was formally recognized as an annual event at the
International's second congress in 1891. From that day onwards (starting from
1891 in Russia, by 1920 in China and from 1923 in India) workers throughout the
world began to celebrate the first of May as a day of international proletarian
solidarity, fighting for the right of freedom to celebrate their past and build
their future without the oppression and exploitation of the capitalist state.
In many countries,
the working classes sought to make May Day an official holiday, and their
efforts largely succeeded. May Day has long been a focal point for
demonstrations by various socialist, communist and labour groups. May Day has
been an important official holiday in countries such as the People's Republic
of China, North Korea, Cuba and the former Soviet Union. May Day celebrations
typically feature elaborate popular and military parades in these countries.
It is really very
unfortunate that though our country is one of the founder member of
International Labour Organisation (ILO), but it has not ratified many of the
conventions and treaties prescribed by it, which are essential for a healthy
work environment, leave apart 8 hours working. The first May Day celebration in
India was organised in Madras (Since named Chennai) by the Labour Kisan Party
of Hindustan on 1st May 1923. This was also the first time the red flag was
used in India. The party leader Singaravelu Chettiar made arrangements to
celebrate May Day in two places in 1923. One meeting was held at the beach
opposite to the Madras High Court; the other one at the Triplicane beach. A
resolution was passed stating that the government should declare May Day as a
holiday. It was emphasized that workers of the world must unite to achieve
independence. On this day, banks and
other public organizations in Assam, Bihar, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Manipur,
Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, West Bengal and Orissa observe a holiday.
It should be our
endeavour to carry forward the torch of this movement which despite witnessing
so many sacrifices and being more than a century old has not seen the light of
the day. We should consolidate our
movement also to get the recognition to the contribution of labour class by
demanding a public holiday in all parts of the country for 1st May, the
International Labour Day.
Let us observe this 1st May, 2014, as a ‘Demand Day’ also
for some of our very relevant demands. In the 10th Triennial Conference of our
Confederation held at Thiruvananthapuram, from 8th to 10th
March, 2014, we had passed various resolutions like regulated working hours, 5
days a week, trade union rights to all officers irrespective of scales,
implementation of ILO conventions 87 & 98 for wider definition of workers
and coverage under I.D. act, apart from some other related ones. Let us all
resolve to leave no stone unturned in realizing these demands.
With revolutionary greetings,”
Yours Sincerely,
Sd/- OFFICERS’
COMMUNITY …… ZINDABAD
(S.B.
RODE) A.I.B.O.C. …… ZINDABAD
GENERAL
SECRETARY A.I.C.B.O.F … ZINDABAD
C.B.O.A. … ZINDABAD
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