International Labour Day 2022: Why we observe the day

International Labour Day celebrates the working classes.

Countries around the world are celebrating International Day of Workers or Labour Day today. The day to celebrate members of the working classes was chosen in 1889 by the Marxist International Socialist Congress.

The date May 1 was significant in that it commemorated the Haymarket riot -- the aftermath of bombing at a labour strike in Chicago in 1886.

In that year, a general strike began on May 1 for eight-hour workdays. Four days into the protest, an unidentified person threw a bomb. The police responded by firing on protestors, killing at least four.

In 1889, the Second International, a body of socialist and labour parties, held a meeting in Paris, after French trade unionist Raymond Lavigne put forth a proposal calling for worldwide protests on the 1890 anniversary of the Chicago demonstrations.

In 1890, May Day protests took place in the US and Europe. May Day was accorded the stature of a formal annual event at another meeting of the Second International in 1891.

May Day is now a public holiday in several countries and is celebrated by organising marches. Some refer to it as International Workers’ Day, others call it Labour Day.

In India, Labour Day is known by several different names -- Kamgar Divas in Marathi, Shromik Dibosh in Bengali, Uzhaipalar Dhinam in Tamil, Kamgar Din in Hindi, Karmikara Dinacharane in Kannada, Thozhilaali Dinam in Malayalam and Karmika Dinotsavam in Telugu.

The first Labour Day in India was celebrated in 1923 by the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan in Madras (now Chennai).