Workers of the World, UNITE!

A G clamp, a pair of gloves, rolls of insulating tape, a wrench and a measuring tape are placed together in the company of a few stray screws to form the Google logo on Google home pages in many countries around the world on Labour Day, a day that is also marked as May Day.

Labour Day has its origins in the labour union movement, especially the eight-hour day movement, which urged eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest. Labour Day is an annual holiday to mark the celebration of the economic and social achievements of workers. It generally sees organised street demonstrations and marches by labourers and their unions, on this day.

The Labour Day public holiday is fixed by the state and territory governments, and so it varies considerably.

In India, Labour Day is celebrated on May 1 every year. It is an official public holiday. The first May Day celebration in India took place in Madras by the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan on May 1, 1923

May 1 is a national holiday in more than 80 countries including Bolivia, India, Chile, Peru, Mexico, Uruguay, Bahrain, Bangladesh, China, Israel, Philippines, Nepal and Pakistan. It is also celebrated unofficially in various other countries.

In the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and South Australia, it is celebrated on the first Monday in October. In Canada, Labour Day is celebrated on the first Monday in September.Labour Day is being celebrated May 1 around the world and Google is marking the holiday with a Google Doodle.

The International Labour Day was instituted in the early 1880’s by labourers who demanded better working conditions. Labour Day is also referred to as International Workers Day or May Day.

The day was chosen to honour the people who died during a demonstration in Chicago in 1886 when workers were striking for an eight-hour working day. A bomb was thrown at the police, leading them to fire on the protesters. Four demonstrators and seven policemen died in the violence.

Here’s what you need to know:

1. The Holiday Celebrates the Achievements of Workers

The holiday celebrates the achievements of workers around the world. It is celebrated on May 1 in most countries around the world.

2. It Is Closely Linked to Labour Unions & Was First Celebrated in the 1880s

The holiday was first celebrated in the 1880s, according to a history of Labour Day posted on the Industrial Workers of the World website.

It is on May 1 to commemorate the May 1886 Haymarket Affair, which occurred in Chicago.

From May 1st to May 3rd 1886, 250,000 Chicago-area workers hit the streets to protest long working hours and call for factories to limit days to 8 hours. On May 3, police fired on the peaceful crowd and killed two workers. The rally was held the next day to protest police brutality. At about 10:30 a.m., a police line moved toward the rally and someone threw a bomb at the police, killing one and wounding six others. Police then opened fire and killed four workers, injuring several others.

3. The Holiday Is Celebrated With Parades & Rallies

Labour Day has historically been a day for parades, rallies and other celebrations of workers.

4. Unions & Other Labour Groups Plan to Use the Holiday to Fight For Workers’ Rights

Many labour groups plan to rally on May 1 to call for worker rights, including better wages and conditions for workers.

Activists from the Indian Federation of Trade Unions, Communist trade union workers and factory workers hold placards during a protest against state and central government policies that they say negatively impact workers on International Labour Day in New Delhi on May 1, 2014. 

To commemorate the day, BankersAdda has compiled a top ten list of powerful quotes that speak about the value and power of hard work.

• I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it. Thomas Jefferson

• A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life depend on the labours of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving. Albert Einstein

• A man is not paid for having a head and hands, but for using them. Elbert Hubbard

• Thunder is good, thunder is impressive; but it is lightning that does the work. Mark Twain

• Before the reward there must be labour. You plant before you harvest. You sow in tears before you reap joy. Ralph Ransom 

• All labour that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence. Martin Luther King Jr

• Nobody can think straight who does not work. Idleness wraps the mind. Henry Ford

• There is no substitute for hard work. Thomas Edison

• God sells us all things at the price of labour.  Leonardo da Vinci

• The end of labour is to gain leisure. Aristotle

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