Workers' Day Echoes Around The World
May 1 2017 By Abiodun Giwa
May Day celebration at Magdalen College at Oxford, Briain. (Photo:Reuters)
In Cuba, the May 1 2017 workers' day rally was Raul Castro's last Workers' Day celebration as president. He will retire from office next February. News reports said that the year's Workers Day rally was massive. But the workers' May Day rally in Venezuela ended almost in chaos, marked by workers' struggle against President Nicholas Maduro.
Just like the Venezuela's case, workers in South Africa showed President Jacob Zuma the red card, asking him to step down from office. He was reportedly whisked away through the backdoor by security agents. In other places, including Venezuela, wages were either hiked or promises of wage hike made, toward placating the workers and saving the leaders from workers' wrath.
In Venezuela, the waged has reportedly been hiked by 60 percent (from 40,638 to $65,021 Bolivare). The new monthly wage of $65021, is equivalent of about America's $50. In addition to the pay hike, Maduro was reported to have handed out free homes. Whether sudden pay hike that can hardly buy little in the market will save Maduro from growing protests in the country over economic downturn due to poor economic management is uncertain. It is reportedly Maduro's 15th minimum wage hike toward stemming unrests.
In Nigeria, President Muhammad Buhari promised to facilitate work on the need to make life livable for workers and said it is the reason for his being in office. " Let us use this National May Day to celebrate the workers and Nigeria as a Nation. There will always be challenges in the life of a man and what defines greatness is the way and manner such challenges are tackled and overcome. I assure you, great Nigerian workers that this Administration is able and willing to constructively handle the challenges."
Whether the government in Abuja is handling the challenges facing the common man on the street in Nigeria is there for observers to determine. Some Nigerians have called the economic situation their country as equivalent to near economic strangulation. In Ghana, President Nana Akufo called on worker to increase their productivity and to ensure no worker plays trick to collect undue wages, saying that workers will be made to enjoy the fruit of their labor and that Ghana will not be counted among the poor countries.
In England, revelers in the English university city of Oxford took part in the annual May Morning festival on Monday - an event famous for its centuries-old cultural traditions, as well as some rowdier modern ones, according to a report by Telesur. The festival is said to feature traditional music and dancing, and that it frequently attracts crowds in the tens of thousands.
Politicians in France used the May day to push their chances in the forthcoming May 5 second of the country's presidential election. Emmanuel macron, the leading candidate presented himself as candidate of unity and progress, against his opponent, Marine Le Pen. About 12,000 followers were reported to have attended the rally in Paris. Another report said that anti Le Pen groups are splintering. "It wasn’t so long ago that more than a million people marched on Labour Day, under the joint banners of France’s leading trade unions, to call for a massive vote against Jean-Marie Le Pen. Fifteen years on, another Le Pen is once again in the second round of the presidential election, but the alliance against the far right is fractured," France24 reported.
May Day is celebrated all over the world. According to Wikipedia, May Day is a public holiday usually celebrated on May 1. It is an ancient northern hemisphere spring hemisphere spring festival. It is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures. Dances, singing, and cake are usually part of the celebrations that the day includes. In the late 19th century, May Day was chosen as the date for International Workers' Day to commemorate the Haymarket affair in Chicago.
The 20th Century International Workers Day's celebration seems have swelled May day's fame, because the celebration also falls on May 1, like the other May Day celebration, which has existed long before the international workers day.
Just like the Venezuela's case, workers in South Africa showed President Jacob Zuma the red card, asking him to step down from office. He was reportedly whisked away through the backdoor by security agents. In other places, including Venezuela, wages were either hiked or promises of wage hike made, toward placating the workers and saving the leaders from workers' wrath.
In Venezuela, the waged has reportedly been hiked by 60 percent (from 40,638 to $65,021 Bolivare). The new monthly wage of $65021, is equivalent of about America's $50. In addition to the pay hike, Maduro was reported to have handed out free homes. Whether sudden pay hike that can hardly buy little in the market will save Maduro from growing protests in the country over economic downturn due to poor economic management is uncertain. It is reportedly Maduro's 15th minimum wage hike toward stemming unrests.
In Nigeria, President Muhammad Buhari promised to facilitate work on the need to make life livable for workers and said it is the reason for his being in office. " Let us use this National May Day to celebrate the workers and Nigeria as a Nation. There will always be challenges in the life of a man and what defines greatness is the way and manner such challenges are tackled and overcome. I assure you, great Nigerian workers that this Administration is able and willing to constructively handle the challenges."
Whether the government in Abuja is handling the challenges facing the common man on the street in Nigeria is there for observers to determine. Some Nigerians have called the economic situation their country as equivalent to near economic strangulation. In Ghana, President Nana Akufo called on worker to increase their productivity and to ensure no worker plays trick to collect undue wages, saying that workers will be made to enjoy the fruit of their labor and that Ghana will not be counted among the poor countries.
In England, revelers in the English university city of Oxford took part in the annual May Morning festival on Monday - an event famous for its centuries-old cultural traditions, as well as some rowdier modern ones, according to a report by Telesur. The festival is said to feature traditional music and dancing, and that it frequently attracts crowds in the tens of thousands.
Politicians in France used the May day to push their chances in the forthcoming May 5 second of the country's presidential election. Emmanuel macron, the leading candidate presented himself as candidate of unity and progress, against his opponent, Marine Le Pen. About 12,000 followers were reported to have attended the rally in Paris. Another report said that anti Le Pen groups are splintering. "It wasn’t so long ago that more than a million people marched on Labour Day, under the joint banners of France’s leading trade unions, to call for a massive vote against Jean-Marie Le Pen. Fifteen years on, another Le Pen is once again in the second round of the presidential election, but the alliance against the far right is fractured," France24 reported.
May Day is celebrated all over the world. According to Wikipedia, May Day is a public holiday usually celebrated on May 1. It is an ancient northern hemisphere spring hemisphere spring festival. It is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures. Dances, singing, and cake are usually part of the celebrations that the day includes. In the late 19th century, May Day was chosen as the date for International Workers' Day to commemorate the Haymarket affair in Chicago.
The 20th Century International Workers Day's celebration seems have swelled May day's fame, because the celebration also falls on May 1, like the other May Day celebration, which has existed long before the international workers day.
