Recognised by dozens of countries around the world, Labour Day has been consolidated over the decades as an ubiquitous part of the annual calendar.
Also known as International Workers Day, Labour Day is often seen as possessing a strongly European character, but the occasion traces its roots to the two other continents.
On 21 April 1856, stonemasons in Melbourne in Australia protested what they deemed were untenable labour conditions. The workers eventually scored a victory, reaching an agreement with employers that led to the establishment of the eight-hour workday.
This success served as an impetus for further action and mobilisation against workers, especially in the United States.
Labour Day also has its foundations in North America. In May 1886, a violent crackdown on protesters in Chicago – known as the Haymarket Affair – saw numerous deaths and injuries after a peaceful rally in support of workers striking for an eight-hour workday.
This led to the Second International in Paris calling for demonstrations to be held in its memory four years later.
By the end of the 19th century, many European countries had taken inspiration, and May Day had become a global phenomenon.
In Europe, events range in size and shape from nationwide celebrations to smaller-scale affairs.
France
Unions across the country have called for protests “against the far right, for peace, freedom, and social justice.” Last year, 121,000 people demonstrated in the country and 12,000 police officers were deployed.
Police and authorities have described this 1 May as a tense day. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said in an interview with broadcaster Europe 1 that authorities “will intervene at the slightest sign of violence.”
15,000 people are expected to march in Paris.
Germany
Labour Day has been considered a day of struggle for the workers’ movement in Germany since 1890, when workers went on strike to demand more political say and improved working conditions.
Trade unions and other organisations are holding rallies across the country with police in Berlin saying more than 5,000 people are taking part in a demonstration, one of 36 scheduled for the capital, in front of the town hall.
Thousands are expected to march in cities across the country to demand higher wages and better social security.
Italy
Marches are also taking place in various cities around Italy, mostly organised by the country’s three main trade unions.
ADVERTISEMENTIn a post on X to mark Labour Day, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni praised her conservative government’s track record on job creation and workers’ rights.
“Work is one of the pillars on which this government has based its action. In two and a half years, more than one million jobs have been created and the total number of employed people has reached an all-time high: more than 24.3 million,” she wrote.
But ahead of a rally in Rome, centre-left Democratic Party secretary Elly Schlein criticised the government.
“We need a minimum wage law: the majority wanted to block it. Meloni has turned her back on 3.5 million working poor. She keeps lying through her teeth about the numbers. She says there is no wage problem in Italy and instead Istat has confirmed it: wages are 8% lower than in 2021,” she told reporters.
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Workers in Spain have also taken to the streets to demand better pay and reduced working hours, with trade unions calling rallies in more than 50 cities.
Unions have two main demands. The first is a reduction of the working week from 40 hours to 37.5 without a drop in salary.
“This will be the last May Day in which we have a maximum 40-hour workweek in our country. Therefore, there’s no turning back,” said Minister of Labour Yolanda Díaz.
The second demand is reform to the process of dismissal. Unions say employers resort to dismissing staff to easily rather than deal with any problems and call for the process to be aligned with the European Social Charter.
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In Turkey, May Day served as a platform not only for labour rights but for broader calls to uphold democratic values, as demonstrators planned to protest the jailing of Istanbul’s opposition Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.
His imprisonment in March sparked the country’s largest protests in more than a decade, and Thursday’s public holiday offered the prospect of renewed anti-government displays.
Authorities blocked access to central Istanbul and shut down transit lines.
A law association said that more than 200 protesters were arrested before midday near Taksim Square, a symbolic rallying point long closed to May Day gatherings, including lawyers trying to follow the detentions.
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And from Tokyo to Taipei to Manila, people across Asia marked Labour Day with marches and protests that spotlighted growing unease over US President Donald Trump’s policies and fears of global economic instability.
In Japan, some said Trump’s policies hung over the day like a shadow, with one truck in the Tokyo march featuring a doll that resembled Trump. Participants’ demands ranged from higher wages and gender equality to healthcare, disaster relief, a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“For our children to be able to live with hope, the rights of workers must be recognised,” said Junko Kuramochi, a member of a mothers’ group in Tokyo.
Under overcast skies in Taipei, about 2,500 Taiwanese union members marched from the presidential office, representing sectors from fisheries to telecommunications. Protesters warned that Trump’s tariffs could cost jobs.
ADVERTISEMENT“This is why we hope that the government can propose plans to protect the rights of laborers,” said union leader Carlos Wang. An autoworkers’ union carried a cutout car topped with a photo of Trump.
President Lai Ching-te said on Facebook that his government had submitted a 410 billion New Taiwan dollar (€11.3 billion) bill to support industry and stabilise the job market.
In Manila, thousands of Filipino workers marched near the presidential palace, where police blocked access with barricades. Protesters demanded higher wages and stronger protections for local jobs and businesses.
In Indonesia, President Prabowo Subianto greeted thousands of workers who cheered him in Jakarta’s National Monument Park.
ADVERTISEMENT“The government that I lead will work as hard as possible to eliminate poverty from Indonesia,” Subianto told the crowd.
About 200,000 Indonesian workers were expected to take part in May Day marches across Southeast Asia’s largest economy, according to Said Iqbal, president of the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions.
They are demanding an end to outsourcing rules, wage raises, and protection for domestic workers and migrant workers abroad, Iqbal said.
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