International Workers Day also popularly known as Labour Day is celebrated to mark the hardships of laborers and working class. The Labour Day is promoted by International Labour Movement, socialists, communists and anarchists. It occurs annually on the first of May. In India, the very first May Day was celebrated in 1923 in Chennai. On this day around India organizations and trade unions arrange fun activities to understand the importance of laborers and sometimes political leaders give speeches.

The history of Labour Day is pretty interesting. It goes back to May 1, 1886, when labor unions went on a strike in the United States of America and demanded that workers should not be forced to work more than eight hours a day. The strike was followed by a bomb blast in Chicago’s Haymarket Square on May 4. The bomb blast took lives of several people and police officers and injured more than 100 people.

However, the strike did not have any immediate effect on the laborers work but it helped in establishing the eight hour work day rule in India and other countries of the world.

In India to celebrate the Labour Day, the first initiative was taken by the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan wherein the Comrade Malayapuram Singaravelu Chettiar, founder of the first trade union, arranged two meetings to celebrate the day. One meeting was held at the Triplicane Beach, and the other took place at the beach opposite the Madras High Court. In the meeting, Singaravelar passed a resolution that government should announce a national holiday on May 1 which will be marked as Labour Day. This was the first time a red flag was used in India.

On this day, workers and laborers come together and showcase their strength that indicates that how effectively together they can struggle to bring a positive reform for the working class in the society.