Kathmandu, 1 May: Today, May Day, or the 136th International Workers’ Day, is being celebrated with various programs.
This day is observed every year on May 1st to affirm the professional dignity and respect of workers and to commemorate the establishment of their rights.
Workers around the world celebrate this day as a festival, organizing various programs to put pressure on governments and employers to ensure their rights.
This year too, various labor organizations in Nepal are celebrating the day with different events.
International Workers’ Day has been observed every year on May 1st in remembrance of the labor movement that began on May 1, 1886, in Chicago, USA, with the slogan “Eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest.” During that movement, a bomb explosion and police firing at Chicago’s Haymarket Square resulted in the deaths of seven workers. Eventually, the labor movement achieved success.
Later, in 1889, a meeting of global labor organizations and worker leaders held in Paris, France, decided to commemorate International Workers’ Day worldwide.
In Nepal, the tradition of celebrating this day began after the success of the workers’ movement in Biratnagar in 1946 (B.S. 2003) and the political changes of 1951 (B.S. 2007). Following the political change of 1990 (B.S. 2046), a public holiday began to be granted on this day in Nepal.
The tradition of May Day entered Nepal as a form of protest against the Panchayat regime. According to the General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT), May Day was first organized in Nepal in 1962 (B.S. 2019) by the Nepal Workers’ Organization.
