Records of workers’
associations, guilds and unions are to be found in the 14th to 18th centuries.
In 1345 a wool comber tried to organise a union of wage labourers in Florence
(Italy), for which he was condemned to death. Several workers’ uprisings took place
in the 14th century Italian principalities. A remarkable struggle for wage rise
and political rights took place in Ciompi (Florence) from 1378 onwards.
Some other notable
struggles and organi-sations were as follows:
- Lyons (France) printers in 1501; first long lasting strike in the same city in 1539 for five months (demanding wage increase, better meals, shorter work hours, etc);
- Lyons (1540-41) and Paris (1570-72);
- 17th century strikes of workers in England;
- strikes of clothing and shipyard workers in the Netherlands in 1718-19;
- strikes, riots and organizations in England in 17th-18th centuries;
- struggles elsewhere in Europe.
Important Movements
The rise of labour, TU
and working class movements was marked by some historical movements which have
left their deep imprints on history. Among them were the Levellers’, Diggers’,
Poachers’, and the Luddites’ movements.
Most of these movements were a reaction to the new
machineries on way to the industrial revolution. For lack of clear scientific
consciousness, the workers looked upon the machines as their enemies and
destroyed them, as happened in the Levellers’ and Luddites’ movements. They
took place in the 17th to 19th centuries.
The Peterloo Massacre
of workers in England took place on August 16, 1819. The famous Chartist
movement began in England in 1838.
Chartist Movement
- Though this movement began roughly around 1831-32, it really took shape with the formation of London Workingmen’s Association in 1836. The Chartist movement lasted till about 1847, its high point was 1842.
- Chartism was the first sustained political movement of the English working class.
- It advanced, among others, two basic political demands: universal suffrage and 10-hour workday.
- The political demands around the voting rights contained six important points.
- The demands and the movement were highly appreciated by Marx and Engels as the political awakening and consolidation of the working class.
- They underlined the significance of the struggle for voting rights for the workers.
The years of the
Chartist movement were marked by great strikes, giant processions, petitions
signed by more than a million workers of England, peaceful rebellions and
resistance etc. The nationwide forums of the Chartists were the Universal
Convention of Industrial Classes and National Charter Association.
The second Charter of
1842 contained more than three million signatures and was partici-pated in by
hundreds of thousands of workers. It was the first time in history that a
political form was given to workers’ demands, and thus it was a prototype of a
workers’ party. There took place a nationwide workers’ general strike in August
1842.
- Chartism helped the development of Marxism in many respects.
Origins of Red Flag
- There is a common misconception that the Red Flag was born during the May Day events in 1886 in Chicago. In reality the history of the Red Flag goes much earlier.
- The Red Flag was in use before the French Revolution (1789) to mark danger or to alert. Hence the colour red. After the French Revolution the people declared that they were using Red Flags to warn the former rulers of the royal family. An instance is mentioned in history of workers having hoisted the Red Flag in Lyons on Hotel de Ville in 1789. Not much is known. A French General is reported to have hoisted a Red Flag over a prominent building in Paris to warn the people.
The working people of
Paris already considered the Red Flag as their own since June 1832, when in a
workers’ uprising the Red Flag was hoisted over the barricades in the city. Thereafter the Red Flag became quite common
in France and several other countries of Europe.
- The Chartist movement in England also had Red Flag as their banner 1838 onwards.
The Social Democratic
Party of Germany was established in 1863. Its flag was the red banner with a
handshake imprinted on it.
The flag of the First
International or the International Workingmen’s Association was also red, as
also that of the Second International (1889). The Red Flag was hoisted over
Hotel de Ville during the Paris Commune of 1871.
Hammer and sickle was
put on the Red Flag during the Russian Revolution of 1905 as the symbol of
worker-peasant unity.
Thus the Red Flag
originated and spread much before 1886. In fact, in the USA itself the red
banners, arm-bands and flags were quite common in the 1860s and 1870s, that is,
much before the Chicago May Day events.
Sources of May Day
The origins of May Day
are related with mainly two events.
One is the American
Revolution of 1776.
 |
- It is interesting to note that the workers, indentured labour, negroes and other working people played a crucial role in the Revolution which led to the emergence of the ‘United States’, the first of 13 States. The declaration of independence adopted by the USA was considerably influenced by the workers’ conventions held before the Revol-ution. And Thomas Jefferson, prominent leader and American President, prepared the draft of the declaration in the house of a brick-layer. Jefferson was very close to the workers, who in turn considered him their hero.
This declaration of
independence was to play a crucial role later on. In fact, many of its points
about the independence of the humans were taken from various workers’
conventions and meetings. This idea evolved further into the 19th century
American labour movement as one of the basic planks. The point was remembered
during the preparations for May Day and its events.
The declaration of
independence was a great source for the emergence of workers’ festivals during
the 19th century. A tradition emerged in which every first Monday of September
was celebrated as the day of workers’ holiday all over America.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The other event is the
struggle of the American working class for eight-hour workday. It was preceded
by widespread struggles for 10-hour workday at the begin-ning of 19th century.
By mid-century the demand was accepted and even implemented in many parts of
the USA. In the second half of the century the US trade union movement was able
to put forward the demand of eight hours as the workday, with other 16 hours
kept aside for rest and recreation. Economic, technological and political
changes played a crucial role in the demand for reduction of work hours.
 |
Powerful American trade
unions, such as the Knights of Labour, American Federation of Labour and other
national industrial centres, played a central effective organisa-tional role.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The movement
gradually picked up from 1884, and by 1885-86 it was decided to merge the
Labour Day with May Day. A countrywide struggle took place in May 1885,
followed by a one-day industrial strike and general movement on May 1, 1886.
The Hay Market events in Chicago gave rise to the observance of May Day every
year. The Second International decided to observe May Day worldwide every year
1890 onwards.
 |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MAY
DAY and INDIA !!!
- The first May Day celebration in India was organised in Madras by the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan on 1 May 1923.
- This was also the first time the red flag was used in India.
- The party leader Singaravelu Chettiar made arrangements to celebrate May Day in two places in 1923.
- One meeting was held at the beach opposite to the Madras High Court; the other meeting was held at the Triplicane beach.
The Labour Kisan party has introduced
May Day celebrations in Madras. Comrade Singaravelar presided over the meeting.
A resolution was passed stating that the government should declare May Day as a
holiday. The president of the party explained the non-violent principles of the
party. There was a request for financial aid. It was emphasized that workers of
the world must unite to achieve independence.
May Day is a public holiday in
several parts of the country.The holiday is tied to labour movements for
communist and socialist political parties. Labour Day is known as "Kamgar
Din" in Hindi, "Kamgar
Divas" in Marathi and "Uzhaipalar Dinam" in Tamil. On this day,
banks and other public organisations in Assam, Bihar, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Manipur, Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, West Bengal and Orissa observe a holiday.In North India, Labour Day is mostly not
given its previous importance as a holiday now.
