What is Labour Day?

Labour Day on 1 May — also known as International Workers' Day or May Day — commemorates the struggle for workers' rights and the eight-hour workday. Its origins lie in the Haymarket affair in Chicago in May 1886, when a general strike for an eight-hour workday turned violent after a bomb was thrown at police during a rally in Haymarket Square. The international labour movement adopted 1 May as a day of remembrance and solidarity.

In 1889 the International Socialist Congress in Paris declared 1 May as International Workers' Day. The date spread rapidly across Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa, where it became associated with trade union marches, political speeches, and workers' rights campaigns. In the Soviet era, 1 May became a major state holiday with large military parades.

The United States and Canada observe Labour Day on the first Monday of September rather than 1 May — a deliberate decision by the US government in the 1880s to distance the holiday from its socialist associations. In most of the rest of the world, 1 May is a statutory public holiday observed in over 160 countries, making it one of the most widely observed holidays globally after New Year's Day.