WORLD COMMUNISM DAY: Workers, activists mark May Day with defiant rallies
ANTIPOPE FRANCIS WEIGHS IN TOO
MOSCOW
(AP) -- Workers and activists marked May Day on Tuesday with rallies to
demand their government address labor issues.
International
Workers' Day is a public holiday in many countries, though activities
are restricted in some places, sometimes leading to confrontations.
---
RUSSIA
More than 100,000 people came out on the streets on Moscow to march in the traditional May Day parade.
Moscow's
Federation of Trade Unions said about 120,000 people marched from the
Red Square on the main streets of the Russian capital to mark May Day.
Over
recent years, the parade became a highly orchestrated show of power by
Russian authorities and the ruling United Russia party, with the
demonstrators refraining from criticizing the government.
In
St. Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city, however, Russians unhappy
with the Kremlin's attempts to curtail internet freedom joined the
official May Day demonstration.
Several
hundred people braved the rainy weather and joined the column marching
across St. Petersburg to protest the government's ban of popular
messaging app Telegram.
About 10,000 people rallied in Moscow on Monday to protest the blocking of Telegram.
---
TURKEY
Police
detained dozens of demonstrators during May Day events around Istanbul,
most of them protesters who tried to march toward the city's symbolic
main square in defiance of a ban.
Turkey
declared Taksim Square off-limits to May Day demonstrations citing
security concerns. Police blocked roads leading to the square but
allowed small groups of labor union representatives to lay wreaths and
flowers at monuments there.
Still, small
groups of demonstrators, chanting "Long live May 1" and "Taksim cannot
be off limits on May 1" tried to push their way into the square
throughout the day, leading to scuffles with police. At least 45
demonstrators were detained.
Major trade
unions gathered at a government-designated area in Istanbul for a large
rally. At least six people were detained following scuffles with police
at a security checkpoint leading to the rally ground.
Taksim
holds a symbolic value for Turkey's labor movement. In 1977, 34 people
were killed there during a May Day event when shots were fired into the
crowd from a nearby building.
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GREECE
Thousands of Greeks are marching through central Athens in at least three separate May Day demonstrations.
Museums
were also shut while ferries remain were tied up in port and public
transport operated on a reduced schedule in strikes marking labor day.
Police
said at least 7,000 people were at the first demonstration in Athens,
which was organized by a communist party-led union. The protesters
marched by parliament and headed up a major avenue to the United States
Embassy.
Another four demonstrations were planned in Greece's second largest city of Thessaloniki in the north.
Trains,
the suburban railway, urban trolleys and ferries to and from the
islands suspended operations for the day, while buses and the Athens
metro system were operating on reduced schedules.
---
GERMANY
Tens of thousands of workers marched across Germany and Austria rallying for their rights in the face of globalization.
In
Vienna, some 12,000 people gathered in front of city hall, some
carrying banners with slogans against planned welfare cuts by the new
government.
Meanwhile, around 4,000 union
supporters marched on different routes through Berlin, before assembling
at the German capital's landmark Brandenburg Gate.
"We
have more rich and even richer people than we ever had before," said
protester Aimo Tuegel in Berlin. "And, on the other hand, work and
working conditions for workers continuing to get worse."
In
Nuremberg, where the German Confederation of Trade Unions, or DGB, held
its main event this year, some 6,500 protesters cheered as the group's
leader, Reiner Hoffmann, said the unions "managed to civilize industrial
capitalism some 100 years ago" and would also be able to tackle
contemporary challenges like digitalization.
The DGB said that altogether some 340,000 people participated in almost 500 May Day events across Germany.
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SPAIN
More
than 70 cities across Spain have held May Day marches calling for
gender equality, higher salaries and pensions now that the country's
economy is back on track.
The demonstration in Madrid was among the biggest, with thousands rallying behind the slogan "Time to win."
CCOO
union official Unai Sordo says that "a social majority is emerging from
the psychosis of the (global financial) crisis" in 2008 that hit Spain
hard.
Pepe Alvarez, the secretary general of
UGT, the other main union in Spain, said that meeting the demands of
feminists, youths and pensioners are necessary to "redistribute wealth"
in the country.
Spain's economy, the
fourth-largest in the 19-country eurozone, has in recent years posted
some of the fastest economic growth in Europe. Last year, it reached 3.1
percent.
---
SRI LANKA
Sri
Lanka's government has postponed the rallies and processions that mark
May Day because the weeklong celebrations of the national festival of
Vesak carry on until May 2 this year.
The
government said in a statement that the decision was taken following
requests by leading Buddhist monks, who are very influential in this
majority Buddhist country. Vesak is also known as Buddha Purnima and
marks the enlightenment of Lord Buddha.
The
government has asked political parties and trade unions not to hold
rallies on May 1. Some have said they will ignore the government
directive and mark the day.
Usually, Sri
Lankan political parties and trade unions celebrate the International
Workers' Day with colorful parades and giant rallies to showcase their
political and organizational strength.
The government said it will mark International Workers' Day on May 7.
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PHILIPPINES
About
5,000 people from various groups rallied near the presidential palace
in Manila to protest the failure of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte
to fulfill a major campaign promise to end contractualization, the
widespread practice of short-term employment.
The protesters also demanded that the government address issues including low wages, unemployment and trade union repression.
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SOUTH KOREA
Thousands of labor union members rallied in downtown Seoul for a higher minimum wage and other demands.
They
chanted slogans urging the government to implement a 10,000 won ($9.34)
minimum wage and convert all non-regular employees to regular workers
with equal pay and treatment.
The rally was organized by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions. The police estimated the crowd at 10,000 people.
The
union members also demanded that the government scrap the restructuring
of the shipbuilding and automobile industries, and reform the huge
conglomerates that dominate the South Korean economy.
---
INDONESIA
About 10,000 workers from various labor groups rallied near the presidential palace in Jakarta to voice their demands.
Most of the workers came from Jakarta and nearby suburbs, but some traveled from West Java and Surabaya.
The
protesters urged the government to avoid outsourcing, and to raise
their wages. They also asked the government to stop foreign laborers
from working in Indonesia, saying it decreases employment opportunities
for local workers.
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CAMBODIA
About
2,000 garment workers gathered at a park in Cambodia's capital, Phnom
Penh, for a rally organized by a garment union coalition.
The
workers wanted to march to the National Assembly to urge lawmakers to
help them address labor-related concerns, but the group was stopped by
riot police.
Prime Minister Hun Sun spent May
Day with some 5,000 garment workers just outside Phnom Penh. He thanked
the workers by announcing that each of them will receive 50,000 riel
($12.50). With a general election coming up in July, Hun Sen for the
past year has been courting the large bloc of garment workers, whose
unions traditionally have been strong supporters of the opposition.
Francisco: "Work is a fundamental element for the dignity of the person"
Juan del Río: "The workers' cause has not disappeared, it has changed its face"
Urgent and primordial task, among all, create quality employment, dignified, stable, enriching, safe, justly paid, participatory, overcoming inequalities, reconciling family life and other dimensions of life
( Jesús Bastante ) .- "Let us celebrate Saint Joseph the Worker by always remembering that work is a fundamental element for the dignity of the person ". The Pope Francisco has remembered with a tweet the Labor Day, which today is celebrated all over the world.
With this motive, some Spanish bishops wanted to bet, like the Bishop of Terrasa, Josep Ángel Saiz Meneses , "for work that respects the dignity of the human person, for work that takes into account the universal destiny of goods. a decent job, beyond precariousness ".
Thus, the bishop of Bilbao, Mario Iceta , wanted to remember "those who can not find decent work, I hope they find it soon". " I do not like the expression" labor market . "An urgent and primordial task, among all, to create quality employment, worthy, stable, enriching, secure, fairly remunerated, participatory, that overcomes inequalities, that conciliates family life and the other dimensions of the personal life, socializing, generator of humanity and praise God, "he says.
MORE HUMAN DIGNITY BABBLE FROM FREEMASON FRANCIS
With this motive, some Spanish bishops wanted to bet, like the Bishop of Terrasa, Josep Ángel Saiz Meneses , "for work that respects the dignity of the human person, for work that takes into account the universal destiny of goods. a decent job, beyond precariousness ".
Thus, the bishop of Bilbao, Mario Iceta , wanted to remember "those who can not find decent work, I hope they find it soon". " I do not like the expression" labor market . "An urgent and primordial task, among all, to create quality employment, worthy, stable, enriching, secure, fairly remunerated, participatory, that overcomes inequalities, that conciliates family life and the other dimensions of the personal life, socializing, generator of humanity and praise God, "he says.
MORE HUMAN DIGNITY BABBLE FROM FREEMASON FRANCIS
