{"id":2136,"date":"2015-04-30T16:09:44","date_gmt":"2015-04-30T10:39:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.officechai.com\/?p=2136"},"modified":"2015-08-27T14:32:16","modified_gmt":"2015-08-27T09:02:16","slug":"what-is-labour-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/officechai.com\/learn\/what-is-labour-day\/","title":{"rendered":"What You Need To Know About Labour Day & Why It’s A Holiday"},"content":{"rendered":"

For most of us, Labour Day, quite paradoxically, is a day when we do no labour. On 1st May every year almost all over the world Offices are shut, \u00a0businesses take a break, and workers around the world\u00a0get a much welcome day off from the daily grind. But this holiday has interesting origins that date back over 150 years. It’s a story with\u00a0history, drama, and some bloodshed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Back in the 1800s, workers in the US were not happy. They slaved away for long hours and had time to do little else, sort of like investment bankers of the day. Unlike investment bankers though, they were not paid well for their efforts. The factories were deadly dangerous, and deaths and injuries on the job were common. The pays were\u00a0a pittance.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Around this time, socialism was also taking root across the Western world. Inspired by the ideas of Karl Marx, workers were were drawn to its ideology of working class control over the production and distribution of all goods and services.\u00a0Workers had seen first-hand that Capitalism benefited only their bosses, trading workers’ lives for profit. They wanted to take control of their own destiny.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Several socialist organizations sprung up across the country. But they found that their workings were hamstrung by political processes, which were controlled by the elite.\u00a0Tens of thousands of socialists broke ranks from their parties, rebuffed the entire political process, which was seen as nothing more than protection for the wealthy, and created anarchist groups. These groups were not averse to using violence to having their demands met.<\/span><\/p>\n

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One of their demands was an 8 hour working day. Back then, it was not uncommon for people to work for 16 hours a day. Socialist groups proposed what was then a radical idea – 8 hours of rest, 8 hours of recreation, and 8 hours of work in a day. The employers were understandably unhappy – the workers were demanding this without any cut in their pay.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a proclamation printed just before May 1, 1886, one publisher appealed to working people with this plea:<\/span><\/p>\n