“Eight hours for work, eight hours for rest, eight hours for personal life.” — Battle cry of the 1886 general strike that gave birth to May Day
Every year on 1 May, the world observes International Workers’ Day — also known as May Day or Labour Day — as a tribute to the historic struggles of workers for fair wages, humane conditions, and legal recognition of their rights. In 2026, it is observed in over 80 countries. In India, it is referred to as Antrarashtriya Shramik Diwas and carries particular resonance as the country marks the first year of full operational implementation of the four Labour Codes — the most ambitious restructuring of Indian labour law since Independence.
The ILO theme for May Day 2026 is “Ensuring a Healthy Psychosocial Working Environment” — responding to a well-documented surge in workplace stress, burnout, and mental health challenges that have become structural features of the modern digital economy. Globally, nearly 2.1 billion of the world’s 3.6 billion workers remain in the informal economy without adequate legal protection.
📜 Origin: The Haymarket Affair of 1886
The roots of International Workers’ Day lie in the industrial towns of the United States, where workers in the 1880s routinely laboured 10 to 16 hours a day in dangerous conditions. The catalyst was the general strike that began on 1 May 1886, when approximately 400,000 workers across the US walked off their jobs demanding an eight-hour workday.
Tensions escalated on 3 May 1886 at the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company in Chicago, where unarmed strikers clashed with police, resulting in worker deaths. On 4 May 1886, around 1,500 workers gathered at Haymarket Square in Chicago to protest the police brutality. As the rally wound down, an unidentified person threw a bomb into the advancing police line. The violence left seven police officers and at least four civilians dead. Eight labour leaders, including prominent anarchist August Spies, were arrested. Four — including Spies — were subsequently executed by hanging after a trial widely regarded as a miscarriage of justice. Three were eventually pardoned by Illinois Governor John Peter Altgeld in 1893.
The Haymarket Martyrs became icons of the global labour struggle. Their legacy directly gave birth to May Day.
Haymarket Date Sequence: Strike began → 1 May 1886. McCormick clash → 3 May 1886. Haymarket bomb → 4 May 1886. Why is May Day on 1 May and not 4 May? Because 1 May was the date of the original workers’ strike, and the Second International chose it to honour that moment — not the bombing.
🌍 Formal Declaration: The Second International, 1889
Three years after Haymarket, its legacy was institutionalised internationally. In 1889, the First Congress of the Second International — a federation of socialist parties and trade unions — convened in Paris. AFL (American Federation of Labor) president Samuel Gompers wrote to the Congress proposing an international campaign for the universal eight-hour workday.
The Congress adopted a resolution calling for a “great international demonstration” on a single date. It chose 1 May to align with the 1886 American strikes and honour the Haymarket Martyrs. The first coordinated international observance took place on 1 May 1890. By 1904, the Sixth Conference of the Second International formally called on all labour and socialist organisations worldwide to demonstrate on 1 May — for the legal eight-hour day, class demands, and universal peace — the broad mandate May Day still carries.
👤 May Day in India: The First Celebration of 1923
India’s association with International Workers’ Day began on 1 May 1923 — the first formal observance in Asia — held in Madras (present-day Chennai). The event was organised by Malayapuram Singaravelu Chettiar, a communist leader, lawyer, and trade union activist who founded the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan. At this historic gathering, Singaravelu Chettiar demanded that the colonial government officially recognise May 1 as a public holiday.
The 1923 celebration is notable for a second milestone: it marked the first time the Red Flag was hoisted in India, representing labour and communist solidarity. This dual significance — formal assertion of workers’ rights and visible display of international labour solidarity — made the Madras event a landmark in both Indian labour history and the anti-colonial movement, as labour rights and political independence were increasingly seen as intertwined causes.
Think of the 1923 Madras event as India’s first “workers’ independence day” — at a time when India was still under British rule. Workers marching for their rights were, in effect, also asserting their right to be heard as citizens. Singaravelu Chettiar was doing what Gandhi was doing for political independence — but specifically for the working class.
⚖️ Constitutional Provisions for Workers in India
The Indian Constitution embeds workers’ rights across both enforceable Fundamental Rights (Part III) and directive Directive Principles of State Policy (Part IV):
| Article | Part | Provision | Enforceable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19(1)(c) | III (FR) | Right to form associations or trade unions | Yes — Justiciable |
| 23 | III (FR) | Prohibits human trafficking and forced labour (begar) | Yes — Criminal offence |
| 24 | III (FR) | Prohibits employment of children below 14 in hazardous occupations | Yes — Justiciable |
| 39(e) | IV (DPSP) | Protect health and strength of workers; prevent unsuitable occupations | Non-justiciable |
| 41 | IV (DPSP) | Right to work, education, public assistance (unemployment, old age, sickness) | Non-justiciable |
| 42 | IV (DPSP) | Just and humane conditions of work; maternity relief | Non-justiciable |
| 43 | IV (DPSP) | Living wage, decent standard of life, social and cultural opportunities | Non-justiciable |
| 43A | IV (DPSP) | Workers’ participation in industry management (42nd Amendment, 1976) | Non-justiciable |
DPSP vs Fundamental Rights for workers: Articles 23 and 24 are Fundamental Rights — directly enforceable and violations are criminal offences. Articles 39(e), 41, 42, 43, 43A are DPSPs — non-justiciable in courts, but the Supreme Court has progressively used them to interpret the scope of Fundamental Rights in bonded labour, child labour, and minimum wage cases. Article 43A was added by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment, 1976 — its amendment origin is frequently tested.
📖 India’s Four Labour Codes: Fully Operational January 2026
May Day 2026 carries heightened policy importance because India’s four Labour Codes became fully operational from January 2026, replacing 29 existing central labour laws:
- Code on Wages, 2019: Establishes a universal minimum wage and floor wage applicable to all workers — organised and unorganised — eliminating fragmentation under old Minimum Wages, Payment of Wages, and related Acts.
- Industrial Relations Code, 2020: Consolidates the Industrial Disputes Act, Trade Unions Act, and Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act. Strengthens conciliation; introduces fixed-term employment with equal benefits as permanent workers.
- Code on Social Security, 2020: Consolidates 9 laws including EPF and Maternity Benefit Act. Critically, formally recognises gig and platform workers for the first time at central level — enables 1–2% annual turnover levy on aggregators for social security. e-Shram portal had registered over 30.58 crore workers as of early 2025.
- Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020: Consolidates 13 laws governing workplace safety, working hours, and conditions. Mandates safety audits, training programmes, and structured dispute resolution.
Critics note that approximately 90% of India’s workforce remains informal — largely outside meaningful coverage even under the reformed framework.
The four Labour Codes replace 29 laws — a genuine simplification. But 90% of India’s workforce is informal, meaning most workers have never been meaningfully covered by any of those 29 laws either. Does consolidation help if coverage was already near-zero? What would “extending the floor” to informal workers actually require — and is legislative architecture enough without enforcement capacity?
✨ Contemporary Challenges: From Industrial-Era Rights to Digital-Age Realities
The ILO’s 2026 theme on psychosocial working environments reflects a structural shift in the nature of labour hazards. The original May Day movement addressed physical dangers — unsafe machinery, excessive hours, child labour. Today’s frontier includes:
- Mental health and burnout: ILO’s World Employment and Social Outlook 2026 estimates global unemployment at 186 million; the broader “jobs gap” is projected at 408 million. Those in employment face algorithmic management and “always-on” connectivity creating chronic stress.
- Informal and precarious work: 2.1 billion of 3.6 billion global workers are informal (ILO). Labour’s global share of value added stood at just 52.6% in 2025 — the lowest on record — reflecting a structural tilt toward capital over labour.
- Platform and gig economy: In June 2025, the ILO formally agreed to develop binding global standards on decent work in the platform economy — with final negotiations at the 2026 International Labour Conference. India opposed this move at the 2025 ILC alongside Switzerland and the United States.
- Women workers: Care work — overwhelmingly performed by women — remains undercounted, undervalued, and unprotected globally and in India.
👩🏫 Key Government Initiatives for Unorganised Workers
e-Shram Portal (2021): National database of unorganised workers — over 30.58 crore registered as of early 2025. Registration provides social security linkages but does not by itself confer direct benefit entitlement.
PM Shram Yogi Maandhan (PM-SYM): Pension scheme for unorganised workers aged 18–40 with monthly income below ₹15,000, providing ₹3,000/month pension at age 60.
PM Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY): Health coverage extended to gig and platform workers under Union Budget 2025–26.
MGNREGA: Provides 100 days of guaranteed wage employment per year to rural households — functioning as a social safety net and wage-floor anchor for the most vulnerable segment of the informal workforce.
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The Haymarket bombing occurred on 4 May 1886 at Haymarket Square, Chicago. May Day is observed on 1 May because that was the date of the original 1886 general strike — not the bombing.
The first May Day in India was organised by Malayapuram Singaravelu Chettiar on 1 May 1923 in Madras (Chennai). It was Asia’s first May Day observance and also marked the first hoisting of the Red Flag in India.
The ILO theme for May Day 2026 is “Ensuring a Healthy Psychosocial Working Environment” — focused on workplace stress, burnout, and mental health in the modern digital economy.
Article 43A, which provides for workers’ participation in the management of industries, was inserted by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment of 1976 — also known as the “Mini Constitution” for the large number of changes it introduced.
The four Labour Codes collectively replace 29 existing central labour laws. All four became fully operational in January 2026.
