PREPAK greets on Labour Day
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, April 30 2012: The proscribed revolutionary organation Peoples' Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) has greeted the labour community in the world on the occasion of Labour Day.

In a statement, PREPAK recalled that the first movement of labourer started on May 1 in 1886 in which workers in United States staged a mass public demonstration in Chicago demanding to reduce the working hour to 8 hours a day.

While they were discussing to withdraw the movement temporarily on May 3, police dispersed the peaceful protestors by beating them up.

Frustrated over the police action, the labourers revolted against the police and on the following day, a bomb was exploded amidst a crowd in which a sergeant of police was killed.

Reacting against the incident, the labourers had a clash with the police and seven policemen and four labourers were killed in the ensuing melee.

Later on, the then government arrested some prominent leaders of the labourers' union and hanged them.

Later the American Labour Federation revived the movement in 1888 .

After the incident, labourers in different parts of the globe revolted to demand labourers' rights and for reducing the working hours.

Gradually the movement gain momentum and it spread throughout United States in 1890 .

In the same year, May 1 was observed as May Day in various countries in Europe.

Similar movements were also witnessed in 1892, 1894, 1912 and 1919 in different parts of the world.

However, the history of world first May Day movement began in 1907 when a leaflet called Weekly Worker spread awareness about the day by distributing leaflets.

In India, the movement began with hoisting of a red flag by a worker at the coast of Chennai in 1923.But formal observation of the day started in 1927 when different labourers' Unions gathering to press their demand for rights of labourer communities.

In 1939, the movement reached Manipur under the leadership of Hijam Irabot who first initiated the movement in whole North East India.

Even though, Manipur began the movement 72 years back, there has been no improvement in the living condition of the labourers.

Since the annexation of Manipur into the Indian Union, the Central government has been trying to instill a sense of dependency among the people, thus compelling them to think that they cannot survive without the help of India.

Today, the work culture among the people of the state have demolished almost completely.

In such a situation, people of the state need to revive the lost work culture, the statement said, while urging the people to respect the dignity of labour for a better future.

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