The International Labour Day, or May Day, is a day dedicated to acknowledge and honour the contributions of the working people, who have helped build civilizations amidst countless hardships both in the past and at present. However, globally and in Sri Lanka, the nature of this important day has gradually become largely political. 

While political activism concerning the working people has been instrumental in winning their rights and freedoms, in many contexts, the political aspect seems to have subdued the labour rights aspect, which sets a wrong precedent. In Sri Lanka, instead of the working people, we have been celebrating politicians who claim to be the saviours of representatives of the working people. On 1 May of every year, mainstream political parties gather their followers and hold various commemorations for the working people. However, in reality, they have done very little for the working people compared to what they have promised. Today, the 1 May – Labour Day marches and celebrations have become a key calendar event for political parties to grandstand and showcase their people mobilisation skills. The day has become more about political parties and labour rights and wellbeing.

The country has reached a point where this tradition cannot be allowed to continue. With the economic crisis that dealt a heavy blow to the country’s workforce, especially those in the informal sector who constitute the lion’s share of the workforce, it is now more important than before to make tangible efforts to recognise the contributions of the working people and to take effective and honest measures to uplift their lives. The ongoing battery of austerity measures, many which are necessary in the short term, have taken a disproportionate toll on the working class, and especially on those who toil away in the informal sector. While Sri Lanka struggles to regain its footing, and attempts to reinvent its economy, in the lead up to May Day, we hardly hear any slogans or policies regarding labour rights being discussed. This is indeed a shame.

That is why, moving forward, May Day should not be about politicians, political parties or elections. If the politicians genuinely care about the working people as they claim, this year, they should acknowledge how the working people have plunged into poverty, forced to work more to make ends meet, lost their mental and physical wellbeing, and have found themselves in uncertainty. These political parties, if they actually care about the working people, should also tell the country what they identify as the pressing issues faced by the workforce, what their priorities would be when it comes to addressing these issues, and most importantly, present their plans and obtain the people’s suggestions to resolve these issues.

The working people also have a part in making this May Day a meaningful one for them, rather than supporting politicians to hold the year’s biggest political rally. Now that the country has experienced through the economic crisis what wrong political decisions can do to the economy and to the working people, they should not let political campaigns fool them. The working people should pay attention to the political parties that present practical and effective solutions to uplift the working people. If they too played their part right, perhaps, this May Day would change the outcomes of the upcoming elections thereby changing the country’s future for all.

At the same time, this May Day should go beyond the traditional definition of the working people, and acknowledge the contribution of women, who, despite not being compensated and recognised adequately or at all, continue to provide a silent service as mothers, housewives and other caregiver-roles they play in the family. Although their unpaid and unappreciated labour has not received attention in the larger discourse on the working people, their contributions have been instrumental in managing household economies which have a considerable impact on the national economy as well. On this May Day, we should talk about not only how we can appreciate their efforts in the context of households, but also how we can improve women’s representation in the larger workforce.

At the end of the day, the working people are the ones who actually keep the economy afloat. Therefore, on this May Day, the working people should feel included and heard, not used.