View source for Labour Day

{{short description|Annual holiday to celebrate the achievements of workers}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2017}}
<!-- please preserve the spelling "labour" in this article except when referring to the United States. -->[[File:Observance of International Workers' Day RGBY.svg|alt=|thumb|upright=1.4|Countries and dependencies coloured by observance of [[International Workers' Day]] or a different variant of [[May Day]] or Labour Day:
{{legend|#dd3333|Labour Day falls or may fall on 1 May}}
{{legend|#ffcc33|Another public holiday on 1 May or the first Monday in May}}
{{legend|#00af89|No public holiday on 1 May, but Labour Day on a different date}}
{{legend|#cccccc|No public holiday on 1 May and no Labour Day}}]]
'''Labour Day''' is an [[Year|annual]] [[public holiday|holiday]] to celebrate the [[labour rights|achievements of workers]]. Labour Day has its origins in the [[trade union|labour union]] movement, specifically the [[eight-hour day]] movement, which advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest.

For most countries, Labour Day is synonymous with, or linked with, [[International Workers' Day]], which occurs on 1 May. For other countries, Labour Day is celebrated on a different date, often one with special significance for the labour movement in that country. Labour Day is a [[public holiday]] in many countries.

==International Workers' Day==
{{main|International Workers' Day}}

For most countries, "Labour Day" is synonymous with, or linked with, International Workers' Day, which occurs on 1 May. Some countries vary the actual date of their celebrations so that the holiday occurs on a Monday close to 1 May.

Some countries have a holiday at or around this date, but it is not a 'Labour Day' celebration.

==Other dates==

===Australia===
[[File:Hands off Timorese Oil - Brisbane May Day 2017 parade.jpg|thumb|A May Day parade in Brisbane in 2017]]
Labour Day in [[Australia]] is a public holiday on dates which vary between [[States and territories of Australia|states and territories]]. In some states the date commemorates the Eight Hours Day march (see below). It is the first Monday in October in the [[Australian Capital Territory]], [[New South Wales]] and [[South Australia]]{{Why|date=February 2023}}. In [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] and [[Tasmania]], it is the second Monday in March (though the latter calls it Eight Hours Day){{citation needed|date=May 2023}}. In [[Western Australia]], Labour Day is the first Monday in March. In [[Queensland]] and the [[Northern Territory]], Labour Day occurs on the first Monday in May (though the latter calls it May Day).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/special-dates-and-events/public-holidays|title=Australian Government: National Public Holidays|publisher=australia.gov.au|access-date=7 March 2016|archive-date=14 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200414132759/https://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/special-dates-and-events/public-holidays|url-status=live}}</ref> It is on the fourth Monday of March in the territory of [[Christmas Island]].

The first march for an eight-hour day by the [[Australian labour movement#Early history|labour movement]] occurred in Melbourne on 21 April 1856.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://alldownunder.com/australian-dates/holiday-labour-day.htm|title=Australian Public Holidays: Labour Day|work=alldownunder.com|date=1998|access-date=7 March 2016|archive-date=19 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150619093412/http://alldownunder.com/australian-dates/holiday-labour-day.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> On this day, stonemasons and building workers on building sites around [[Melbourne]] stopped work and marched from the [[University of Melbourne]] to Parliament House to achieve an [[eight-hour day]]. Their direct action protest was a success, and they are noted as being among the first organized workers in the world to achieve an 8-hour day, with no loss of pay.<ref name="LewisBalderstone2006">{{cite book|first1=Wendy|last1=Lewis|first2=Simon|last2=Balderstone|first3=John|last3=Bowman|title=Events that Shaped Australia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_6TVAAAACAAJ|access-date=7 March 2016|year=2006|publisher=[[New Holland Publishers]]|isbn=978-1-74110-492-9|page=57}}</ref>

=== Bangladesh ===
Bangladesh Garment Sramik Sanghati, an organization working for the welfare of garment workers, has requested that 24 April be declared Labour Safety Day in [[Bangladesh]], in memory of the victims of the [[2013 Savar building collapse|Rana Plaza]] building collapse.<ref name = "dwelle2404">{{Cite web|title=Thousands mourn collapse victims of Rana Plaza garment factory one year on|publisher=[[Deutsche Welle]]|access-date=20 July 2014|date=24 April 2014|url=http://www.dw.de/thousands-mourn-collapse-victims-of-rana-plaza-garment-factory-one-year-on/a-17589288|archive-date=20 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140720044730/http://www.dw.de/thousands-mourn-collapse-victims-of-rana-plaza-garment-factory-one-year-on/a-17589288|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://bangladesh.officialpublicholidays.com/national-holiday|publisher=Official Public Holidays|title=Bangladesh Official Public Holidays|access-date=27 December 2015|archive-date=30 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140330010026/http://bangladesh.officialpublicholidays.com/national-holiday|url-status=live}}</ref> However, Bangladesh does observe May Day on 1 May.

===Bahamas===
Labour Day is a national holiday in the [[Bahamas]], celebrated on the first Friday in June in order to create a long weekend for workers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/bahamas|publisher=timeanddate.com|title=Holidays in The Bahamas in 2015|access-date=27 December 2015|archive-date=21 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160121015052/http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/bahamas/|url-status=live}}</ref> The traditional date of Labour Day in the Bahamas, however, is 7 June, in commemoration of a significant workers' strike that began on that day in 1942. Labour Day is meant to honour and celebrate workers and the importance of their contributions to the nation and society. In the capital city, Nassau, thousands of people come to watch a parade through the streets, which begins at mid-morning. Bands in colourful uniforms, traditional African [[Junkanoo]] performers, and members of various labour unions and political parties are all part of the procession, which ends up at the Southern Recreation Grounds, where government officials make speeches for the occasion. For many residents and visitors to the Bahamas, the afternoon of Labour Day is a time to relax at home or perhaps visit the beach.{{citation needed|date=September 2020}}

===Canada===
{{main|Labour Day (Canada)}}
[[File:1900s Toronto LabourDay Parade.jpg|thumb|right|A Labour Day parade in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in the early 1900s]]
Labour Day ([[French language|French]]: ''Fête du Travail'') has been marked as a statutory public holiday in Canada on the first Monday in September since 1894. Its origins can be traced back to numerous local demonstrations and celebrations in earlier decades.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gagnon|first=Marc-André|title=Labour Day in Canada|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/labour-day/|access-date=7 September 2020|website=The Canadian Encyclopedia|archive-date=10 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200910101347/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/labour-day|url-status=live}}</ref> Such events assumed political significance when a labour demonstration in Toronto in April 1872, in support of striking printers, led directly to the enactment of the Trade Union Act, a law that confirmed the legality of unions.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}} On 22 July 1882, a labour celebration in Toronto attracted the attention of American labour leader Peter J. McGuire, who organized a similar parade in New York City on 5 September that year. Unions associated with the [[Knights of Labor]] and the American Federation of Labor in both Canada and the United States subsequently promoted parades and festivals on the first Monday in September. In Canada, local celebrations took place in Hamilton, Oshawa, Montreal, St Catharines, Halifax, Ottawa, Vancouver and London during these years. Montreal declared a civic holiday in 1889. In Nova Scotia, coal miners had been holding picnics and parades since 1880 to celebrate the anniversary of their union, the Provincial Workmen's Association, first organized in 1879. In addition, in 1889, the Royal Commission on the Relations of Labour and Capital in Canada recommended recognition of an official "labour day" by the federal government.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}} In March and April 1894, unions lobbied Parliament to recognize Labour Day as a public holiday.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}} Legislation was introduced in May by Prime Minister [[John Sparrow David Thompson|Sir John Thompson]] and received royal assent in July 1894.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Heron|first1=Craig|title=The Workers' Festival: A History of Labour Day in Canada|last2=Penfold|first2=Steve|publisher=University of Toronto Press|year=2005|isbn=0-8020-4886-2|location=Toronto|pages=31–38}}</ref>

===China===
1 May is a statutory holiday in the [[China|People's Republic of China]]. It was a three-day holiday until 2008, but was only one day after 2008.<ref>{{cite news |title=China scraps one of three Golden Week holidays |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/life-china-holidays-dc-idUKPEK14649920071216 |access-date=13 April 2022 |work=[[Reuters]] |date=16 December 2007 |archive-date=13 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220413053106/https://www.reuters.com/article/life-china-holidays-dc-idUKPEK14649920071216 |url-status=live }}</ref>  However, the actual time off is often longer than the time off in the regulations, and the extra time off is usually supplemented by another two weekends, but since the extra time is not under an official holiday, the extra days must be "made up" by working on the preceding or following weekend.<ref>{{cite news|title=调与休：黄金周长假的变迁|trans-title=Reconcile and rest: the change of Golden Week vacation|url=http://politics.people.com.cn/n/2013/1127/c70731-23676181.html|date=2013-11-27|access-date=13 April 2022|language=Chinese|work=[[People's Daily]]|agency=[[Xinhua News Agency]]|archive-date=13 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220413052529/http://politics.people.com.cn/n/2013/1127/c70731-23676181.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=2019-11-28|title="五一"假期延长至5天 解读黄金周背后的假如|trans-title="May Day" holiday extended to 5 days: Explaining the assumptions behind the Golden Week|url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/2019-11/28/c_1125283926.htm|language=Chinese|work=[[Xinhuanet]]|publisher=Chengdu Business News|access-date=8 September 2022|archive-date=13 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220413052532/http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/2019-11/28/c_1125283926.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> For example, in 2013, 1 May fell on Wednesday. Most workplaces, including all government offices, took Monday 29 April, Tuesday 30 April, and Wednesday 1 May off. As the first two days were not statutory holidays, they had to be "made up" by working the preceding weekend (27 and 28 April).

===Hong Kong S.A.R.===
In Hong Kong, 1 May is known as Labour Day and has been considered a public holiday since 1999.{{cn|date=September 2022}}

===India===
The first labour day was celebrated in India on 1 May 1923, in Chennai. The first May Day celebrations were organized by the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan. Labour day has been considered a public holiday in India.

===Jamaica===
Before 1961, 24 May was celebrated in [[Jamaica]] as Empire Day in honour of the birthday of [[Queen Victoria]] and her emancipation of slaves in Jamaica.<ref name="jam">{{cite web |work=National Labour Day 2008 |url=http://www.jis.gov.jm/special_sections/labourDay2008/history.htm |title=History of Labour Day |publisher=Jamaica Information Service |access-date=21 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090910163817/http://www.jis.gov.jm/special_sections/labourDay2008/history.htm |archive-date=10 September 2009 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref> As its name suggests, the day was used to celebrate the British Empire, complete with flag-raising ceremonies and the singing of patriotic songs. In 1961, [[Jamaican Chief Minister]] [[Norman Washington Manley]] proposed the replacement of Empire Day with Labour Day, a celebration in commemoration of 23 May 1938, when [[Alexander Bustamante]] led a [[British West Indian labour unrest of 1934–1939|labour rebellion]] leading to Jamaican independence.

In 1972, [[Jamaican Prime Minister]] [[Michael Manley]] promoted Labour Day as a showcase for the importance of labour to the development of Jamaica, and a day of voluntary community participation to beneficial projects.<ref name="jam"/> Since then, Labour Day has been not only a public holiday, but also a day of mass community involvement around the country.

===Japan===
In [[Japan]], Labour Day is officially conflated with [[Thanksgiving]] on 23 November, as [[Labor Thanksgiving Day]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.axiommagazine.jp/2011/11/22/labor-thanksgiving-day-%E5%8B%A4%E5%8A%B4%E6%84%9F%E8%AC%9D%E3%81%AE%E6%97%A5/|title=Labor Thanksgiving Day – 勤労感謝の日|last=Miller|first=Adam|date=22 November 2011|work=Axiom Magazine|access-date=22 November 2011|archive-date=29 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160529122025/http://www.axiommagazine.jp/2011/11/22/labor-thanksgiving-day-%E5%8B%A4%E5%8A%B4%E6%84%9F%E8%AC%9D%E3%81%AE%E6%97%A5/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Kazakhstan ===
Labour Day in [[Kazakhstan]] is celebrated on the last Sunday in September. The holiday was officially established in late 2013. In 1995, the government of Kazakhstan replaced International Workers' Day with Kazakhstan People's Unity Day. Kazakh President [[Nursultan Nazarbayev]] also instituted a special medal that is awarded to veterans of labour on the occasion of the holiday. Labour Day it is widely celebrated across the country with official speeches, award ceremonies, cultural events, etc. It is a non-working holiday for most citizens of Kazakhstan because it always falls on a weekend.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://anydayguide.com/calendar/218|title=Labor Day in Kazakhstan / September 24, 2017|work=AnydayGuide|access-date=2017-09-24|language=en-GB|archive-date=25 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170925083259/https://anydayguide.com/calendar/218|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Macau S.A.R.===
In [[Macau]], 1 May is a public holiday and is officially known as Dia do Trabalhador (Portuguese for "Workers' Day").<ref>{{Cite web |title=2023 |url=https://www.gov.mo/pt/public-holidays/year-2023/ |access-date=2023-05-01 |website=Portal do Governo da RAE de Macau |language=pt-PT |archive-date=1 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230501123231/https://www.gov.mo/pt/public-holidays/year-2023/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===New Zealand===
In [[New Zealand]], Labour Day ({{Lang-mi|Te Ra o Reipa}})<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mi.traasgpu.com/kohea-te-ra-o-reipa-whakaritea-mo-te-2018-2024/|title=Kohea te ra o Reipa? &#124; Rangi Reipa Raa 2018 - 2024|website=mi.traasgpu.com|access-date=24 October 2022|archive-date=24 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221024181644/https://mi.traasgpu.com/kohea-te-ra-o-reipa-whakaritea-mo-te-2018-2024/|url-status=live}}</ref> is a public holiday held on the fourth Monday in October.<ref name=":1">{{cite web |title=First Labour Day celebrations |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/first-labour-day-celebrations |website=NZHistory |access-date=6 September 2021 |archive-date=6 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906154732/https://nzhistory.govt.nz/first-labour-day-celebrations |url-status=live }}</ref> Its origins are traced back to the eight-hour working day movement that arose in the newly founded [[Wellington]] colony in 1840, primarily because of carpenter [[Samuel Parnell]]'s refusal to work more than eight hours a day. That year, Parnell reportedly told a prospective employer: "There are twenty-four hours per day given us; eight of these should be for work, eight for sleep, and the remaining eight for recreation".<ref name=":0" />

The first Labour Day in New Zealand was celebrated on 28 October 1890, which marked the first anniversary of the Maritime Council, an organization of transport and mining unions.<ref name="Labour Day NZ">{{cite web |title=Labour Day |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/labour-day |website=[[NZ History online]] |access-date=6 September 2021 |archive-date=17 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210917002822/https://www.nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/labour-day |url-status=live }}</ref> Several thousand trade union members and supporters attended parades in the main city centres. Government employees were given the day off to attend, and many businesses closed for at least part of the day.<ref name=":1" /> Initially, the day was variously called Labour Day or Labour Demonstration Day.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Labour Day celebrates 8-hour working day – New Zealand Parliament|url=https://www.parliament.nz/en/get-involved/features/labour-day-celebrates-8-hour-working-day/|access-date=2021-10-21|website=www.parliament.nz|language=en|archive-date=21 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021115840/https://www.parliament.nz/en/get-involved/features/labour-day-celebrates-8-hour-working-day/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1899, the government legislated that the day be a public holiday through the Labour Day Act of 1899. The day was set as the second Wednesday in October and first celebrated the following year, in 1900. In 1910 the holiday was moved to the fourth Monday in October.<ref name="Labour Day NZ" />

=== Pakistan ===
In [[Pakistan]], 1 May is Labour Day and it is a [[Public holidays in Pakistan|public holiday]] all over the nation. Some [[Privately held company|private companies]] still do not apply this rule and operate as usual if it is not on Saturday and Sunday.

===Poland===
[[Poland]] celebrates Labour Day on 1 May. Since 3 May is the [[3 May Constitution Day|Constitution Day]] (and [[Catholic Church|catholic]] holiday - [[The Most Holy Virgin Mary, Queen of Poland]]), also a public holiday, they are often combined to generate the "May long weekend" because 2 May is [[Polish National Flag Day]].

===Taiwan===
1 May is known as Labour Day in Taiwan, an official holiday, though not everybody gets a day off. [[Public servants]], teachers and students do not have this day off.<ref>{{cite web |title=台灣國定假日與節日 – 2019年年曆 |url=https://holidays-calendar.net/calendar_zh_tw/taiwan_zh_tw.html |website=holidays-calendar.net |language=zh |access-date=6 September 2022 |archive-date=1 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200501163806/https://holidays-calendar.net/calendar_zh_tw/taiwan_zh_tw.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Trinidad and Tobago===
In [[Trinidad and Tobago]], Labour Day is celebrated every 19 June. This holiday was proposed in 1973<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://library2.nalis.gov.tt/Default.aspx?tabid=268|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080807210105/http://library2.nalis.gov.tt/Default.aspx?tabid=268|url-status=dead|title=Trinidad and Tobago Labour Day|archivedate=7 August 2008}}</ref> to be commemorated on the anniversary of the 1937 [[Tubal Uriah Butler|Butler]] [[Labour riots of 1937|labour riots]].

=== Turkey ===
In [[Turkey]], 1 May is an official holiday. However, the state stops some demonstrations made by [[Left-wing politics|left-wing]] protestors, particularly in [[Taksim Square|Taksim]], which carries historical significance due to the [[Taksim Square massacre|Taksim Square Massacre]] in 1 May 1977.

===United States===
[[File:First United States Labor Day Parade, September 5, 1882 in New York City.jpg|thumb|First US Labor Day Parade, 5 September 1882 in [[New York City]]]]
{{Main|Labor Day}}
In the United States, Labor Day is a [[federal holiday]] observed on the first Monday of September. It is customarily viewed as the end of the [[summer]] vacation season.<ref>Johnson, Yelena. [http://www.celebrations.com/article/Labor-Day-End-of-Summer-White-Party Labor Day End of Summer White Party] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091018022008/http://www.celebrations.com/article/Labor-Day-End-of-Summer-White-Party |date=18 October 2009 }}, Celebrations.com. Retrieved 5 October 2009.</ref> Many schools open for the year on the day after Labor Day.<ref>Helderman, Rosalind S. "[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/05/AR2009090502666.html Issues That Matter to You: School Start After Labor Day] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906183328/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/05/AR2009090502666.html |date=6 September 2017 }}"; ''The Washington Post'', 6 September 2009.</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline}}
*[https://onesearch.slq.qld.gov.au/permalink/61SLQ_INST/dls06p/alma99183587719602061 ToadShow Labour Day photographs], [[State Library of Queensland]]. Collection of photographs showing Labour Day events in Brisbane, Ipswich, Gold Coast and Barcaldine between 1998 and 2012.

{{Australia Holidays}}
{{Public holidays in Cambodia}}
{{Hong Kong Holidays}}
{{Public holidays in Indonesia}}
{{Public holidays in Malaysia}}
{{Mexico Holidays}}
{{Public holidays in Myanmar}}
{{Public holidays in New Zealand}}
{{Public holidays in Pakistan}}
{{Public holidays in the Philippines}}
{{Public holidays in Singapore}}
{{Public holidays in Thailand}}
{{Public holidays in Turkey}}

[[Category:Types of secular holidays]]
[[Category:March observances]]
[[Category:April observances]]
[[Category:May observances]]
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[[Category:September observances]]
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[[Category:Holidays and observances by scheduling (nth weekday of the month)]]
[[Category:Labour days| ]]
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