Praveen Kakkar– Workers are the foundation of nation-building
Praveen Kakkar: A very long history of the world has been written describing in detail about the gods, kings, generals and feudal lords. If we look at the 5000 year history of human civilization, the first 4700 years were such that there was no significant place for laborers at all. If they were slaves in Roman civilization, then in countries like Arabia and India their status was no more than that of a servant. No one had ever thought that a day could be celebrated in the name of laborers or that their joys, sorrows and rights could be discussed.
It was only after the fall of the monarchy and the transformation of the agriculture-based economy into a full talk and conversation that the discussion on the exploitation of workers and their rights began formally in the world. The beginning of celebrating International Labor Day is considered to be from May 1, 1886, when labor unions of America went on strike to keep the working time not more than 8 hours. The second strength of May Day came after the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, which was considered a workers’ government on the principles of Karl Marx. India was the first to give the idea that the workers of the world should unite. Seen this way, the importance of labor was recognized in both the systems of capitalism and communism. May Day was first celebrated in India on 1 May 1923 in Chennai. At that time it was certified as Madras Day. It was started by Comrade Singaravelu Chettiar, leader of the Bharatiya Mazdoor Kisan Party. A big demonstration was held in front of the Madras High Court in India and by passing a resolution it was agreed that this day should be celebrated as Workers’ Day in India too and a holiday should be declared on this day. This day is celebrated on 1st May in about 80 countries including India. The logic behind this is that this day has been certified as International Labor Day.
This is the national and international background that May Day is associated with. When the independence movement started in India, the Congress party leading the independence movement also promoted the interests of the workers equally. If Mahatma Gandhi talked about the principle of trusteeship, then leaders like Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhash Chandra Bose were in favor of giving almost the same rights to the workers as they should have in a communist system. Nehru ji himself played the role of a trade union leader.
After independence, special laws were made in India for the interests of workers. The objectives of labor welfare laws can be divided into four parts. First is social justice, second is economic justice, third is the strength of the national economy and fourth is commitment to international treaties and agreements.
But this law has its place and practical circumstances have their place. According to the law, no laborer can be made to work for more than 8 hours, he must be paid minimum wage and he must also be given his other rights. But many times, in adverse circumstances, workers are not able to get all these things. It is the responsibility of a welfare government to ensure the workers their rights. In recent times, the workers of India have faced some major challenges. The National Crime Records Bureau’s ‘Accidental Deaths and Suicide’ report for the year 2020 has come out, which shows that in the year 2020, daily wage laborers have committed maximum suicides.
According to NCRB data, about 1 lakh 53 thousand people committed suicide in India in 2020–21, out of which the maximum of about 37 thousand were daily wage labourers. Most of those who sacrificed their lives were laborers from Tamil Nadu. Then there is the number of laborers from Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana and Gujarat. Although in this report Corona epidemic has not been mentioned as the reason behind the suicide of workers, but after the lockdown imposed in India in the last 2 years, everyone had seen the pictures of migration of workers, how hungry and thirsty people had set out on foot towards their villages. .
Now the circumstances have changed. Industrial and business activities have started again. Workers started going to work again and the economy started running. In such a situation, on May 1st, we all should keep in mind that industrial activities should be carried out in such a way that nation building continues and stoves remain burning in the homes of workers. The workers should get their legal rights. What kind of relationship should be created between the industrialists and the workers so that the situation of strike does not arise. Above all, such arrangements should be made that they have proper living arrangements, their children’s education is properly managed, they get proper health facilities and their children have the opportunity to choose other options in the future. Because equality in democracy does not mean that all people will become equal in one go, rather it means equality of opportunity. That is, the child of an affluent person should be in a position to make the same choices for his/her life as the son/daughter of a labourer. Only then will the significance of Labor Day be proved.
Also Read:
