Worldwide protests mark May Day
http://tinyurl.com/bvb5m [aljazeera]
Worldwide protests mark May Day
Sunday 01 May 2005 11:57 AM GMT
Workers around the world have marked the May Day holiday with protests
calling for more rights and improved benefits.
French workers marched on Sunday in a series of May Day protests, with
their divisions over the EU constitution overshadowing common concerns
about jobs, salaries and a cancelled bank holiday.
At least four marches were scheduled in Paris, reflecting the inability
of trade unions to overcome their disparate opinions on the European
constitution, the divisive subject of a 29 May referendum, to join
forces on Labour Day.
Instead, workers focused on the centre-right government's unpopular
decision to turn Pentecost Monday, which this year falls on 16 May,
into a normal working day in order to raise funds for the elderly and
handicapped.
"Don't touch my day off," read a banner carried by workers at the head
of a 2500-strong cortege from the Christian CFTC union, while 200
members of Force Ouvriere demanded, "Increase salaries, not working
hours".
"Sixty-five percent of French people don't want to work on Pentecost
Monday. The bank holiday is a time for social interaction and
celebration," CFTC president Jacques Voisin told AFP.
German violence
Three police officers were injured and 65 people detained in Berlin in
overnight clashes between stone-throwing hooligans and authorities
ahead of traditional May Day rallies, police said on Sunday.
In violence that has become a fixture of the holiday since the late
1980s, scuffles broke out in the eastern districts of Friedrichshain
and Prenzlauer Berg as far-left youths also set garbage cans ablaze and
built bonfires on neighbourhood streets.
Police noted, however, that the disturbances were far less severe than
in previous years due to a ban at key flashpoints on bottles and cans -
frequently used as missiles against authorities - and a de-escalation
policy for officers on the scene.
In Ukraine nearly 2500 Communists and supporters marked May Day on
Sunday, rallying in downtown Kiev to protest against the pro-Western
policies of the current government.
The crowd marched through the Ukrainian capital waving red
flags and carrying banners reading "Yushchenko! Ukraine is
not an American state!"
Better working conditions
Thousands of Pakistani workers held May Day rallies in major cities
across the country on Sunday demanding increased wages, job security
and an end to the contract system,
witnesses said.
The largest rally was in the eastern city of Lahore, where about 2000
workers waving red flags marched in the streets shouting slogans
against poor working conditions, a lack of a social security system and
low wages.
"We mark this day to demand the government to increase minimum wages,
end the contract system and provide health and education facilities,"
secretary general of the All Pakistan Federation of Trade Unions,
Khurshid Ahmed, told the gathering.
Similar rallies were held in Karachi, Multan and Faisalabad, where
trade union leaders condemned the government for turning a blind eye to
the plight of the working class.
Labour leaders demanded that the minimum monthly wages, currently about
3000 rupees (about $50), be doubled.
Anger at Putin
Trade unions and political parties called out their followers across
Russia on Sunday for May Day protests, pegging their demands for
improved social welfare to the traditional labour holiday.
Police in the Russian capital - already in a heightened state of
security due to next week's Victory Day celebrations - closed off many
streets in the centre, using dogs and metal detectors to check the
thousands of protesters who gathered.
Communists and other opposition parties rallied under pictures of Lenin
and Stalin, along with traditional red-and-white, hammer-and-sickle
banners, reading "Rise, Save Russia!" and "Organs have Replaced
Brains!" and marched down Tverskaya Street, one of Russia' main
boulevards, to the square in front of the Bolshoi Theater.
Some youth activists burned portraits of President Vladimir Putin.
Work conditions
Talk of a political coup and the ringing of cash registers during
holiday spending sprees almost drowned the traditional calls for better
pay and work conditions during May Day parades in Asia on Sunday.
In a developing region whose growing manufacturing base is increasingly
affecting the labour issues of much of the rest of the world, few
activists took the time to mark international labour day.
In China, which has more communists than the rest of the world
combined, the plight of the toiling worker appeared to be the last
thing on people's minds, as the first day of a weeklong national
holiday was marked by conspicuous consumption.
The May Day holiday, just like two other weeklong vacations during the
year, has been designed by policy-makers to trigger extra spending and
travelling.
Beijing's two largest train stations reported traffic reaching more
than 100,000 passengers on Saturday and Wangfujing, Beijing's top
shopping street near Tiananmen Square, was thronged by thousands of
people kicking off what looked set to become a consumption feast.
Many were expected to travel to Hong Kong, where recently relaxed
travel restrictions for the mainland led Chinese authorities in the
southern territory to predict about 5.5 million tourists would cross
its border.
Filipino coup plot
Philippinos were consumed by talk of yet another plot to overthrow
President Gloria Arroyo.
As 3000 protesters massed to march on the Malacanang presidential
palace in Manila, thousands of military and police forces were put on
full alert after the government accused a group of retired generals of
trying to recruit forces to mount a coup attempt.
Arroyo aides described the reported plots as "nuisances", but police
were concerned communist guerrillas or other agitators could infiltrate
the protesters' ranks and foment violence.
In Australia and Malaysia, activists attacked recent government rulings
viewed as deleterious to the nations' workers.
A controversial crackdown on hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants
from poverty-hit Asian countries came under fire from rights activists
in Malaysia.
"The recent crackdown on hundreds of thousands of migrant labour
exposed not only a callous regard for basic workers' rights and dignity
but also a serious flaw in Malaysia's economic fundamentals," said
local rights group Voice of the Malaysian People (Suaram).
Serbian News Network - SNN
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