Vijesti ROMI.HR

Prvi svibanj izabran je kao Međunarodni praznik rada 1889. zbog prosvjeda koji su se dogodili 1886. godine. Polazna točka prosvjeda bio je zahtjev za osmosatnim radnim vremenom. Na Međunarodnom socijalističkom kongresu u Amsterdamu, 1904. godine, kongres je pozvao „sve organizacije Socijaldemokratske stranke i sindikate svih zemalja da energično prosvjeduju prvog svibnja za legalno uspostavljanje osmosatnog radnog vremena, za ispunjenje klasnih zahtjeva proletarijata, i za sveopći mir“, što je sažetak zahtjeva koji su doveli su postojanja Praznika rada.

Nakon industrijske revolucije, tvrtke i tvornice počele su rasti neviđenom brzinom. Radnici, uključujući i djecu, radili su u teškim uvjetima, četrnaest do petnaest sati dnevno. Radnici su se suočili s političkim i pravnim sistemom koji im je uskraćivao njihova najosnovnija prava, kao što su sigurnost na radnom mjestu, zdravstveni uvjeti, udruživanje, i štrajk. Radnici tekstile industrije mirno su prosvjedovali za uspostavu osmosatnog radnog vremena 4. svibnja, 1886. godine na Haymarketu, Chicago. Policajac je ubio jednog od prosvjednika, a ozlijedio nekoliko. Nakon toga izbio je sukob između prosvjednika i policije. Četvero je radnika umrlo, preko 70 ih je ozlijeđeno, a stotine su uhićene. U istom gradu je 140 radnika dobilo otkaz zbog sudjelovanja u prosvjedu. Sindikalni aktivisti George Engel, Albert Parsons, August Spies i Adolph Fischer ubijeni su nakon nepravednog suđenja jer je sudac odbio proučiti dokaze zbog toga što se ja na njih gledao kao na „vođe prosvjeda“.

Međunarodni praznik rada posebno je važan za manjine. U relativno razvijenim zemljama radi mnogo imigranata koje se iskorištava zbog toga što se ne mogu žaliti ili protestirati jer se boje da će ih deportirati iz zemlje. Prema Agenciji Europske unije za temeljna prava (FRA), imigranti koji rade u Europskoj uniji su pod ozbiljnom prijetnjom da budu eksploatirani. Neki od njih rade za samo 5 eura po danu, rade 80 i više sati tjedno, 6-7 dana u tjednu, bez slobodnih dana. Verbalno ih zlostavljaju, spavaju u kontejnerima, “prijeti im otkaz i deportacija kada traže plaću”. Za Rome su i radni uvjeti strašni. Romi koji rade na poslovima koji nisu prijavljeni budu eksploatirani. Prema članku EUobservera, nekoliko Romkinja bile su žrtvama trgovine ljudima kada su se preselile u Zapadnu Europu. Većini je njih obećan posao i bolji život, ali su na kraju bile eksploatirane.

Međunarodni praznik rada jedan je od najvažnijih dana za čovječanstvo. Osim privilegirane skupine ljudi, svatko mora raditi kako bi zaradio za život. Danas postoje mirovine, prava radnika, pristojni uvjeti rada, i zakoni koji štite radnike jer su radnici prije nas prosvjedovali i ginuli za naša prava. U današnje vrijeme, kad su ljudi počeli raditi u uredima i neboderima, prestali su sebe vidjeti kao radnike. Ovo je uobičajena zabluda koja je štetna za prava radnika. Bez obzira na kojoj poziciji radimo, svi smo mi radnici. Ovo je naš dan. Radnici koji rade u relativno opuštenom okruženju ne bi trebali živjeti u iluziji i svrstati se s onima koji su vlasnici proizvodnih snaga. Još uvijek nas se izrabljuje, i osim u nekoliko zemalja, radnici se još uvijek moraju puno boriti. Čak i u zemljama u kojima se zakoni o pravima radnika pravilno provode, uvjeti radnika uvijek se mogu poboljšati. I dalje se zapošljavaju djeca, ljudi rado prekovremeno, a bez da su plaćeni, plaćeni su na crno i ne ostvaruju nikakva prava. Praznik rada i sve ono što se dogodilo u prošlosti trebalo bi nas podsjećati da naša radnička prava nisu nastala sama od sebe, da nam ta prava nisu dodijeljena na ljubazan način, nego smo ih morali tražiti i morali smo se za njih boriti.

In 1889, 1st of May was chosen as the International Workers' Day also known as the Labour Day for protests that occurred in 1886. Starting point of the protests was a demand for “eight-hour work day”.  In 1904, on International Socialist Congress in Amsterdam, congress called for “all Social Democratic Party organisations and trade unions of all countries to demonstrate energetically on the First of May for the legal establishment of the eight-hour day, for the class demands of the proletariat, and for universal peace”, which is the summary of demands that lead to the existence of Labour Day.

After the industrial revolution, companies and factories were growing in an unprecedented rate, workers including children were working under heavy conditions, fourteen fifteen hours a day. Workers faced a political and legal system that denied even their most basic rights, such as workplace safety, health conditions, association, and strike. In 4th of May 1886, Haymarket, Chicago, a peaceful rally for eight-hour workday started by 40.000 textile workers. A policeman killed one of the protesters and injured several, after that conflicted arose between police and protesters. At the end, four workers died, over seventy were injured and hundreds were arrested. In the same city, 140 workers were fired for attending the rally. George Engel, Albert Parsons, August Spies and Adolph Fischer who were labour union activists were executed after unfair trial where judge even refused to look at the evidence, as they were seen as “the leader of the riots”.

Labour Day is especially important for minorities as well. There are so many immigrants that are working in relatively developed countries that are being exploited because they cannot complain or protest without the fear of being departed. According to The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), migrant workers in European Union are under serious threat of exploitation. Some of them are working for as little as 5 euros a day, working 80+ hours a week, 6-7 days a week, without any days off. Working under verbal abuse, sleeping in containers, “threatened of dismissal and deportation when they ask for their wages”. And for Roma, the working situations are also dire. Roma who works in unofficial jobs are prone to labour exploitation. According to an article by EUobserver, there are several Roma women ended up in prostitution when they moved to Western Europe. Most of them were promised a job and a better life, finding themselves being exploited.

Labour Day is one of the most important days for humanity. Except for a lucky exclusive group of people, everyone has got to work to make a living. Right now, the concepts of retirement, worker rights, decent work conditions and laws that protect the workers exist because workers before us protested and died for our rights, on this day. These days, especially when people started working in offices and skyscrapers, they stopped seeing themselves as worker. This is a common misconception that is harmful for the worker rights. White or blue collared, we are all workers. This is our day. Workers who work in relatively relaxed environments should not buy into the illusion and align themselves with those who owns the forces of production. We are still being exploited and except for a few countries, worker rights still need a long way to go. Even in countries with properly implemented worker rights laws, workers conditions can always be improved. There are still sweatshops, child workers, working overtime without payment, being payed under the table with no social rights… Labour Day and what happened that day in the past should reminds us that we did not gain our worker rights out of nowhere, that these rights were not given to us kindly, but we had to ask for it, fight for it.