The Eight Hour Working Day

The origins of May Day as an international celebration of working life lie not in communism but in Chicago, where four anarchists were executed for "incitement" following nationwide strikes for an eight hour day on 1 May 1886.  At the time, 12 hour and even longer shifts were commonplace in the US, as they remain today in many parts of the world. In France and Germany some trade unions now want to restrict the working week still further so that employment can be more evenly shared - and a less dominant feature of daily life.

A Living Wage

In 1888 the activist Annie Besant wrote a newspaper article called "White Slavery in London" about the dreadful pay and dangerous conditions suffered by young women working at the Bryant and May match factory. Three girls suspected of giving her information were sacked - and 1,500 women walked out in sympathy.  The firm capitulated. Many countries now have a legal minimum wage - a formal, if minimal, recognition of union demands for human dignity.

Unite and Resist

Such benefits have only been won by workers acting together through unions, and in alliance with other social movements or political parties, for the common good. In recent years, many rights have been lost or restricted - and inequality has spiralled to historically unprecedented levels as a result.

The Vote

The right to vote was conceded only reluctantly. Unions played a major role in founding (and funding) the labour and progressive movements that pushed for "universal suffrage".

To Each According to Their Needs

The idea that essential services, like healthcare and education, should be "public" and "free" to all at the point of delivery was first advanced by trade unions. Their members still provide many of these services, which have been starved of public funding. The sense of public service - every bit as much as self-interest - is reflected in union resistant to "structural adjustment" and privatization.

Democracy at Work

Experience in Scandinavia, Germany and Japan suggests that democratic engagement at the work place promotes, rather than restricts, rewarding work. Union members have always insisted on having some influence over the decisions of management, and they have helped to generate alternative forms of ownership and control, including co-operatives and mutual societies.