Dr. Kashim Yunusa Akor Director-General of the National Productivity Centre says workers remain an essential component in the socioeconomic development of Nigeria insisting that Productivity improvement is only possible when the workers are fully involved and engaged, Dr Akor made this known yesterday while celebrating Workers’ Day, also widely known as May Day.
Across the world, the Labour movement is commemorating May Day, otherwise called Workers Day. But in Nigeria, there appears to be nothing to celebrate apart from being alive. Workers and labour leaders across sectors of the economy lament their fortunes and fear a gloomy future for the Nigerian worker, which they said calls for sober reflection.
According to Chief Dr Kashim Akor , with the cooperation of every citizen as well as strict adherence to the measures being put in place by relevant authorities, the economy of the country would rebound and be stronger after the COVID-19 experience, taking cognizance of the various economic stabilisation efforts of the Federal Government. He called on Productive sector to remain calm and hopeful.
THE OBSERVERS TIMES traced the origins of May Day back to May 1, 1886, when more than 300,000 workers in 13,000 businesses across the United States walked off their jobs in the first May Day celebration in history. In Chicago, the epicentre of the eight-hour day agitators, 40,000 went out on strike, with the anarchists in the forefront of the public’s eye.
May 1 was chosen as International Workers’ Day in the late 19th Century by socialists, communists and trade unionists. This date was significant, given its importance due to the Haymarket Affair, which took place in Chicago, in the US, in 1886.
For many decades, the working class was forced to work extra hours and was paid very low wages. In order to protest against the owners of business establishments and other employers and put up a big symbol of their demand, the Federation of Organised Trades and Labour Unions of the United States and Canada decided to celebrate May Day. Back then, people were fighting for more ‘humane’ workday hours and as the years passed and the new century was ushered in, the process acquired momentum globally.