ATIK | Confederation of Workers from Turkey in Europe | AHM-ATIK News Center
ATİK | 29-04-2014 | With the initiation of the struggle waged by the Australian and American workers in the mid 1800s for the demand of mainly an eight-hour working day and several other social rights, was victorious and expanded after numerous prices paid; with this May Day has emerged as a celebration of the workers. The protests and meetings organized by the workers in Australia in 1865 demanding an eight-hour working day hence created enthusiasm and excitement within the workers and May Day was henceforth celebrated as a tool to advance the struggle. This workers resistance in Australia spread from there to the US and from there to the entire world.
With the announcement of May Day in 1886 in the US by the workers as the general strike day for an eight-hour working day, has gained more significance with hundreds of thousand workers going a strike for this demand. Through this occurring situation the International Workers Congress (Second International) assembled and accepted the eight-hour working day as the first demand. The May Day in 1890 was announced as the general strike day and resolved that this day was to be celebrated as the international day of unity, struggle and solidarity.
May Day, the struggle and solidarity day of the world workers and toilers, has been celebrated since forth as the day to strengthen the solidarity to a higher level against the bourgeoisie. May Day mid 19th century is celebrated as a day of enhancing the struggle starting with the workers demand for an eight-hour working day and for which many prices were paid. The working class being the most revolutionary class in history will struggle till the present capitalist-imperialist system is smashed.
Whilst preparing for the celebration of May Day 2014, the workers and toilers are under great pressure by the ever deepening finance-economic crisis that emerged in 2008. As can be seen historically, most rights such as an eight-hour working day and other gains have been and still are being usurped by the bourgeoisie today.
As in many other countries in the world, the economic crisis has also ravaged Europe, deeply shook the workers and toilers, the impact of the crisis is also being felt more deeply in daily life. Even though those who created the crisis are propagating the crisis has been overcome the social practice in life shows the exact opposite. On the European continent where unemployment has reached level up to 13% and one out of every youth and women is unemployed and where the rich are becoming richer, and poverty is spreading to high levels; these are concrete evidence on how the impacts of the crisis on the people. The launch of new austerity packages, freezing workers wages, extending working hours, practically the full elimination of social rights, are concrete indications of the deepening of the crisis of the system in different dimensions.
The capitalist-imperialist system aims to gradually eliminate the organization of the working class through the implemented policies. Under the pretext of flexible production and subcontracting the working class unity is aimed to be fenced out and disintegrated. The segments mostly impacted by these attacks are the workers and toilers. Migrants are working in the most laborious, low waged and precarious jobs and this situation is used as a weapon against the organizing of workers. The existing system has on all of these points covered some ground, and has given significant blows to the self-organization of the working class through defusing and paralyzing the unions.
All these fact indicate that within the times we’re going through now, the rulers are not able to dominate the world as they want. The regional wars, the contradictions and rumble between the imperialist monopolies related to the re-division of the markets, the pillage and plunder in the world are clear proof of this. Those governed refuse to be governed as they were before. Therefore the response and resistance of the oppressed are concrete examples of this. Whether in different continents and countries, or in the European continent, the outpouring rage of the oppressed to the streets shows us that, ‘Nothing Will Ever be the Same’.
Workers, Toilers, Migrants;
Whilst the world working class celebrates May Day, the unity-solidarity and struggle day, we call upon all our members and supporters and all workers and toilers to take to the streets to use their legitimate right of resistance and to raise their voices against imperialist attacks, exploitation, plunder and to put an end to the destruction of nature rendering it inhabitable, for equality, freedom and justice, and to frustrate discriminatory and racist policies!..
– End to Imperialist Aggression and Exploitation!
– End to the Usurpation of Gained Rights!
– No to Discriminatory and Racist Policies!
– Long Live May Day!
– Long Live Proletarian Internationalism!
