Washington [US], May 15: Labor activists commemorated May 1 worldwide on Friday, with rallies and street protests. Demonstrators focused their calls on higher wages and better working conditions.
May 1 marks International Workers' Day, or Labor Day, and it counts as a public holiday in many countries, including Germany.
Protesters gathered in several major cities in Asia, Latin America, along with many European capitals. Several protests also took place in cities across the US, which does not observe May Day but has its own Labor Day federal holiday, typically celebrated in the month of September.
This year's Labor Day comes as the Iran War has caused rising energy costs and shrinking purchasing to the world's most vulnerable populations and working classes.
Turkish police clashed with demonstrators who attempted to march toward Istanbul's iconic Taksim Square, leading to over 500 arrests.
May Day rallies on Taksim, a symbolic site for Turkey's labor movement and the scene of the 2013 Gezi Park protests, have effectively been banned since 2012.
In Germany, workers took to the streets in Berlin and other cities across the country, with unions rallying against the governments' planned cuts to health care and social security benefits.
In Argentina, workers gathered to commemorate May Day earlier on Thursday, where activists let their feelings known over President Javier Milei's recent overhaul of labour protections.
Source: Qatar Tribune
