May Day celebration is one that has not gained the prominence of holidays like Christmas, Easter or even a secular holiday like Independence Day in Ghana. Celebrated on the first of May annually, it is a day set aside to acknowledge and celebrate the labor force in countries all over the world. A tradition known to be first celebrated through activities like dancing around the maypole and crowning a ‘queen of May’, its present significance stems from the Hay market square riots that took place in the city of Chicago on the 4th of May 1886 when workers had held a rally agitating for a reduction of the labor hours to 8 hours instead of the then-existing 10-16 hours without a pay cut. Their underlying tensions with the police then escalated causing the death of 7 police officers and 4 civilians with several others wounded. This incident and its aftermath served as a pioneering precedence to the power of labor unions in their fight against extreme capitalism and other social and economic injustice.
Here in our nascent nation (as compared to countries like the U.S), the power and impact of our labor unions has been profound especially during the days of nationalism. This was evident in the ‘positive action’ scheme declared by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. Although this action involved the boycotting of British and Syrian goods, it also entailed the cessation of labor related activities, bringing the country into a standstill. This agenda was actualized by labor union leaders like Pobee Biney of the railway workers union and Anthony Woode of the Trade Union Congress who rallied their bases behind Dr. Nkrumah’s nationalistic scheme. This action, although successful was not bereft of challenges as the colonial government attempted to disrupt the agenda by sowing seeds of propaganda and contradictory messages as well as threatening to dismiss workers who were not at post during the period of the strike. Nkrumah’s agenda nonetheless sustained because of the powerful friends he had made in the labor unions; a coalition which expedited the independence agenda. It is important to note also that Pobee Biney and Anthony Woode also rode on the capacities of their respective labor unions to become legislators.
Apart from the aforementioned historical attestation of the significance of the labor force, May Day also actually underscores the power of the labor force to fight exploitation which is very much associated with capitalism. All over the world, labor unions have risen up against giant corporations that seek to shortchange them in order to increase the profits of the heads of such organizations. In 2009 for example, thousands of Anglo-gold Ashanti workers went on strike, demanding for fair share of wages. They also complained about the disparities between the salaries of Ghanaian workers and their foreign co-workers. These protests brought work at the mines to a standstill and seized the attention of the shot callers along with the entire nation. Also in other countries, the activities of the labor unions have caused the existence of minimum wages which are regulated by the government along with private corporations and their labor unions. This has significantly reduced capitalist exploitation in such countries and it’s imperative that developing countries like Ghana adopt it to protect our workers.
It is ironic though that May Day is not as celebrated as it should be given that majority of Ghanaians are part of the labor force of the country. It is imperative to acknowledge that labor unions have gone as far metamorphosing into political parties like the Labor Party in the U.K. This has given rise to world leaders like Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and current Labor Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn who continue to impact the world with their pro-labor policies. It is also incumbent on stakeholders and top government officials to honor men and women across all fields; not just certain fields who have and still are working tirelessly for the progress of the economy and the nation. This gesture would increase productivity in those sectors and help boost the economy of our great nation