The workers take centre stage again

Anti-globalisation protests have declined, but May Day
isn’t finished. It’s simply gone back to its original
ideals.

By Emily Mann

May Day means mayhem. But not this year, we’re told,
the subtext being that it now means hardly anything at
all. "Apathy kills off May Day protest," the BBC
trumpeted towards the end of March, reporting that the
London Mayday Collective, at the heart of the anti-
capitalist protests of the past five years, had decided
not to proceed with plans for 2004. The media
commentators who reviled the actions of previous years
did not waste much time before revelling in their
demise. But the obituaries are at the very least
premature.

May Day - also known as Labour or International
Workers’ Day - can be traced back to the 19th century.
In 1889, in response to demonstrations for an eight-
hour day in Australia and the US, an international
workers’ congress set 1 May as a day of worldwide
action to demand fairer working conditions and better
welfare. Workers the world over are still making the
same demands. And most of them consider capitalism as
the major obstacle to both social justice and global
peace.

Since 1890, the usual starting point for London’s march
has been Clerkenwell Green, a site with a past with
which even the most anarchic of today’s anti-
capitalists should feel some identification. In the
14th century, Wat Tyler and sections of the Peasants’
Revolt that had marched on London camped here; in the
19th century, it was the site of Chartist meetings,
many of which led to furious clashes with the police.
No such clashes are expected on May Day this year:
participants are confident their march will not be
hijacked, as it has been for the past few years, by
other anti-globalisation protesters.

There is even reason to hope that some of those who
previously frustrated the traditional march by beating
it to Trafalgar Square and hogging the headlines will
this year join it instead. According to Roger Sutton of
the London May Day organising committee, numbers have
been growing in recent years. People’s experiences of
the anti-war movement have helped change perspectives
and highlighted the benefits of making alliances.
Uniting a wide variety of people, explains Sutton, is
exactly what May Day is all about.

The differences between the rank and file of the
traditional march and the anti-capitalist protesters of
recent years have often been exaggerated. The May Day
marchers have long included all manner of
environmentalists, anarchists and socialists, with
their banners in green, black and red. But perhaps more
important than being multicoloured is being
multicultured. One of the most stirring and heartening
aspects of the traditional march is the central role
played by international communities domiciled in the
capital. This year these will include numerous Turkish
and Kurdish groups, Iraqis, Iranians, Bangladeshis,
Peruvians, Cypriots, Greeks, Spaniards and many more.

The make-up of the march changes year by year,
reflecting the highs and lows of international
politics. For example, the many Chilean and South
African trade unionists who once had a strong presence
have mostly returned to their home countries; more
prominent this year will be the Colombian contingent.

It is sometimes tough being a trade unionist in
Britain. But the Colombians marching in London offer a
stark reminder that there are worse things than being
marginalised and ignored: in some countries today,
trade unionists are persecuted and murdered. In light
of this, May Day is about more than claiming rights; it
is a defence of the right to make those claims at all.

The international character of the march is significant
on a number of levels. It is first a reminder that some
of the most exploited workers in Britain are from
ethnic-minority and refugee communities. But it also
means that May Day is not just about workers in
Britain: it is about recognising our country’s intimate
involvement in pay and conditions overseas - both
directly through practices such as outsourcing and
indirectly through economic pressures for cheap goods
and greater profits. And the international dimension
has new relevance this year, as May Day coincides with
the accession of ten more states to the European Union
– though quite what this means for workers’ rights is a
bone of contention. The European Trade Union
Confederation (ETUC) supports enlargement but is
nevertheless using the day to insist that the EU’s
success will depend on taking into account the needs of
its 450 million citizens.

That the EU has already failed to do so seems lost on
the ETUC, but not on many of the trade unionists who
will be marching in cities across the continent. The
price of accession has been welfare cuts, extensive
privatisation and increased unemployment in order to
meet the convergence criteria for EU membership -
crippling consequences that are well understood by
those "apathetic" anti-capitalists. Many are moving May
Day to Dublin, for Ireland currently holds the EU
presidency. They will protest "for an alternative
Europe", with days of action focusing on privatisation,
militarism and immigration policy.

Wherever they are, the May Day marchers will get a
boost from their day falling at the weekend this year,
but there is one thing that frequently puts a dampener
on celebrations in Britain: the weather. Let’s hope the
sun brings out the best in us all.

How are you celebrating May Day?

Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London
I will host a reception at City Hall on the Friday. It
will also launch this year’s Respect [a new left
electoral coalition] festival, supported by the union
movement, celebrating multiculturalism and promoting
anti-racism.

Billy Bragg, musician
I almost always get invited to do a gig on May Day.
Last year I went to Glasgow and it was pouring with
rain. This year I’ve been invited to do a gig in
Salerno, Italy, which my wife is very happy about.

Tony Benn, former Labour MP
I do May Day every year. I accept the first invitation
I get. I’ve been in Bristol, Newcastle, Chesterfield .
. . This year, I will be in Barnsley with the NUM
[miners’ union].

John Monks, general secretary, European Trade Union
Confederation
I shall join Italian trade unions for May Day
celebrations on the border of the old and new EU,
between Gorizia in Italy and Nova Gorica in Slovenia.

Tony Blair, Prime Minister
There’s nothing I can point to at the moment, and I
think that’s unlikely to change. [No 10 spokesman]

Michael Howard, Conservative leader
He’s busy campaigning around the country for local and
European elections. [Party spokesman]

David Hare, playwright
I don’t want to tell you.

Julie Burchill, journalist
I shall be sitting by my pool drinking blue cocktails
with my cleaner - a perfect balance of smugness and
socialism.

Frances O’Grady, deputy general secretary, Trades Union
Congress
I’ll be speaking at the TUC International Workers’ Day
rally in Trafalgar Square. I’ll be joined by Sarah
Abwoja, a Kenyan trade unionist.

Barbara Follett, Labour MP
I shall be taking a rest. May Day, since ancient times,
has symbolised renewal of the earth at the end of
winter, and of people at the end of oppression.

Labour MP (name withheld)
Should I be going to Aldermaston?

Research by Luminita Holban