First Labour Day do for MTUC and May 1 Coalition
Published: Apr 23, 2005 6:07 PM | Updated: Jan 29, 2008 6:21 PM
Two major workers movements - the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) and the May 1 Coalition will collaborate for the first time to celebrate Labour Day this year.
The event will be held at the Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur.
The trade union and the grassroots movement will jointly celebrate May Day together for the first time in a departure from past practices of going on their own.
Two major workers movements - the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) and the May 1 Coalition will collaborate for the first time to celebrate Labour Day this year.
The event will be held at the Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur.
The May 1 Coalition comprises of citizens groups, NGOs and political parties. Over the past 11 years, the group have celebrated May Day - also known as Labour Day - in various venues, primarily in rural estates all over the country.
The Marginalised People's Network (Jerit), a main proponent of the coalition, released a statement today lauding the move. It also provides details of this year's do.
"This is a significant development. With our participation in the MTUC programme this year, Jerit renews its commitment to struggle for the unity of Malaysian workers so that they could grow stronger and be more effective," Kohila Yanasekaran said in the statement.
Workers unite
The coalition has responded to efforts by the MTUC to create a strong workers movement while striving to gain the support of general workers.
"The decision to join the combined celebration was made on the need to bring together the working community. Workers unions used to conduct their celebrations in enclosed areas and this did not reflect the workers' aspirations," said Kohila.
This year's festivities will begin on the night of April 30 at 9pm - another first as it has always been conducted during the day.
"The night celebration is also a commendable move which is in line with a worldwide history of Workers Day events," Kohila added.
Similar to previous occasions, this year's event will see a joint declaration launched on the night based on the 2005 themes Globalisation erodes workers rights and Stop water and hospital privatisation.
The event will be held at the Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur.
The May 1 Coalition comprises of citizens groups, NGOs and political parties. Over the past 11 years, the group have celebrated May Day - also known as Labour Day - in various venues, primarily in rural estates all over the country.
The Marginalised People's Network (Jerit), a main proponent of the coalition, released a statement today lauding the move. It also provides details of this year's do. "This is a significant development. With our participation in the MTUC programme this year, Jerit renews its commitment to struggle for the unity of Malaysian workers so that they could grow stronger and be more effective," Kohila Yanasekaran said in the statement.
Workers unite
The coalition has responded to efforts by the MTUC to create a strong workers movement while striving to gain the support of general workers.
"The decision to join the combined celebration was made on the need to bring together the working community. Workers unions used to conduct their celebrations in enclosed areas and this did not reflect the workers' aspirations," said Kohila.
This year's festivities will begin on the night of April 30 at 9pm - another first as it has always been conducted during the day.
"The night celebration is also a commendable move which is in line with a worldwide history of Workers Day events," Kohila added.
Similar to previous occasions, this year's event will see a joint declaration launched on the night based on the 2005 themes Globalisation erodes workers rights and Stop water and hospital privatisation.
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