"International Labor Day started with an event in Chicago, the United States, in 1986, when some 400 thousand workers went on strike and staged a series of rallies for four days starting from May 1," Iqbal said during his speech marking International Labor Day at the Senayan Indoor Tennis Stadium in Jakarta on Wednesday.
During the rallies, the workers came up with four demands called three eights, which stand for eight-hour work, eight-hour recreation along with families, and eight-hour rest, he said.
At that time, textile workers had to work for 16 hours a day and mining workers for 20 hours a day without overtime pay. Hence, they demanded a more humane working system, he said.
"On the fourth day, eight workers gave speeches stating that the labor strike and rallies would continue with a larger number of demonstrators. However, before the fifth day, the police dispersed the demonstrators with a mass shooting," he said.
Consequently, many women lost their husbands and children lost their fathers.
"This is a tragedy which in my opinion is larger than the Tiananmen tragedy in China," he said.
Eight workers who incited the rallies were later arrested and sentenced to death before a firing squad on the following day, he said
"They were martyrs. They were not famous people but had the guts to risk their lives. They had the courage to lead from the front. All tragedies eventually lead to martyrs. Almost all struggles also created martyrs," he said.
EDITED BY INE
Translator: Dewanto Samodro, Suharto
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
