WORLD-ASIAN LABOR DAY NEWS | Greater labor rights urged at Asian May Day rallies
Demonstrators march with flags and banners during a rally in Jakarta on May 1, 2024, commemorating International Workers’ Day. (AFP/Yasuyoshi CHIBA)
North Jakarta May Day rally organizer Usman said the jobs law was the number one enemy of workers because it had increased the disparity between the rich and poor.
SEOUL: Workers, activists and others in Asian capitals took to the streets on Wednesday to mark May Day with protests over rising prices and governments’ labor policies and calls for greater labor rights.
May Day, which falls on May 1, is observed in many countries as a day to celebrate workers’ rights. May Day events have also given many an opportunity to air general economic grievances or political demands.
In South Korea’s capital Seoul, thousands of protesters sang, waved flags and shouted pro-labor slogans at the start of their rally. Organizers said their rally was primarily meant to step up their criticism of what they call anti-labor policies pursued by the conservative government of President Yoon Suk Yeol.
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“In the past two years under the Yoon Suk Yeol government, the lives of our laborers have plunged into despair,” Yang Kyung-soo, leader of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), which organized the rally, said in a speech. “We can’t overlook the Yoon Suk Yeol government. We’ll bring them down from power for ourselves.”
KCTU union members decried Yoon’s veto in December of a bill aimed at limiting companies’ rights to seek compensation for damages caused by labor union strikes. They also accuse Yoon’s government of handling truckers’ 2022 strikes too aggressively and insulting construction sector workers, whom authorities believed were involved in alleged irregular activities.
Since taking office in 2022, Yoon has pushed for labor reforms to support economic growth and job creation. His government has vowed to sternly deal with illegal strikes and demand more transparent accounting records from labor unions.
“The remarkable growth of the Republic of Korea was thanks to the sweat and efforts of our workers. I thank our 28.4 million workers,” Yoon said in a May Day message posted on Facebook, using his country’s formal name. “My government and I will protect the precious value of labor.”
Seoul rally participants later marched through downtown streets, while similar rallies were held in more than 10 locations across the country. Police said they had mobilized thousands of officers to maintain order, but there were no immediate reports of violence.
In Japan, more than 10,000 people gathered at Yoyogi park in downtown Tokyo for a May Day event, demanding salary increases that they said could sufficiently set off price increases.
During the rally, Masako Obata, leader of the left-leaning National Confederation of Trade Unions, said dwindling wages had put many workers in Japan under severe living conditions and widened income disparities.
“On this May Day, we unite with our fellow workers around the world standing up for their rights,” she said, shouting “banzai!” or long life, to all workers.
