Labour Day

Labour Day (or Labor Day) is an official public holiday in many countries. The actual date of the holiday can vary, as the map illustrates. For instance, in North America, it is celebrated on the first Monday in September. In other parts of the world, it is often celebrated on the first Monday in May. It is an annual day of celebration of the labour movement and the institution of achievements. It has its origins in the labour union movement, specifically the eight-hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest.

In most countries, Labour Day is synonymous with, or linked with, International Workers' Day, which happens on 1 May, although celebrated on the first Monday in September in North America. It was originally chosen to commemorate the 1886 general strike which culminated in the Haymarket affair. In most countries Labour Day is celebrated either on the first Monday in September or on 1 May as indicated in global map. Labour Day is a public / statutory holiday as indicated.

For many countries, "Labour Day" is synonymous with, or linked with, International Workers' Day, which occurs on 1 May. International Workers' Day commemorates the 1886 Haymarket affair in Chicago, when there was a general strike for the eight-hour workday.

Some countries have a holiday at or around this date, but it is not a Labour Day celebration. Others celebrate Labour Day on the first Monday after 1 May.

Labour Day is a public holiday in Australia on dates which vary between states and territories. In some states the date commemorates the Eight Hours Day march (see below). It is the first Monday in October in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and South Australia. In Victoria and Tasmania, it is the second Monday in March (though the latter calls it the Eight Hours Day). In Western Australia, Labour Day is the first Monday in March. In Queensland and the Northern Territory, Labour Day occurs on the first Monday in May (though the latter calls it May Day). It is on the fourth Monday of March in the territory of Christmas Island.

The first march for an eight-hour day by the labour movement occurred in Melbourne on 21 April 1856. On this day, stonemasons and building workers on building sites around Melbourne stopped work and marched from the University of Melbourne to Parliament House to achieve an eight-hour day. Their direct action protest was a success, and they are noted as being among the first organised workers in the world to achieve an eight-hour day, with no loss of pay.

Labour Day was first celebrated with a public holiday in Queensland in 1865 as Eight Hours Celebration Day. It occurred on 1 March (Saint David's Day) and celebrated the winning of an eight-hour work day by Brisbane workers in 1858. The date was moved to May Day around 1896, in solidarity with the attack on United States workers on the first May Day parade in the Haymarket affair. In 1901, the holiday was moved to the first Monday in May, to ensure a long weekend.

Bangladesh Garment Sramik Sanghati, an organisation working for the welfare of garment workers, has requested that 24 April be declared Labour Safety Day in Bangladesh, in memory of the victims of the 2013 Rana Plaza collapse. However, Bangladesh does observe May Day on 1 May.