Militants mark May Day in Timor Leste, Pakistan and Malaysia (video)

DILI, May 1, 2008 -- A May Day rally attended by some 700 workers organised by the Trade Union Confederation of Timor Leste demanded the implementation of labour laws, just wages that comply with the minimum wage regulations and lowering of prices. Demonstrators consisted of workers from several companies in Dili, students and civil society activists. The Luta Hamutuk Institute sent along its members to participate also.

At the same time, students also held a speakout at the social and political sciences faculty of the Timor Leste National University. Their demands were very similar, but the slogans were different, such as ``We are anti-capitalist'', ``Get out capitalists'' and "Get out those who suck the blood of the people''.

Photos courtesy of Mericio Akara, Luta Hamutuk Institute, Dili. Report by Mericio Akara. Translated by Vannessa Hearman.

Labour Party Pakistan mobilises thousands at May Day rallies

More than 10,000 people participated in May Day rallies organised by Labour Party Pakistan (LPP) and its sympathising organisations. They include Women Workers Help Line (WWHL), National Trade Union Federation (NTUF), Labour Qaumi Movement (LQM) and Labour Education Foundation (LEF). This May, we had the largest mobilisations ever. No other left or right political party in Pakistan could match this mobilisation.

In Lahore, WWHL mobilised more than 1200 working-class women to raise the issue of home-based workers. This was the largest women's rally in Lahore. Another 500 workers were organised by NTUF and LEF in a rally that joined the main rally of the Pakistan Workers Confederation.

In Faisalabad, the LQM organised the largest rally of the city with more than 3000 workers mainly from textile sector. In Karachi, the NTUF organised a seminar with more than 1300 participants and later the LPP organised a rally with more than 500 participating. the NTUF seminar was the largest May Day gathering in Karachi.

At Murdan, more than 250 women participated in a WWHL seminar, the largest women's mobilisation in this religiously dominated city in North West Frontier Province.

At Sanghar in Sind, more than 2000 participated in a joint rally of different trade unions and the LPP. This was the main rally in the district. At Moro in Sind, more than 500 participated in workers rally organised by the LPP in cooperation with different trade unions.

At Qasur in Punjab, more than 400 power loom workers held a sit-in to demand the arrest of a power loom boss who had attacked a worker. The police had to act on the demand immediately to end the sit-in. This was an LPP rally with different trade unions.

At Hyderabad in Sind, more than 700 participated in a May Day rally organised by the LPP, the NTUF and LEF.

At Bahalwal Nagar in Punjab, more than 500 participated in a joint rally of the LPP and other social and trade union organisations. At Multan, LPP participated in a joint rally with other trade unions attended by hundreds.

Similar smaller meetings were organised in several other cities and towns for May Day.

Malaysia: May Day rally proceeds despite police disruption

More than 2000 people attended

May 1 2008, Kuala Lumpur

All major newspapers this morning had a warning from the city police chief asking people not to participate in the May Day rally called by JERIT. The chief police officer of Kuala Lumpur, Muhammad Sabtu Osman, stated that the rally was illegal as it did not obtain a police permit and those participating would be arrested under Section 27 of the Police Act. Consistent with the threat, Dataran Merdeka was cordoned off by riot police. The crowd then gathered near the Bar Council,while Malaysian Socialist Party leaders led by secretary general S. Arutchelvan and chairperson Dr Nasir Hashim held negotiations with the district police Chief Mohammad Zulkarnain.

Video of the disrupted May Day rally in Malaysia

After a tough negotiations, the police -- who initially decided to disperse the crowd -- backtracked and allowed the people to gather and walk in smaller numbers. The organisers decided to compromise on carrying the banners. Besides that, leaflets on the importance of May Day were distributed along the way. The crowd then moved in three-four people and walked to Confucian School where the main event was to take place. The walk was led by Comrade A. Sivarajan.

Whatever said, the May Day this year was once again disrupted by the police who do not respect the democratic rights of the people. In spite of the huge victory in the elections, freedom of assembly remains curtailed. The Bar Council held a watching brief on the events today.

The crowd then walked past the busy KL streets and moved into the venue of the event. Inside, around twenty newly elected state assembly members and MPs also attended the event. It was perhaps the first time that so many elected reps attended a May Day rally.

The event started with a big applause to the people who have successful marched to the venue. The vent was conducted in three languages. It started with a workers' song. The highlight was when the demands were put on stage and each representative read out the demands. The May Day logo was the unveiled. The political parties’ representative then gave their commitment and pledged to carry out reforms on workers rights. The main speakers were Dr. Lo Lo from PAS – MP from Setiawangsa, Charles Santiago- DAP, MP for Klang, Zuraidah PKR, MP from Ampang while Dr. Nasir represented PSM.

Charles Santiago said that the Selangor State Government would try to implement RM1500 minimum wage in government-linked companies in Selangor while Dr Lo Lo said that reforms would start form the five states and it will be used as a pressure point for reforms in the Federal Government. Dr Nasir spoke about workers' power and their rights.

The event ended with the May Day Declaration which has 15 points read out one by one. 102 organisations endorsed this year's declaration. The declaration among other things called for a minimum wage, special retrenchment funds for workers, housing for the poor and an end to forced evictiona, abolish the University and Colleges Act, give land for farmers, abolish the Internal Secuirty Act, equal rights for migrant workers, stop the Free Trade Agreement tals and privatisation of water and public health care, enact laws to protect women and resolve land issues involving the indigenous community.

The finally May Day 2008 was concluded with the singing of the Internationale.

The organising committee need to be applauded for continuing this great tradition of May Day. There are many other efforts done to commemorate May Day but it is only when the spirit of the workers are alive can any event be successful.

Photos by Colin

and Nalini E

May Day greetings from the Democratic Socialist Perspective

May Day greetings from the Democratic Socialist Perspective, a Marxist tendency in the Socialist Alliance in Australia.

You have our revolutionary solidarity in all your struggles today and ahead of you.

May Day in Australia this year will take place in the wake of the November 2007 election of a new Labor Party federal government. The Australian Labor Party was elected with a large majority mainly on the back of a mass campaign against the anti-worker, anti-union laws introduced by the previous Liberal-National coalition government. These hated “Work Choices” laws removed long-held working conditions (such as the 38-hour work week, annual leave, sick leave and penalty rates), forced more and more workers onto individual contracts, and severely restricted workers’ right to organise and take strike action.

Despite the Labor Party’s promise before the election – under the pressure of the campaign - to “rip up” the anti-worker laws, they are mostly still on the books five months after the election. The Labor government is planning to keep many of these anti-worker laws. The challenge now for the Socialist Alliance and other activists in the militant minority in the union movement is to lead a new battle to ensure that the gains of the campaign against the previous government are not squandered.

The ALP is enjoying the inevitable political “honeymoon” of a new government, but we are confident it will not last very long. Like all capitalist governments, the ALP is pushing ahead on hugely unpopular neo-liberal policies (on May 3 there will be a mass rally outside the New South Wales Labor Party’s annual state conference to oppose Labor’s plan to sell off the state’s electricity) and trying to make working people pay for the looming economic crisis in the imperialist countries.

At the same time, PM Kevin Rudd moved quickly after being elected to ensure Australia’s close partnership with US imperialism continues. Rudd recently returned from a “friendship” visit with warmonger George Bush and has committed to maintaining Australian troops in Afghanistan and much of its military presence in Iraq. Imperialism’s never-ending war on the Third World is compounding the massive toll from the ever-widening economic war on the world's majority, and our comrades leading the anti-war campaign in Australia will be working hard to build a movement that can force the immediate withdrawal of all Australian troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.

At home, Labor is continuing the war on Australia’s Indigenous people, supporting an invasion of Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory that was begun by the previous government. The sending of police and troops into these remote communities, the forced quarantining of their welfare payments and the suspension of the Territory’s land rights laws to allow the big mining companies’ unfettered access to Aboriginal land has once again exposed the brutal racism that underlies Australian capitalism.

Amidst such continuing attacks, our comrades are inspired to maintain their struggle by the advances in the revolutionary struggle in Latin America and in Venezuela, in particular. The first socialist revolution of the 21st century is bound to lift and inspire anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist struggle all around the world and a few of our comrades are right now proudly leading the third “May Day solidarity brigade” of Australian workers and union activists visiting revolutionary Venezuela.

We are at a moment in history where the need to move society beyond the capitalist system has never been so urgent. The very survival of humanity is threatened by a global warming crisis that cannot be solved within capitalism. This was the clear conclusion of the discussions at Green Left Weekly’s April 11-13 Climate Change/Social Change conference in Sydney, which brought together more than 300 ecological activists, trade unionists, scientists, students and left activists to strengthen the anti-capitalist wing of the growing environmental movement in Australia.

In the people’s struggle to save the planet, and humanity, from destruction by capitalism, international solidarity will be essential and we look forward to closer links and great collaboration between our organisations and peoples in the years ahead.

Workers of the world unite!

Long live May Day!

Long live socialist revolution!

Peter Boyle
DSP National Secretary