Celebrating International Worker’s Day
Celebrating International Worker’s Day
No More Exploitation! Fair Pay & Job Policy for Everyone.
Peerzada Mohsin Shafi
On May 1st, countries around the world, including India observe International Worker’s Day, a day dedicated to recognizing the efforts, sacrifices and importance of the working class. This day carries with it the spirit of defiance and resilience rooted in the labour movements of the late 19th century. At the heart of this history lies the Haymarket Affair of 1886 in Chicago, where a peaceful protest for an eight-hour workday turned tragic. Although the demonstration ended in violence, it sparked a global movement that placed worker’s rights at the forefront of labour laws, making May 1st a symbol of resistance against exploitation and a powerful call for the dignity and rights of all workers. India joined this global chorus in 1923 when the first Labour Day celebration was organized in Chennai by the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan under the leadership of Singaravelu Chettiar, a trailblazing labour leader and freedom fighter. Since then, the day has served as a reminder of the nation’s obligation to its working class, with rallies, speeches and union-led events marking the occasion across states where labour movements have found strong roots.
Yet, while we have journeyed a hundred years from that first celebration, the hard truth remains that the condition of India’s working class, especially in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir continues to be fraught with injustice. The promises made in legislation and echoed ring hollow in the daily realities of workers whose labour builds our cities, fuels our economy and sustains public institutions, yet they remain underpaid, undervalued, and often unseen. The Minimum Wages Act, passed in 1948 in the aftermath of independence was envisioned as a cornerstone of social justice. It aimed to protect workers from economic exploitation by establishing legal wage floors across different industries and skill levels. However, like many other progressive laws in the country, its implementation remains disturbingly weak, more symbolic than substantive.
Astonishingly, one of the biggest violators of this law is the very government that enacted it. While a handful of private firms in sectors like construction try to adhere to mandated wage norms, the public sector frequently fails to do so. In Jammu and Kashmir, this failure is glaring. Violations of labour laws are widespread, especially in the private education sector, where skilled, highly educated youth are exploited. Postgraduate and Ph.D. scholars are often paid between ₹2,500 and ₹8,000 a month, a wage that insults not only the law but human decency itself.
"What makes this exploitation more appalling is that it is done with impunity and a deadened conscience. These institutions not only flout the law but seem devoid of any moral compass. Religious teachings, including those of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), emphasize the importance of treating workers with fairness and urgency. The hadith from Sunan Ibn Majah, "Give the worker his wages before his sweat dries," is a clear directive rooted in respect for the worker. Unfortunately, many of today’s capitalists, whether in private institutions or government roles, neither heed religious teachings nor legal mandates. The youth, particularly the educated, continue to be exploited without recourse.
The government also follows a similar path of negligence. Consider the plight of vocational trainers in government schools, highly qualified professionals performing critical roles in shaping young minds, yet paid poorly and offered no clear job policy. Similarly, NYC’s, many of whom are graduates and postgraduates, receive just ₹2,500 a month. This is not merely a violation of law; it is a profound social injustice. The Central Government’s revised wage notification dated 15-April-2025 mentions ₹710 per day for unskilled, ₹784 for semi-skilled, and ₹862 for skilled labour. Yet, cooks employed in government-run mid-day meal schemes receive a paltry ₹900 a month and that too is paid quarterly, not monthly. This travesty is not just bureaucratic failure but it is a systemic denial of dignity to those at the base of our public service pyramid.
In the health sector, the situation is similarly bleak. Some orderly workers are paid ₹500 a month from Hospital Development Funds. A mechanic in a local garage, often uneducated earns ₹10,000 to ₹18,000 monthly, while a postgraduate working in a school receives ₹3,000. This is not to demean the mechanic but to highlight the disturbing imbalance in how society values academic excellence and skilled professionalism. When education and dedication are rewarded with poverty, society sends a chilling message to its youth that merit is meaningless. The original demand of the 1886 labour movement “an eight-hour workday” remains unfulfilled in many parts of India. In numerous private enterprises, 12-hour shifts have become the norm, often without any provision for overtime pay. Even more concerning is the ideological drift toward extreme capitalism. CEOs of leading corporations like L&T and Infosys have gone on record encouraging 12-hour workdays, a stance that received no condemnation from policymakers. The silence of the government in the face of such remarks reflects a dangerous normalization of exploitative labour culture.
The foundational goals of International Worker’s Day which is fair wages, humane working hours, and safe working conditions remain largely unrealized. Despite 139 years since the Haymarket protest and over a century since India joined the movement our nation has made remarkable strides in technology, science and infrastructure, but it continues to falter in honouring the people who form its backbone. This disconnect between economic growth and human dignity is the greatest contradiction of modern India. It is time for more than ceremonial observance. If May 1st is to mean anything, it must compel action. We need laws, yes, but more importantly, we need enforcement. Labor inspections must be made rigorous. Penalties for violators, including government bodies, must be real and consequential. Workers must be empowered to report abuses without fear. Beyond the legal framework, there must be a societal awakening, a renewed respect for the workers in all its forms, whether manual or intellectual. Until that happens, International Workers’ Day will remain a day of mourning rather than celebration for millions. We cannot afford another hundred years of symbolic recognition without structural change. The dignity of worker’s demands nothing less.
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