Workers and workers around the world celebrated May Day on Monday, calling for higher wages, shorter working hours and other improved working conditions.
In France, unions plan mass protests against President Emmanuel Macron's recent move to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. Organizers see the pension reform as a threat to workers' rights and France's social safety net.
The pension bill sparked France's biggest protests in years, and the May 1 rallies are expected to be among the biggest ever.
May Day, which falls on May 1, is celebrated in many countries as a day to celebrate workers' rights with rallies, marches and other events. This year's events had a higher turnout than previous years, as COVID-19 restrictions were largely eased and opposition focused on how governments' economic plans would affect workers.
As in previous years, police in Turkey prevented a group of protesters from reaching Istanbul's main Taksim Square and detained about a dozen protesters, independent television station Suzko reported. Journalists trying to film the protesters being forced into police vans were also pushed back or detained.
The square has symbolic significance for Turkish trade unions after unknown gunmen opened fire on May Day celebrants in Taksim in 1977, triggering a stampede. Dozens were killed.
The government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared Taksim off limits for protests, resulting in frequent clashes between police and protesters trying to reach the square.
Meanwhile, small groups were allowed into Taksim to lay wreaths at a memorial there.
In South Korea, tens of thousands of people attended various rallies in its largest May Day gatherings since the pandemic began in early 2020. Around 30,000 people were expected to attend the two main rallies in the capital, Seoul, according to organizers.
Everything has gone up except our wages. Raise our minimum wage! An activist shouted at a podium at a rally in Seoul. "Reduce our working hours!"
In Seoul's Gwanghwamun neighborhood, a crowd of people held up anti-government placards, sang songs and listened to speeches by union leaders. Later they marched through the streets. Seoul police mobilized thousands of personnel to maintain order.
Rally participants in South Korea accused the conservative government of President Yoon Seok-yul of cracking down on some unions in the name of reforming alleged irregularities. The Union government is calling for more transparent accounting records of labor unions and an end to alleged illegal practices by some union members and workers in the construction sector, such as pressuring firms to hire union members or Forcing payments like kickbacks from them. .
In Tokyo, thousands of labor union members, opposition lawmakers and academics gathered in Yoyogi Park, demanding wage increases to offset the impact of rising costs as their livelihoods are still affected by the pandemic. are recovering from
Union leaders said the government's measures to raise wages were insufficient and were lagging behind rising prices. He criticized Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's plan to double the defense budget, which would require tax increases in the coming years, saying the money would go to welfare, social security and improving people's daily lives. should be spent on making.
"Let's keep fighting because we workers are united and seek peace and democracy in Japan," said Yoshinori Yabuki, head of the Tokyo Regional Council of Trade Unions. One of the organizers of the event.
Others chanted "Gumbro! (Let's do our best)" before marching down the street.
Kishida attended an event in a Tokyo park on Saturday that was attended by thousands of workers, politicians and representatives of major unions.
"I am participating today because I want to increase the momentum towards higher wages. The most important goal of my 'new capitalism' policy is higher wages," Kishida told the crowd.
In Indonesia, rally participants called on the government to repeal the job creation law, which they say will benefit businesses at the expense of workers and the environment.
"The job creation law should be repealed to improve working conditions," protester Sri Ajeng said at a rally. "It's only meant to benefit employers, not workers."
May Day protests in Germany began with a "Take Back the Night" rally organized by feminist and queer groups to protest violence against women and LGBTI people. . Several thousand people took part in the march, which was largely peaceful despite occasional clashes between participants and police. More rallies by labor unions and left-wing groups are planned in Germany on Monday.
In Taiwan, hundreds of workers have taken to the streets to protest what they say are the inadequacies of the ruling island's labor policies, putting pressure on the ruling party ahead of a 2024 presidential election.
Members of labor groups gathered in the capital, Taipei, waved flags representing their organizations. Some medical workers wearing protective gear held placards with messages calling for subsidies, while others held banners criticizing President Tsai Ing-wen's labor policies.
In North Korea, the country's main Rodong Sunmoon newspaper published a long editorial urging workers to give more support to leader Kim Jong-un, meet their production quotas and improve the public's livelihood.
The newspaper called Kim by his title in the ruling Workers' Party, saying, "We must become true socialist workers who uphold the ideas and leadership of the Honorable General Secretary with pure conscience and loyalty."
Kim has been pushing for greater public support for his family's rule as he seeks a strong, self-sustaining economy to overcome pandemic-related problems and long security tensions with the United States over its nuclear program. are demanding
