German police use pepper spray against right-wing protestors during a demonstration in the town of Plauen, Germany. (Reuters) |
Trade unions and other groups are staging rallies around the world to
mark International Workers Day. A look at some May Day events:
FRANCE
Fearing France's worker protections are under threat,
hundreds of angry youths on the sidelines of a May Daylabor rally
hurled stones and wood at police in Paris, receiving repeated bursts of
tear gas in response.
Trade unions, teenagers, pensioners and families held
nearly 300 largely peaceful marches Sunday in Paris and cities around
the country. The traditional May Day rallies took on greater weight this
year as parliament is debating a bill that would allow longer working
hours and let companies lay workers off more easily.
The bill has prompted the most violent labor-related
protests in a decade, with marches and sit-ins frequently degenerating
into clashes with police.
Riot police encircled a few hundred suspected
troublemakers on the sidelines of the Paris march Sunday, and frustrated
youth threw projectiles. Later, protesters set fires at a subway
entrance and around the Republique plaza that has become a rallying
point.
Nationwide two people were injured and 18 arrested,
according to the Interior Ministry. Marchers held banners calling
President Francois Hollande a "traitor."
The Socialist government hopes the relatively modest
labor reform will reduce chronically high unemployment and make France
more globally competitive, by allowing companies more flexibility.
Opponents say it erodes hard-fought worker protections and call it a
gift to corporate interests.
___
TURKEY
Thousands of Turkish demonstrators rallied for
May Day in an authorized area of Istanbul while police cracked down on
other protests.
Police used tear gas and water cannons on
demonstrators trying to reach Taksim Square. One man died after being
hit by a water cannon vehicle.
Taksim has symbolic meaning as the center of protests in which 34 people were killed on May Day in 1977.
The office of the governor of Istanbul said 24,500
security officers reported for duty Sunday, and that 207 people were
detained.
Tensions are running high in Turkey after a string of
deadly suicide bombings linked to either Kurdish or Islamic State group
militants.
In the capital, Ankara, police rounded up four suspected IS members who were allegedly planning to attack May Day demonstrators.
May Day marches were held elsewhere in Turkey without
incident but were cancelled in the southern city of Gaziantep after a
deadly car bombing on a police station.
In the coastal city of Izmir, some demonstrators
stripped down in protest over police body searches at a square where
people were allowed to gather, according to local media.
___
RUSSIA
Tens of thousands of people marched across Moscow's
Red Square on a sunny Sunday morning in a pro-Kremlin workers' rally.
The protesters were carrying the Russian tricolor and balloons.
As is typical for rallies organized by the ruling
United Russia party, the May Day rally steered clear of criticizing
President Vladimir Putin or his government for falling living standards.
The slogans focused on wages and jobs for young professionals.
Left-wing Russian groups held their own rallies.
This year the May Day coincided with the Orthodox
Easter in Russia. Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov told Russian news
agencies ahead of the rally that he celebrates Easter despite the
Communist party's history of oppressing the Russian Church. When a
supporter greeted him with "Christ has risen!" Zyuganov echoed "He is
risen indeed!" in a traditional Orthodox greeting.
___
PHILIPPINES
In Manila, about 2,000 left-wing protesters scuffled
with riot policemen, who used shields and a water cannon to try to
prevent the flag-waving demonstrators from getting near the U.S.
Embassy. Labor leaders said 20 protesters were injured.
Some of the protesters managed to break through the
police cordon. TV video showed some of them punching a retreating police
officer and using wooden poles to hit a fire truck.
Police made no arrests and the protesters dispersed after about two hours.
May Day rallies were held across the Philippines,
with campaigning entering the final week ahead of the May 9 presidential
election. Some of the candidates pledged to address labor complaints.
"We'll see the real color and what will become to the
sweet promises when one of them sits as president," left-wing labor
leader Elmer Labog said.
___
BRITAIN
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn joined thousands of
people at a May Day rally in central London, using the occasion to
condemn the progress of far-right groups throughout Europe.
Standing atop a red London bus, Corbyn said the party is united against the far-right and against racism.
"We stand in solidarity now against the growth of the
far right in Europe," said Corbyn, whose faltering opposition party has
been accused of anti-Semitism in recent days.
Corbyn, who represents Labour's left wing, was the first Labour leader to address a May Day crowd in decades.
___
TAIWAN
In Taipei, Taiwan's capital, labor unions took to the
streets with a march to call on the government to reduce working hours
and increase wages.
Many among the Taiwanese public have been concerned
that outgoing President Ma Ying-jeou's push for closer economic ties
with China has benefited just a few. Young Taiwanese have seen wages
stagnate and good full-time jobs harder to find as the export-led
economy has slowed.
Chen Li-jen, a protester with the Taiwan Petroleum
Workers Union, said that while companies were seeing their earnings per
share grow every year, workers' salaries were not rising in tandem.
"Hardworking laborers are being exploited by consortiums," Chen said.
"For the past decade, our basic salary has not made
any progress," he said. "Laborers' rights have always been neglected.
This is why I hope to take advantage of the May 1 Labor Day protest and
tell the government that we are determined to fight for our rights."
___
BRAZIL
Embattled Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff used a
May Day appearance in Sao Paulo to rally support against efforts to
impeach her.
The president announced to tens of thousands of
backers that she will beef up a flagship social program, reduce the
impact of income tax on the middle class and build another 25,000 new
low-price homes.
A key vote on her impeachment proceedings is scheduled within two weeks in the Senate.
Meanwhile, at an anti-Rousseff rally, union leader Paulinho da Forca called the president's announcements "desperate measures."
___
UNITED STATES
In the U.S., hundreds of marchers in Los Angeles
chanted slogans and carried signs on May Day, with at least one person
carrying a piƱata replica of controversial Republican presidential
candidate Donald Trump.
The marchers took to the streets calling for
immigrant and worker rights and decrying what they see as hateful
presidential campaign rhetoric.
It's one of several events in cities nationwide to
call for better wages for workers, an end to deportations and support
for an Obama administration plan to give work permits to immigrants in
the country illegally whose children are American citizens.
"We want them to hear our voices, to know that we are
here and that we want a better life, with jobs," said Norberto
Guiterrez, a 46-year-old immigrant from Mexico who joined families,
union members and students who marched through downtown.
Demonstrators repeatedly called out Trump for his
remarks about immigrants, workers and women. The leading Republican
presidential contender has called for a wall on the border with Mexico
and chided Democratic hopeful Hillary Clinton for playing the so-called
"woman card."
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