Labour and dignity: May Day’s global cry for justice

May 09, 2025

ROME: As the world marked International Workers’ Day on May 1, two contrasting scenes played out on opposite sides of the globe.

In the city streets of Asia and the Middle East, the day unfolded in turmoil — protests, police crackdowns, and cries for justice echoed from Istanbul to Manila, Tehran to Tokyo. Workers rallied for fair wages, job security, and social protections, many facing repression, violence, or arrest.

Meanwhile, in Rome, under the banner of the Holy Year 2025, the Catholic Church opened the Jubilee of Workers (May 1–4), offering a spiritual and pastoral witness to the sacredness of labour and the enduring rights of workers.

In Turkey, thousands defied government bans to gather at Istanbul’s Taksim Square, a symbol of resistance long restricted by state authorities. Riot police clashed with demonstrators, making over 400 arrests. Elsewhere in Kadiköy, Istanbul’s Asian district, a government-approved rally drew thousands. The chants were clear: “Labour, peace, democracy, and justice.”

In the Philippines, workers marched through central Manila, voicing alarm over global economic instability and local job insecurity. Protest leader Mong Palatino warned, “Tariff wars and the policies of Trump threaten local industries.”

In Iran, teachers held peaceful protests outside the Ministry of Education, demanding better wages and reforms. The response was swift and brutal: demonstrators were beaten and detained. Officials, attempting to quell the unrest, admitted inflation had eroded a recently approved 45 per cent wage increase. Subsidies and food aid were promised, but dissatisfaction remained.

In Japan, demonstrators focused on the fragility of international markets, calling for gender equity, health care, and peace, especially in Gaza and Ukraine.

And in Hong Kong, May Day passed quietly for the sixth consecutive year. Public rallies have all but disappeared. A small symbolic protest by the League of Social Democrats was quickly curtailed. “The workers’ voice has been reduced to a memory,” read their statement, a reflection of the city’s shrinking democratic space.

In stark contrast, Rome offered a quiet counterpoint. The Jubilee of Workers, part of the Church’s 2025 Jubilee of Hope, drew pilgrims, trade union leaders, and working-class families from around the world. Organised by the Dicastery for Evangelisation, the event was centred on St Joseph the Worker, patron of labourers.

The mood, however, was solemn. Following the death of Pope Francis on April 21 and his subsequent funeral and nine days of mourning, the Jubilee programme was scaled back.

Despite this, thousands of pilgrims gathered to perform the Jubilee rite of pilgrimage, crossing the Holy Doors of the four Papal Basilicas — a moment of renewed faith and resilience.

Pope Francis, remembered for his deep commitment to the poor and working class, once said: “Labour is not merely an economic activity — it is a reflection of our human dignity and a path to holiness.”

His absence was keenly felt. But the Church’s message remained clear: in a world driven by markets and profit, the worker must never be forgotten. “The economy must serve the people, not the other way around,” echoed one of the homilies during the pilgrimage.

This May Day offered a striking portrait of the world of work today. In one scene, people marched under the sun, risking arrest for the right to earn a living with dignity. In another, prayers rose beneath Michelangelo’s dome, invoking peace, fairness, and hope.

Both moments, though starkly different, gave voice to a common truth: the struggle for fair, meaningful, and humane work continues.

As the Jubilee of Workers concluded in Rome, and as protest dust settles across Asia and the Middle East, the question persists: Will the world finally listen to its workers and act? --AsiaNews/Agencies