Workers and activists across Asia hold May Day rallies to call for greater labor rights
Workers, activists and others in Asian capitals took to the streets on Wednesday to mark May Day with protests over rising prices and governments’ labor polices and calls for greater labor rights.
May Day, which falls on May 1, is observed in many countries as a day to celebrate workers’ rights. May Day events have also given many an opportunity to air general economic grievances or political demands.
In Seoul, the South Korean capital, thousands of protesters sang, waved flags and shouted pro-labor slogans at the start of their rally on Wednesday. Organizers said their rally was primarily meant to step up their criticism of what they call anti-labor policies pursued by the conservative government led by President Yoon Suk Yeol.
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In Japan, more than 10,000 people gathered at Yoyogi park in downtown Tokyo for a May Day event, demanding salary increases that they said could sufficiently set off price increases. During the rally, Masako Obata, the leader of the left-leaning National Confederation of Trade Unions, said that dwindling wages have put many workers in Japan under severe living conditions and widened income disparities.
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In the Philippine capital, Manila, hundreds of workers and left-wing activists marched and held a rally in the scorching summer heat to demand wage increases and job security amid soaring food and oil prices.
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