The Hindu : International : Labour Day observed worldwide

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, May 02, 2005

International

International

Labour Day observed worldwide

Massive demonstrations spark coup fears in the Philippines

MANILA: Container trucks and barbed wire blocked roads to the Philippines presidential palace on Sunday as security forces were deployed amid fears that opponents of the President, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, could use Labour Day to destabilise her administration.

At least 14,000 people rallied in the capital to mark the day.

While the rallies were generally peaceful, members of militant groups clashed briefly with riot police armed with truncheons and shields in a major avenue in the capital, and at least one protester was seen being shoved into a police van.

Rally leaders said five protesters suffered injuries to the head and shoulders and one was arrested.

The violence erupted after the protesters, estimated by police at more than 6,000, forcibly occupied both lanes of the road and tried to push their way toward the presidential palace.

They were stopped by police, who also blocked the road with pickup trucks, a fire truck and a police van.

The tightened security came a day after a former Defence minister called for a civilian-military junta to replace Ms. Arroyo and Congress because a ``crisis in leadership'' was hampering the fight against poverty and injustice. Fortunato Abat, who served under the former President Fidel Ramos, told supporters there should be a ``revolutionary transition government ... together with the military and police.''

The Army Chief Lt. Gen. Generoso Senga said he issued a radio message to field commanders on Saturday to remind them about the military's sworn duty to protect the people and the state.

March for rights

Tens of thousands of workers on Sunday took to the streets of the world's capitals, from Moscow to Paris, to mark May Day with demands for better labour conditions. Some 20,000 trade unionists marched in Moscow demanding minimum wage be brought up to minimal living costs. In Paris, the French workers' demonstrations were overshadowed by the divisions in the labour movement over the proposed European Union Constitution.

At least four separate marches were scheduled in Paris, reflecting the inability of trade unions to overcome their disparate opinions on the E.U. Constitution, the divisive subject of a May 29 referendum.

Violence has become a fixture of Labour Day celebrations in Germany since the late 1980s in scuffles between far-Left youths and authorities.

In China, the plight of the toiling worker appeared to be the last thing on people's minds as the first day of a week-long national holiday was marked by the conspicuous consumption of shopping sprees. Australians were united over more typical labour issues as thousands marched through major cities Sunday to protest laws proposed by the conservative government to curb union power. — AP

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