It is necessary to ask what activities are planned by Namibian Workers on May Day and whether it is going to be another day of empty political rhetoric; travel to visit relatives and friends; alcohol and substance abuse, or whether it will be celebrated as a day of the workers and for the workers? The above questions are a culmination of my observations of the May Day celebrations in independent Namibia for the last 12 years and I will attempt in this opinion piece to make a comparative analysis of the historic May Day and what is today commemorated as May Day, in order to question what those in the mainstream are doing to make sure that this is a day of the workers and that the workers themselves understand the significance of it.

Workers know that this is their day, but most workers don't know how it came about, why it came about and the significance it has for any working class in the world.

I think the labour movement in Namibia should be taken to task for their failure to educate, sensitise workers and to organise May Day rallies, demonstrations and testimonies of the many unfair labour practices still prevalent in Namibia.

These include both the unions affiliated to the ruling party under the umbrella of the NUNW and those not affiliated and under the umbrella of TUCNA.

Historical Background and Significance of May Day This day is a commemoration of the historic struggle of the workers throughout the world against capitalism, exploitation, and for safe working conditions and respect for the dignity of workers.

It came into being as a result of the successful demand, claims and demonstrations that was carried out under the umbrella of the Federation of Organised Trades and Labour Unions when it passed a resolution stating that eight hours would constitute a day's work from May 1,1884.

The resolution called for a general strike to achieve the demand of eight hours, since legislative methods had failed to address the demand.

Workers then were forced by greedy and power hungry capitalists to work ten, twelve and fourteen hours a day under conditions so terrible that most workers succumbed on duty due to ill health and other physiological and psychological ailments.

By April 1886 about 280 000 workers were involved in the May Day movement which demanded an eight hour work day.

Their slogans read as follows: "The only way to get an 8 hour day is by organising.

If you want an 8 hour day, we must make it ourselves!" and another: "We require 8 hours for work, 8 hours for repose, and 8 hours to do what we want and for our own instruction!" The main machinery of the movement was based in Chicago and organised mainly by the Anarchist International Working People's Association.

The capitalist bourgeoisie and their cohorts, the State, were terrified by the united front that swept across the entire United States.

They increased the Police and the Army in size and supplied them with new and powerful weapons.

The Chicago Commercial Club purchased a US$2000 -00 machinegun for the Illinois National Guard that was to be used against striking workers.

On May 3, 1886 the City of Chicago was paralysed by the general strike; stockyards, railroads, factories and other businesses where forced to close.

The police fired into a crowd of fleeing strikers at the McCormick Reaper Works Factory, killing four and wounding many workers.

The Anarchists called for a mass meeting the next day in Haymarket Square to protest the unnecessary brutality against unarmed workers.

Angry workers began to call for armed retaliation.

The mass meeting proceeded without any violent incident and when the last speaker was on the platform, the police numbering 180, arrived with a mandate from the State and the capitalist bourgeoisie to disperse the meeting.

As the speaker was climbing from the platform, a bomb was thrown in the midst of the police platoon, exploding, and killing one officer and wounding about seventy.

The response by the police was typically that of brutality, firing randomly in the crowd of workers and injuring about 200 workers and killing many.

With no clues as to the source of the bomb, the police arrested eight revolutionary leaders of the Union movement, seven of whom who had not even been present in Haymarket Square at the time of the explosion.

They where charged with amongst others; conspiracy to murder in connection with the Haymarket Bomb blast, incitement and public disorder.

They were all found guilty as charged despite the lack of evidence connecting them to the bomb.

Only one was present at the meeting, and he was on the speaker's platform.

They were all sentenced to death.

Albert Parsons, August Spies, Adolph Fischer and George Engel were hanged on November 11 1887.

Louis Lingg committed suicide in prison, and the remaining three were pardoned in 1893.

These comrades where arrested, tried and sentenced to death because of their political beliefs and because they fought for the rights of the worker.

News of the trial electrified labour movements in the US and Europe.

Protests against the trial were held around the world.

The Socialist International declared May 1 as a day of demonstrations and since 1890 these have been held annually by labour movements and workers forcing official recognition of May Day as a paid public holiday.

In its attempt to destroy the significance of May Day, the United States government declared the May 1 'Loyalty Day'.

By covering up the historic significance of May Day, the State, mainstream unions and the media have covered up an entire legacy of struggle and dissent of the exploitation of workers by a handful of rich capitalist bourgeoisie in the United States.

The State, the media and capitalists are terrified of what a similar militant and well organised movement could accomplish today, and they suppress the seeds of such organisation with legislation, regulations and proclamations whenever and wherever they can.

The Demise of Significant May Day Commemorations in Namibia May Day rallies were held across the country at major industrial and mining towns and Namibia witnessed a militant labour movement before independence from colonialism was achieved, and through that militancy a Labour Code and later a Labour Law came into existence.

The powerful rallies and demonstrations that drew workers from all walks of life into unity and solidarity started to lose significance after 1993 and this is because of a number of good reasons according to my own observations.

The Labour Law created a framework which limits the power of Trade Unions with among others procedures that are time-consuming and various other dispute resolution mechanisms.

The State intercepted, under the banner of inclusive leadership, the growth of the organised workers by appointing their most influential and vocal leaders as parliamentarians and deputy ministers.

Other leaders joined the call for nation building and became regional and town councillors.

The Labour Movement was left with an inexperienced leadership which was unprepared for the new transformation of the Labour Relations after the promulgation of the Labour Act, Act No: 6 of 1992.

The new generation Trade Union leaders, were in for many surprises under the new dispensation of Labour Relations, particularly in their tactics and operations, eg to change from militant groups to bargaining and litigation agents.

The Labour Inspectors and the office of the Labour Commissioner was seen as the answer to many of the workers complaints and assisted by the Labour Courts workers did not see the need to join Trade Unions since there is a law in place protecting their rights and government officials from the Ministry of Labour, ready to deliver service in the name of the State.

The above few reasons have resulted in the Unions losing touch with their constituents and May Day was therefore no longer seen as significant because workers believed that the struggle was over - is it? Misplaced priorities of the Labour Movement The unprecedented violations of workers rights in Namibia and the many unresolved cases on the District Labour Courts and the Labour Court Roll, is testimony to the fact that the struggle is not yet over and never will be if workers are not organised and united in their aim to achieve better working conditions and enforce their guaranteed rights.

The capitalists, including the State as an employer, are using their lawyers to exploit the loopholes in the legislation to defend their cases of unfair labour practices and dismissals to defeat the workers in their fight for justice.

The Labour Movement, in particular the leaders, have misplaced their priorities and this is evident from their participation in party politics and capitalist activities such as investment companies, shareholdings in major enterprises, membership of Town and Regional Councils and participation as board members in Private and State Owned Companies.

Politicians started to verbally attack Trade Union leaders in the media and in closed door meetings for organising strikes and demonstrations against unfair labour practices and inhumane treatment of workers by foreign companies in the EPZ's and the Fishing Sector as well as those working in the Agricultural Sector of our economy on Commercial Farms.

The Labour Movement has lost grip of the workers aspirations since they are politically ambitious.

The run-up to the last national elections has seen Trade Union leaders using the support base of the workers to campaign for certain political candidates in the hope of securing portfolios.

The above are just a few of the examples of why May Day has lost its significance to Namibian Workers.

There is absolutely no meaning in the day if it has been taken over by politically ambitious leaders with their eyes on parliament and not on the agony of workers.

Concluding Remarks and Recommendations May Day Commemorations in Namibia have been misplaced by those in the mainstream.

It is a day on which ordinary workers are supposed to receive exposure; it is a day on which workers are supposed to speak and to reflect on their struggle.

It is a day on which workers are supposed to expose the latent conspiracies of the capitalist bourgeoisie and their cohorts to exploit them further.

I quote what former veteran Trade Unionist, Petrus Ilonga, who is now occupying the portfolio of Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Welfare had to say about the wages of workers: "If employees in the mining, quarrying, community, transport, wholesale and retail, agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing sectors are to escape the poverty trap, their wages must be improved upon through the collective bargaining mechanism".

He stressed that, "Decent wages are vital for poverty eradication and to ensure decent standards of living for the working class".

He further said; "The income disparity has its roots in the colonial structures of the economy that was inherited at independence".

This in my opinion is a clarion call to the Labour Movement and in particular Trade Union Leaders.

I urge the entire Labour Movement whether politically affiliated or not, to join hands and mobilize their members to attend rallies and demonstrations.

I urge the leaders of these rival unions to unite in the name of workers solidarity and to advocate a message of unity in the struggle of workers which include: a shorter working day to create jobs for many; the elimination of overtime work; the introduction and promotion of shifts instead of overtime; addition of value to Namibian raw products and the elimination of corruption, tribalism and nepotism from the face of Namibia.

It is up to us whether our own children will become the victims of what we are ignoring today.

It is up to us if we are going to reduce the unemployment rate and secure jobs for many.

It is up to us whether we will become owners of our own natural resources and determine how those resources are going to leave our country.

I hope workers will comprehend the significance of this opinion piece.

* The author of this opinion piece is Regional Organiser for the Mineworkers Union of Namibia who has a Labour Diploma offered by LARRI, University of Kwazulu Natal and the Workers College in Durban, South Africa.

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