May Day, or International Workers’ Day, is traditionally a celebration
of the international labour movement and left-wing movements. Its
origins lay with the labour movements around the world.
On this day street demonstrations and marches by the working people and their labour unions are organized. It is a day which traditionally was reserved to help promote worker rights and recognize the practice of labour laws.
However, in Sri Lanka May Day rallies have shifted from the arena of workers’ rights to an opportunity for the political parties to promote their political messages.
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| Alexander Ekanayake Goonesinha |
Sri Lanka celebrated its first May Day in 1927 under the leadership of
Alexander Ekanayake Goonesinha. He was considered by many as a
pioneering trade union leader and was often referred to as the “Father
of the Labour Movement”. Goonesinha was the founder of the Ceylon Labour Party in 1931 which was
the country’s first official leftist party. It was under Goonesinha that
Ceylon founded its first ever trade union, the Ceylon Labour Union, in
1922. |
| Statue of A. E. Gunasinha at Gunasinhapura |
See also
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