Today is May Day. It exists because people died for the 8-hour workday.
On May 4, 1886, workers in Chicago were striking for a simple demand: 8 hours of work, 8 hours of rest, 8 hours of recreation. At the time, 10-16 hour days were standard. Children worked in factories. There were no weekends.
During a rally at Haymarket Square, someone threw a bomb at police. Officers opened fire into the crowd. At least 7 police officers and 4 civilians died. Dozens were wounded. Eight labour organisers were arrested. Four were hanged. One died by suicide in his cell.
The trial was widely condemned as unjust — most of the accused weren't even present when the bomb was thrown. In 1889, the International Federation of Socialist Groups declared May 1st a global day for workers, directly commemorating the Chicago martyrs.
Today, over 80 countries celebrate May Day as a public holiday. The United States and Canada — where it started — do not. They moved their Labour Day to September to distance it from the radical origins.
139 years later, how much do people actually work?
The gap between countries is enormous:
- Colombia: 2,298 hours per year (44 hrs/week)
- Mexico: 2,272 hours per year
- South Africa: 2,168 hours per year (41.7 hrs/week)
- United States: 1,976 hours per year (36.4 hrs/week)
- United Kingdom: 1,847 hours per year
- France: 1,867 hours per year
- Netherlands: 1,643 hours per year (31.6 hrs/week)
- Germany: 1,340 hours per year (26 hrs/week)
A Colombian worker puts in almost twice the hours of a German worker. Germany's GDP per hour is among the highest in the world. Colombia's is among the lowest. Working longer doesn't mean producing more.
The 8-hour day is still not universal. South Korea pushed to raise its maximum weekly hours (including overtime) to 69 hours — more than 9 hours every day of the week. The proposal failed, but the fact it was proposed in 2023 shows the fight isn't over.
In 1886, four men were executed for demanding that humans shouldn't work more than a third of their day.
That demand is still radical in most of the world.