Although May Day is a holiday in all locations, it remains a workday for expatriates.

 

Most of us know more or less why May Day was introduced, so there is nothing new to say about it. However, what I have to say is that even if we know about May Day, how many people have the opportunity to observe it or has it been of any benefit to workers at all?

In 2015, after going to Cyprus on a student visa, I joined the workshop work along with my studies. The first year, I thought that May 1st was a government holiday, and the day before May Day, I told my boss, "Isn't tomorrow our day off?"

He laughed and said, "What is 'May Day' again?" I don't know anything about it. In fact, most people in that country are not aware of May Day. They are not supposed to be aware. Because May Day was originally introduced for a special reason, instead of 12 hours of regular duty, it has been reduced to 8 hours. In the Western world, there is almost no 12-hour duty. Anything done outside of 8 hours is paid as overtime, so they don't consider May Day that important. As a result, there is no official holiday on that day.

But in developing countries like Bangladesh and even in the Middle East, 10 to 12 hours of general duty are still in effect. Only in certain sectors, 8 hours of general duty are in effect. Maybe that's why there is so much fuss about May Day in developing countries like ours.

I was talking about Cyprus—at that time, I was telling my friends, upset, "Brother, do you work? There is no holiday on May Day either." Then some of them said, "Brother, think about the holiday because you have work, and we have no work. What will we do with May Day? In fact, not working for a day abroad means falling behind a lot. In Cyprus, even if you are off on other public holidays, you are not paid.

Here, the salary depends on the daily duty. So, getting a public holiday here means you are losing out. So is this 'May Day' really important or is it just a name? Then when I came to the United Arab Emirates in 2020, I saw the same situation here too. There is no holiday for workers on May Day. The United Arab Emirates is the most economically prosperous country in the Middle East. When I came here, I saw that every second of a person is valuable. The more work one can do, the more income one can earn. Since there are many job opportunities in the United Arab Emirates now, a person can work 30 days a month if they want.

Those who work in the construction sector or in various supermarkets and groceries here do not even know that there is a day called May Day. Because there is no closure on this day here either. The general duty in the construction sector here is 8 hours and one day off a week. Working outside of 8 hours and on a closed day is overtime. If the employer deducts that day's salary by closing in the name of May Day, then the question remains whether this May Day is for the welfare of the workers or for their welfare!

Again, those who do business in the United Arab Emirates, doing business here means a lot of expenses in a day. If the business is closed for a day, then there is a lot of money loss. Here, there is no opportunity to close the business for a day unnecessarily. So it can be said that this May Day goes for some, but goes against someone else. That is why, even if May Day is in name only, it is not celebrated in capitalist countries.

Even those who are making a big fuss about May Day in Bangladesh cannot say what use it is to them. If a rickshaw or CNG driver or an ordinary daily wage earner cannot work for a day, his family will go hungry. This May Day will not feed his stomach. So it can be said that why only expatriate; this May Day is also a holiday in the country.

Expatriate May Day