More than the memorial, May 1 is the date of the struggle. This was the case in its origin in 1886, during a strike in Chicago, the United States, when workers were attacked and arrested and executed amid demands to limit daily flights, which lasted up to 14 hours.
A historian and professor at the College of Labor Sciences in Dies, Samuel Fernando de Souza, explains that this episode is known as the “Hymark tragedy”. Workers claimed an 8 -hour trip and showed unhealthy work spaces.
“These workers were harshly suppressed, and many leaders were sentenced to death due to this rebellion, and during the year 1889 the international socialist, the date of May 1 was determined on the day of the working class, as well as honoring the workers.”
Researcher in the Department of Sociology at the University of Brazilia (UNT) and research author to understand the challenges of work in the contemporary world, Laura Valley Jongo remembers that the appearance of the appearance to reduce the journey in Chicago was crowned by a bomb explosion on the site.
“This was eventually used as a police justification (from Chicago) to shoot the demonstrators, leaving four dead and hundreds of prisoners and injury. Eight workers were accused of conspiracy, even without direct evidence; seven death sentences; and others in the prison sentence for 15 years.
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In Brazil, the celebration of history began around 1891 in some cities of Rio de Janeiro, and then, in Porto Alegre.
Historian Samuel Fernando de Souza said: “It was always a symbol of the movement of organized workers, but later the history was widely disputed, in an attempt to reserve it symbolically,” said historian Samuel Fernando de Souza.
Samuel Fernando de Souza, a professor at the College of Labor Science. Photo: Samuel Fernando/Personal Archive
According to Samuel, the idea was to give the first of May a memorial significance to work more than defending the worker, “to the extent that shortly after the 1964 coup, he emptied the coup of the trade union movement, as it turned into a date of celebration, and a festive history, the political content was emptied at the time that was among the strikes of the working degree.”
During the first government of Getúlio Vargas, from 1930 to 1945, May 1, until Labor Day, it was suitable for Labor Day, when Vargas presented work protection laws, in particular, unifying the same labor laws (CLT).
Samuel added: “In the fifties of the last century, when Vargas returns to power, he continues to use this date, and the increase in the minimum wage is usually announced.”
New unions
According to the historian, the use of history is reflected again in the late 1970s, when there was a wide movement known as the new trade unions in Brazil.
“Several symbols of the working class were resumed amid the ABC and metallurgists movements, that Lula (the President of Brazil later) appeared as a major figure and leadership at that time of struggles for the working class. History was re -established again during various actions against dictatorships and political endurance.”
Metallurgists ABC does with social movements – photo: Paulo Pinto/Agência Brasil
Work or worker?
Researcher Laura Guntego explains that by trying to turn Labor Day to Labor Day, the ruling classes of Brazil tried to prevent workers from realizing history as a battle for workers’ rights.
He added: “They tried to turn on May 1 to a meaningless date and without content, as if it was just a celebration of something, too, it is not clear what it is. What will be the day of work? And why will there be a holiday on the Day of Workers? This will not have meaning.”
A professor at UNC Laura Gontijo is a researcher in the Department of Sociology and Research that aims to understand the challenges of work in the contemporary world. Photo: Laura Valley Juntego/Personal Archive
According to UNB researcher, something similar occurs with a woman’s day.
“They are trying to turn it into a date to celebrate women, instead of the struggle agenda for concrete demands. In the case of workers, history currently aims to enhance the struggle to reduce the working day to obtain better salaries; and the end of the 6 x 1 scale, among other demands,” he said.
Seek
In the researcher’s evaluation, the current demands of workers cover two private Ajifin. She said that the first one is to preserve the rights that were constantly attacked by the country’s elite. There are also conflicts aimed at expanding rights, and they are embodied.
“See this discussion now in the Supreme Court (STF), with regard to revision. This factor that has been appointed as a legal entity is not protected under the Labor Law, which, for example, determines the limit of the working day,” Remember Laura Junjo.
It also cited the status of those who provide the service through digital platforms.
“There is no organization of these platforms that put the individual at work all the time, while the body has material conditions for work,” warns.
According to a survey conducted on 2022, Laura Juntego said that the delivery workers are working on average 47.6 hours a week.
Remote work, home office or remote work
“But in interviews with the workers, we found hours up to 80 hours a week, which is very close to what was done at the height of the industrial revolution, when you do not have a kind of work organization.”
The researcher said: “We see, in these cases, that the workers’ request remains the same. In fact, we note until a specific setback in this legislation and the status of workers. For centuries have passed and our time we see workers perform a long and excessive trip, exceeding 44 hours per week stipulated in the legislation.”
According to the researcher, too, a lot is due to the setback that Union Power has achieved in recent decades, which also increased the number of harassment in the workplace, as well as physical and psychological diseases.
6 x 1
He adds that in this scenario, discussions such as 6 x 1 scale expanded, referring to the procedure stipulated in a draft law that is dealt with in the National Congress, and they expect two days of weekly rest instead of one day.
“What is this discussion in this scenario about many companies, industries and industries with 6 x 1 workers? In many cases, there is no fixed day to spend a vacation. This makes it today that the worker remains with his family, or even care for home tasks.
The result of this working day, according to UNL researcher, whose value is reduced, is not preserved and subject to very bad working conditions.
Reducing the flight
“In recent years, we have lived a scenario for the historical reduction of the minimum wage. The Brazilian worker receives very little and works too much. Not to mention the many hours you spend daily in displacement, especially in cases, which must be calculated as part of the working day.”
For these reasons, according to the researcher, discussions also advanced towards the daily work day decreased to 35 hours or 36 hours a week.
“This is a basic agenda today. There is no use only the end of the 6 x 1 scale without creating an end to the daily trip,” he added.
Union Centrals launch campaign to reduce work day to 40 hours a week – Photo: Valter Camparanato/Agência Brasil
“Because on a scale of 5 x 2 (with two days of weekly rest), there is a risk that (presidents) increases the number of hours that operate daily, and as a result, the same number of hours I worked (in the week),” added Laura Guntetegjo, who was defending its weekly and daily limits that were set on a scale of 36 hours.
resistance
Like what happened when Brazil ended slavery, many companies are resistant to changes that aim to make the Brazilian work legislation “less human”.
“There is a lot of companies’ campaign that it will collapse, and that such changes may cause major problems. But see the example in France, which since 1998 has a working day 35 hours, allowing workers more free time, whether to study, practice physical activities, or to live with their children and have a quality of life with the family,” the researcher explains.
Technologies and mais-valia
The truth, according to the researcher, is that with new technologies, companies were more productive, but this benefit was not transferred to their employees.
Medical types on the computer, with the following doctor’s headset – photo: National Institute of Cancer/Non -Zubble/banned reproduction
“The level of corporate productivity is increasing with the development of technologies and innovations. This must be clear that it is possible to maintain production, even with the low amount of hours that have succeeded. However, what we see is that this does not benefit from the worker. The working day is getting more,” said Laura Gunoyezoy.
“The amount of the surplus of the value (the difference between what the worker produces and what the president pays to the worker) is greater, because the workers are working additional hours and productivity was much greater.”
“This proves that technology has not been used to improve the living conditions of the population, but to increase this exploitation,” he says.