[5] The 1904 Sixth Conference of the Second International, called on "all Social Democratic Party organisations and trade unions of all countries to demonstrate energetically on the First of May for the legal establishment of the eight-hour day, for the class demands of the proletariat, and for universal peace".

[20][nb 1] The following day on 5 May, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the state militia fired on a crowd of strikers killing seven, including a schoolboy and a man feeding chickens in his yard.

The International Socialist Congress, Amsterdam 1904 called on "all Social Democratic Party organisations and trade unions of all countries to demonstrate energetically on the First of May for the legal establishment of the 8-hour day, for the class demands of the proletariat, and for universal peace.

During the Cold War, May Day became the occasion for large military parades in Red Square by the Soviet Union and attended by the top leaders of the Kremlin, especially the Politburo, atop Lenin's Mausoleum.

This was thanks largely to the efforts of Guy Rozemont, Dr. Maurice Curé, Pandit Sahadeo and Emmanuel Anquetil, as a day of special significance for Mauritian workers who for many years had struggled for their social, political and economic rights.

[46] In 1986, the hundredth anniversary of the Haymarket affair, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) called for the government to establish an official holiday on 1 May.

[47] COSATU was joined by a number of prominent anti-apartheid organizations, including the National Education Crisis Committee and the United Democratic Front (South Africa).

[47] On its website, the city of Durban states that the holiday "celebrate[s] the role played by trade unions and other labour movements in the fight against South Africa's apartheid regime".

Unions and Political organizations including anarchist groups and socialist and communist parties have kept the International Workers' Day tradition alive with rallies and demonstrations.

In March 2008, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union announced that dockworkers will move no cargo at any West Coast ports on 1 May 2008, as a protest against the continuation of the Iraq War and the diversion of resources from domestic needs.

[citation needed] In Venezuela, Workers' Day (El Día del Trabajador) is celebrated on 1 May since 1936, but from 1938 to 1945 it was held on 24 July, by an order of Eleazar López Contreras.

After the end of socialism in Bulgaria in 1989 Labour Day continues to be an official and public holiday, but state authorities are not committed to the organization of mass events.

It is, in fact, the only day of the year when employees are legally obliged to be given leave, save professions that cannot be interrupted due to their nature (such as workers in hospitals and public transport).

This custom dates back to 1561, when king Charles IX, aged 10, waiting for his accession to the throne, gave a lily of the valley to all ladies present.

[citation needed] Today in Germany it is simply called "Labour Day" (Tag der Arbeit), and there are numerous demonstrations and celebrations by independent workers' organizations.

In recent years, neo-Nazis and other groups on the far right, such as the National Democratic Party of Germany, have used the day to schedule public demonstrations, often leading to clashes with left-wing protesters, which turned especially violent in Leipzig in 1998 and 2005.

These reforms are to fall in line with the IMF-EU-ECB loan proposals, which demand that Greece liberalize its economy and cut its public spending and private sector wages, which many believe will decrease living standards.

(During the fascist period, a "Holiday of the Italian Labour" (Festa del lavoro italiano) was celebrated on 21 April, the date of Natale di Roma, when Rome was allegedly founded.

[citation needed]) In 1947, following an unexpected electoral victory of the Popular Democratic Front in Sicily, local secessionist and pro-USA bandits killed 14 and injured 27 firing machine guns at an International Workers' Day celebration in the Portella della Ginestra Massacre.

The Concerto del Primo Maggio ("1st of May Concert"), organized by Italian labour unions in Rome in Piazza di Porta San Giovanni has become an important event in recent years.

[129] A second big concert is organised in the city of Taranto and it is transmitted locally by TGR Apulia In Lithuania, 1 May is an official public holiday celebrated as International Work Day (Lithuanian: Tarptautinė darbo diena).

[citation needed] Between these two, on 2 May, there is a patriotic holiday, the Day of the Polish Flag (Dzień Flagi Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), introduced by a parliamentary act of 20 February 2004.

[citation needed] In Soviet times, streets, places, squares, parks and also factories were frequently named in honor of International Workers' Day, such as 1 Maja Coal Mine in Wodzisław Śląski.

The biggest celebration was traditionally organized in Red Square, where the General Secretary of the CPSU and other party and government leaders stood atop Lenin's Mausoleum and waved to the crowds.

[159] The year after it was decreed that the "Fiesta de la Exaltación del Trabajo," or Labor Festival, be held on 18 July, the anniversary of the Francoist military coup, instead.

The crowd went to hear speeches by the leading figures in the Swedish labour movement such as Hjalmar Branting (later prime minister), August Palm and Hinke Bergegren.

The eight-hour working day and women's suffrage were the principal themes during the troubled times after World War I. Recognizing the central contributions of workers and international worker solidarity in Swedish social, economic, political and cultural development, May Day demonstrations are an important part of Swedish politics and culture for social democrats, left parties, and unions.

[166] The largest Röd Front marches are usually held in the industrial and financial port town of Gothenburg, Sweden's second-largest city and one of the party's strongholds.

On 1 May 1903, during the American colonial period the Unión Obrera Democrática Filipina (Filipino Democratic Labor Union) held a rally in front of the Malacañang Palace demanding workers' economic rights and Philippine independence.

[207] The Prime Minister, who is the leader of the ruling People’s Action Party, gives a May Day Rally championing the tripartite relationship between government, employers, and employees.