Turkey marks International Workers' Day

By Ferdi Turkten and Baris Gundogan

ISTANBUL / ANKARA / KOCAELI, Turkey (AA) - Politicians, trade unions and workers across Turkey marked the International Workers' Day, also known as May Day.

“I would like to commemorate May 1 Labor and Solidarity Day for all of our workers who work and produce with labor and sweat, contribute to the development of our country and I hope this day will consolidate our unity and solidarity,” Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun tweeted.

Also, Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader sent a message to his supporters for the occasion.

"I commemorate May 1 Labor and Solidarity Day with belief in the future that unemployment is resolved, business crime ends, poverty and inequality in income distribution is corrected; and a future that is based on production and job opportunities,” Kemal Kilicdaroglu tweeted.

The Confederation of Turkish Labor Unions (TURK-IS) held a large May Day event in the northwestern province of Kocaeli.

Also, some members of Turk-Is, the HAK-IS Trade Union Confederation Istanbul Provincial Directorate and the members of four different trade unions separately placed a wreath on republic monument in Istanbul's Taksim Square.

May Day, first emerged as an event commemorating the labor of workers worldwide on May 1, 1886, when a group of workers in the U.S. held a massive strike for an eight-hour workday.

Turkey’s first official May Day celebrations were held in 1923.

In 1977, Labor Day demonstrations in Istanbul's Taksim Square left 34 people dead and 136 injured in what became known as Bloody May 1.