Labor Day: Why Is It a Holiday?

We are all aware that Labor Day is celebrated on the 1st day of May, but why do we celebrate it as a holiday?

Photo by Scott Blake on Unsplash

Labor Day is most commonly associated with the commemoration of the events and the achievements that happened on the labor day movement.

The first ever Labor Day celebrations happened on May 1st of 1890 after its proclamation by the first international Congress of socialist parties which was held in Europe on the 14th of July 1889 in Paris, France. They dedicated May 1st of every year as the “Workers Day of International Unity and Solidarity.”

The date was chosen because of the events that took place in America, particularly in Chicago. In 1884 the American Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions demanded for an 8-hour workday that they asked to take effect as of May 1st of 1886. This in turn resulted in a general strike and a riot that happened in the Chicago Haymarket in 1886.

Eventually after the series of events, it resulted in the official sanctioning of the 8-hour workday.

Photo by Charles Deluvio on Unsplash

The first Labor Day in the Philippines was observed back in the 1st of May 1903 when, according to research, over thousands of workers marched through Malacañang who were demanding fairer working conditions from a then American led government.

On the 8th of April 1908, the Philippine Congress passed a bill recognizing the 1st of May as a national holiday in the Philippines. The first ever celebration of the Labor Day took place on the 1st of May 1913 when some 36 unions convened a labor congress at the Cine Oriente located in C.M. Recto Street.

Photo by Tron Le on Unsplash

Labor Day is a National Regular Holiday in which, according to the Labor Day Memorandum, has the following payment of wages:

• If the employee did not work, they will be paid 100% of their wages for the day if it falls on a work day.
• If the employee does work on the day, they will be paid 200% of their wages for the day.
• If the employee works in excess of 8 hours (overtime), they will receive an additional 30% of their hourly rate.

Computation:

Hourly rate of basic wage x 200%

x 130% x no. (#) of hours worked

= Total Pay for Rest Day Overtime on a Regular Holiday

• If the employee works on a regular holiday that also falls on their rest day, they will receive an additional 30% of their daily wage of 200%.

Computation:

(Basic wage + COLA) x 200%

+ 30% (Basic wage x 200%)

= Total Pay for Rest Day Overtime on a Regular Holiday

• If the employee works in excess of 8 hours (overtime) on a regular holiday that also falls on their rest day, they will receive an additional 30% of their hourly rate.

Computation:

Hourly rate of the basic wage x 200%

x 130% x 30% x no. (#) of hours worked

= Total Pay for Rest Day Overtime on a Regular Holiday

Labor day is both in celebration and commemoration dedicated to all the workers and their continued fight for equal rights and just working conditions.

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Cheers!