Yet another May 1st! Once again workers and laborers will leave factories, fields, schools, houses and workshops to come together for the emancipation of labor and solidarity of people. And they will demand democracy, freedom, peace, equality and justice.
129 years after the first celebration of Labor Day, workers and laborers are entering yet another May 1 under the shadow of pressure and prohibition. Slave-like working conditons and heavy exploitation are still a reality.
During AKP’s rule, we lost more than 15 thousand workers in ‘labor murders’. We witnessed worker massacres in Soma, Torunlar, Ermenek and Isparta. At least 1886 lives were lost last year. Our working and living conditions keep getting worse. Flexible working without security is being forced on us. Subcontracting is spreading everywhere, like a tumor.
This cannot, should not go on.
– In order to say “no” to the government and capitalist policies that see labor health and safety precautions as “cost;” to bring them to account for worker deaths,
– In order to not let the system of corruption, coercion and exploitation tighten with what is being stolen from our labor and bread everyday, to bring them to account for past theft and corruption,
– For secure employment, humanely sustainable wages and working conditions for everyone,
– In order to defend our job security and end the system of subcontracting,
– For the equality and freedom of women, who are doubly exploited at work and in the home, whose bodies and identities are subject to male and state violence everyday, who are subjected to discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation,
– In order to be able to obtain our basic needs such as education, health, nutrition, shelter, and transportation in humane conditions and to say “no” to price hikes,
– In order to defend our democratic rights and liberties, our right to unionize and organize,
– For the creation of a democratic resolution, a permanent and honorable peace in the Kurdish Issue,
– For the equality of the peoples, the freedom of faiths,
– In order to say “no” to the banning of our squares, first and foremost Taksim, to the destruction of our trees and depletion of our rivers, to the plundering of our environment, to the looting of our cities,
– In order to make our struggle for a world free of wars and exploitation grow, we ourselves will take out to the squares.
On this occasion;
We call Prime Minister Davutoglu and the AKP government to once again lift the Taksim ban and let May 1st be experienced like a festival.
We call all workers, laborers, the poor, the marginalized, women, and the youth to liberate the public squares on May 1st. Happy May 1st!
HDP Central Executive Board
30 April 2015