May Day—observed on May 1st—is not just a symbolic holiday; it’s a serious reminder of the value of labor, and more importantly, how often that labor is undervalued, underpaid, and exploited. It originated to honor workers’ rights, but in today’s India, it must highlight more than just the traditional struggles of factory workers.

From daily wage earners on construction sites to overworked software engineers sitting in glass buildings, India’s working class continues to suffer—not just from poverty, but from a lack of dignity, recognition, and fair compensation.

This May Day, it’s time to confront a hard truth: India’s economic growth rests on the shoulders of its workers—but they are being crushed by the very system they support.

A Brief History of May Day

May Day originated in the late 19th century as part of the labor movement in the United States, when workers began organizing for an eight-hour workday. The turning point came with the Haymarket Affair of 1886 in Chicago, where peaceful protestors were attacked, arrested, and killed.

May Day became an international symbol of workers’ rights and a call to action against capitalist exploitation.

Today, more than 130 years later, many of the same demands—fair hours, fair pay, workplace dignity—are still not a reality for millions of Indian workers.

The first Labour Day was celebrated in India on 1 May 1923, in Chennai (then known as Madras), organised by the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan.

The Exploitation of Daily Wage Workers and Migrants

Across India’s cities, millions of laborers from states like Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Jharkhand work in brutal conditions. They’re often brought in by contractors, promised decent wages, only to be exploited, underpaid, and overworked.

They build roads, metros, high-rises, and luxury malls, yet live in temporary slums without clean water, toilets, or healthcare. Injuries are common. Payments are often delayed.

Middlemen take a cut of their wages. There is no insurance, no job security, and no voice. They are invisible to society until something tragic happens.

Corporate Employees: The Modern-Day Mazdoors

On the other end of the spectrum, corporate professionals—the so-called “privileged class”—are also struggling. Behind the formal shirts and air-conditioned offices are stories of overwork, depression, stress, and financial strain.

Corporate India increasingly runs on unpaid overtime, toxic team politics, and cheap labor disguised as internships or contracts. Employees are often expected to work long hours without extra pay, endure workplace humiliation, and sacrifice personal lives for “growth.”

They are corporate mazdoors—exploited with a smile.

Divide-and-Rule in the Workplace

Modern companies often use divide-and-rule tactics to prevent employees from organizing or pushing back. Teams are pitted against each other, favoritism replaces merit, and managers use fear and manipulation to maintain control.

There’s no real team spirit, only silent competition. This kind of environment not only breaks workers’ confidence, it destroys dignity and discourages solidarity.

The result? A workforce that is isolated, burned out, and afraid to speak up.

Night Shifts, Coffee, and Health Collapse

To serve overseas markets, many Indian professionals work night shifts—especially in tech and BPO sectors. This has led to:

• Chronic fatigue
• Insomnia and hormonal imbalance
• Mental health issues including anxiety and depression

To stay awake, employees depend heavily on free tea and coffee, often provided by Coffee Day vending machines in offices. This leads to caffeine addiction, poor digestion, and constant dehydration.

Even worse, some turn to smoking, encouraged by the presence of corporate smoking zones, creating a workplace where health is systematically destroyed for profit.

What’s the Use of Money If You’re Unwell and Miserable?

People earn salaries—but at what cost?

When your health is ruined, your peace of mind is gone, and your family life suffers, what’s the point of the paycheck? The corporate system convinces people that burnout is ambition and suffering is professionalism.

This is a dangerous lie.

Illiteracy and Lack of Awareness of Worker Rights

Half of India’s working population doesn’t even know what benefits they are entitled to. From daily wage earners to entry-level white-collar staff, most workers don’t understand labor laws, PF, ESI, maternity leave, or minimum wage rights.

This lack of labor education ensures that exploitation continues unchallenged.

Workers can’t fight for what they don’t know they deserve.

Why India Needs Hourly and Weekly Wages

India’s monthly salary system is outdated and allows for easy exploitation. It’s time to move toward hourly and weekly pay systems, which would:

• Ensure every hour worked is paid for
• Make overtime transparent and legal
• Help workers manage short-term expenses without taking loans

Child Labor and the Silent Normalization of Overwork

While India has laws banning child labor, the reality on the ground tells a different story. Children as young as 10 are still found working in:

• Dhabas and tea stalls,
• Brick kilns and construction sites,
• Textile and leather factories,
• And in homes as domestic workers.

These children are often out of school, unpaid or underpaid, and invisible to government data. Some are trafficked or sent by desperate families from villages to cities, where they are exploited under the excuse of “helping out” or “learning a skill.”

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Worse still, children are exposed to dangerous environments, chemicals, machinery, and abuse without any protection or voice. It’s not just a violation of their rights—it’s the theft of their future.

Despite having laws like the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, enforcement remains weak, and offenders go unpunished.

Illegal Extra-Hour Work Across Sector

In many industries—especially construction, manufacturing, retail, and hospitality—workers are often forced to work 10 to 14 hours a day, well beyond the legal limit of 8 hours.

These extra hours:

• Are rarely paid,
• Are imposed without consent,
• And lead to physical and mental exhaustion.

In corporate jobs too, especially in startups and tech firms, unspoken expectations force employees to stay late, answer emails at night, and work weekends, all without extra compensation.

Book Recommendation: The Corporate Cult: More of What Men Know That Women Don’t by Rich Zubaty

If you work in a company and feel stuck, overused, and underappreciated, read Corporate Cults by Rich Zubaty. The book explains how:

• Modern companies act like cults
• Loyalty is demanded, not earned
• Obedience is rewarded, and questioning is punished
• The system is designed to extract your energy and make you replaceable

This book opens your eyes to the psychological and emotional manipulation happening in modern work culture.

The Role of the Government

The Indian government has a responsibility to protect workers. Reforms must include:

• Regulation of contractors who exploit migrant labor
• Labor rights education starting from high school
• Mandatory enforcement of minimum wage, PF, insurance, and maternity benefits
• Monitoring of corporate HR practices, particularly related to appraisals and night shifts
• Support for unions, collectives, and whistleblowers

India cannot remain a “developing nation” forever—unless we choose to keep our workers poor, unaware, and expendable.

Every Worker is a Labourer

It’s time we redefine what “labour” means. In India, the word is often wrongly associated only with someone doing physical or “small” jobs—like construction workers, housemaids, or daily wage earners. But the truth is, anyone who works under someone else, trading their time, energy, and skills for a wage, is a labourer—whether you’re a delivery rider, call center agent, junior doctor, graphic designer, or software engineer.

From the factory floor to the corporate boardroom, from farms to digital startups—if you don’t own the system, you are part of the labor that keeps it running. And every labourer, regardless of their uniform or title, deserves respect, rights, and dignity.

May Day is not about the “poor”.
It’s about the working class in all its forms—and the urgent need to protect, empower, and unite them.

May Day Belongs to Every Worker

From a migrant carrying bricks for ₹300 a day to a software engineer working 14-hour shifts for delayed promotions, every worker deserves dignity.

They deserve:

• Fair pay
• Health and rest
• Respect at work
• A voice in the system

This May Day, don’t just forward a quote or attend a seminar. Stand up. Speak up. Organize. Because if we don’t fight for workers now, we’ll all continue to be treated like tools, not humans.

May Day 2025 is not just a holiday—it’s a demand for justice.

Majdoor Song by Rap ID