In Dublin, Around 800 people protested outside Stock Exchange
In Russia, Tens of thousands of people marched through towns and cities
Events and protests have been taking place around the world to mark Mayday, the traditional workers day. In Dublin, about 800 protestors gathered at the Stock Exchange in Anglesea Street, in Dublin City Centre. They were protesting against free trade policies as part of a global action day against so-called corporate greed. The protestors moved on to a rally in Trinity College Dublin at 7pm.
In Poland, 6,000 workers have taken to the streets to protest against unemployment, which now stands at 15.9% - its highest level in six years. Protestors marched two kilometers through the capital, Warsaw, under banners calling for "bread and work". The march was organised by the ex-communist SLD party and the former communist trade union OPZZ. Eggs and yoghurt were thrown at the marchers, but physical violence was reported.
More than 2,000 people marched through the Yugoslav capital, Belgrade. They are calling for work and a fair rate of pay. Serbia has a 50% unemployment rate at present and thousands of workers are surviving below the poverty line. This is the first May Day since the fall of former president Slobodan Milosevic.
Riot police in Zurich, Switzerland, arrested some 200 left-wing demonstrators in Mayday clashes. Four officers and a child were injured. The disturbances began at an unofficial demonstration following the traditional main Mayday parade. It was reported that some 400 other demonstrators held their own traditional left-wing "post-demo" following the main event.
Tens of thousands of people marched through towns and cities in Russia today calling for better pay and more jobs. Some of the events were organised by the Communist Party. While Mayday remains a public holiday, it is no longer marked by official parades at which workers used to file through Moscow's Red Square and military strength was displayed. In Rome, however, there was a happier mood. A huge crowd, estimated at close to half a million, turned out for an open air concert in Rome to celebrate Mayday.
In South Africa, the country's most powerful trade union federation warned that it was plan a nationwide strike against privatisation, to take place in the next four months. Speaking at a Mayday rally in the port city of Durban, Zwelinzima Vavi, general secretary of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), told workers that Cosatu intended to protest against both privatisation, a key aspect of government economic policy and what he called job destruction.
