HAPPY LABOUR DAY to all respected working Class – Tribute to Malaysian Unionist V.David and origins of Labour day

V.David the Man who made labour day possible in Malaysia

MTUC: Name a street in honour of V David

 This is your day 1st May 1972 was declared as public holiday through the fearless, selfless and tireless efforts of DR. V. DAVID. His full name David s/o Vedhamuthu.

Though Dr.V.David is no longer with us, his relentless effort is not forgotten. His spirits lives in the eyes of labours. Being a trade unionist fighting for voiceless, he became the victim of various authoritarian laws of the government of the day. He was detained under emergency ordinance and the infamous ISA not once but four times. Nevertheless his trade union activities were recognized by international Labour organization by appointing as a governing body member. And member of American based AFLCIO. He served as Secretary General of Malaysian Trade Union Congress for many years. Author of several books. 
A friend of lay man and voice for helpless. He was a member of Malaysian - Parliament from 1954 -1995. Who served well the masses? 

David was an illustrious Unionist. He was the soul, spirit and the embodiment of workers interests in Malaysia. His entire life was spent for workers struggle though later part of his life he entered active politics but he labour issues were still then close to his heart.
Let not forget him for his sacrifices. Happy Labour Day......

By Vinod Shekar

Champion of the downtrodden

From village hero, V David rose to become a pillar of the Malaysian workers’ movement

by K George Aliran Monthly

 Born on 26 August 1932 in a squatter settlement at the 3rd mile, Klang Road, Kuala Lumpur, V David started his life in abject poverty. His father, S Vethamuthu, had a small farm and a herd of cattle for survival. As he grew older, David had to help his father by going to houses around the area delivering milk daily. Despite this, he managed to complete his Senior Cambridge. As the years rolled by, his mother became a widow, burdened with the task of bringing up her only son. 

Under the circumstances, it was only natural that mother and son became inseparably close. Even after his mother’s demise, she remained close to his heart until the last day of his life. It is no exaggeration to say that David used to visit his mother’s grave very often — not only every year on the occasion of her birthday, death anniversary, etc but whenever he stood for election, started a union, contested for leadership position and even before embarking on other important event. To him, she was a saint whose blessing he sought before undertaking any venture. 

In 1954, he enrolled with the University of Louisville, Kentucky, USA for a course in Economics, Political Science and Industrial Relations. At the same time, he also attended a course on Labour Unions organised by the AFL-CIO, the American National Trade Union Centre. Even when he was deeply involved in trade union and political activities, he continued his tertiary education. In 1980, he obtained a Masters in Commerce degree from the University of New Delhi. A few years later his thesis on international relations was accepted by Pacific Western University, California, USA, which awarded him a doctorate. 

Compassion for the downtrodden 

Even when David was in his teens, he was a hero in his village. The villagers often sought his advice and guidance. David’s compassion for the poor and downtrodden was natural, simply because of the condition in which he grew up. His first venture in 1953 was to form a trade union known as the Selangor Mill Workers Union (SMWU), which integrated with the Selangor Factory Workers Union. In 1955, the union’s name was changed to the National Union of Factory and General Workers (NUFGW). It was one of the “General Unions” that was recognised by the British colonial rulers. 

On 31 August 1957, Malaya became independent. The NUFGW became so strong and popular under the leadership of the youthful V David that even the workers in the plantation industry preferred to be members of the new union. The Alliance government of independent Malaya detained David and amended the labour law to ensure the automatic deregistration of all existing general unions at that time. Since then, our 'democratic' government has never granted registration of general unions! David was subsequently released. 

He became even more popular - loved by the working masses and disliked by the capitalists. Soon, he was approached by the Transport Workers Union (TWU) to be its executive secretary. He travelled by truck and enrolled thousands and thousands of workers in the transport industry. Soon he was elected the General Secretary of the TWU and held on to that position unchallenged even after he had suffered two strokes. 

Youngest MP at 26 

In the 1959 General Election, David, already a member of the Labour Party, which formed a coalition with other opposition parties known as the Socialist Front, contested and won, becoming a Member of Parliament for Bangsar as well as Selangor State Assembly member. At 26, he was the youngest Member of Parliament – bold, vigorous and committed. 

By mid 1960s, the registration of the Labour Party was cancelled. Its leaders like Dr Tan Chee Khoon, Veerappan, Tan Pock Kin, David and others decided to seek the registration of another party. I was then the General Secretary of the Federation of Armed Forces Civilian Staff Union as well as Vice-President of the MTUC and of CUEPACS. Like David, I too believed that trade unions had to involve themselves in politics. It was not an unusual phenomenon but a fact that was visible all over the world. 

I was invited by the group to join and help with the formation of Gerakan. It was during this period that I grew closer to David. I am proud to claim that both of us knew what poverty was and that our commitment to struggle for the welfare of workers became a passion. David stood on a Gerakan ticket in the General Elections in 1969 and was elected to Parliament as MP for Datuk Keramat in Penang. However, being a civil servant and father of three young children, I decided to carry on with my job and union activity. 

Gerakan became a very popular party and received multiracial support. In the May 1969 General Election, the party captured the state of Penang and formed the government with Dr Lim Chong Eu as Chief Minister. But within two years, it was embroiled in a leadership crisis, resulting in Dr Lim taking full control of Gerakan. Professor Alatas, Dr Tan Chee Khoon, David and other leaders left Gerakan and formed Pekemas, which contested in the 1974 General Election. Out of over 90 candidates, only Dr Tan Chee Khoon retained his seat as the MP for Kepong constituency. Pekemas did not last long. Subsequently, David joined the DAP. 

He was elected to parliament on the DAP ticket in 1978 for Damansara and was successfully returned in 1986 and 1990 for Puchong. But in 1995, David did not contest because of health reasons. 

Indomitable spirit 

While holding the post of TWU General Secretary, he represented the union in the Executive Council and the Working Committee of the MTUC. He was elected as one of its Vice-Presidents in 1971 - a position he held until 1976. Two years later, he was elected the Secretary General of the MTUC. In 1979, he was elected to the governing body of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). He held on to this prestigious position and the post of Secretary General of the MTUC until 1992. 

Apart from the above positions, he was also a Council Member of the International Transport Federation and President of the World Tamil Federation for some time. 

David became the “guest” of the government for the fourth time in October 1987 along with 105 others - innocent victims of Operation Lalang under the obnoxious Internal Security Act. This time he had to spend 222 days in the Kamunting Detention Camp. It could not break his indomitable spirit which remained intact. All his life he committed himself to the struggle for workers’ rights, social justice, freedom and democracy. He had been a persistent critic of the government’s capitalistic policies and its unjust refusal to grant citizenship to the Indian plantation workers who were born in this country in spite of their pioneering economic contribution to this nation. 

In his final three years, he became bed-ridden. His wife, Grace Sivapakiam, took special care of her husband until the last day on July 10, 2005. Their only son, Norman David 22, who is studying medicine in Bangalore, India, was present at the time of his father’s demise. 

V David will be remembered as a pillar of the Malaysian workers’ movement for many years to come. His memory will be cherished and recalled with fondness as someone who had given his best for the workers and who had sacrificed the best part of his life in the struggle to uplift the poor and the downtrodden. 

Origins of Labour Day

Labour Day has its roots in an 1872 printers’ strike in Toronto. Fighting for a nine-hour work day, the strikers’ victory was a major milestone in the changing relations between Canadian workers and their government.

Nine Hour Movement

In a time when the news of labour "strife" is dominated by disputes between millionaire athletes and billionaire owners, history provides a useful perspective on a period when working people had to fight to work less than 12 hours a day. The "Nine Hour Movement" began in Hamilton, Ontario, and then spread to Toronto, where its demands were taken up by the Toronto Typographical Union.

In 1869, the union sent a petition to its members' employers requesting a weekly reduction in hours per week to 58, placing itself among the leading advocates in the industrialized world for a shorter work week. Their request was refused outright by the owners of the printing shops, most vehemently by George Brown of The Globe.

Strike is Called

By 1872, the union's stand had hardened from a request to a demand, to a threat to strike. The employers called the demand for a shorter work week "foolish," "absurd," and "unreasonable." As a result, on 25 March 1872 the printers went on strike.

On 15 April, a demonstration was held to show solidarity among the workers of Toronto. A parade of some 2,000 workers marched through the city, headed by marching bands. By the time the parade reached Queen's Park, the sympathetic crowd had grown to 10,000.

The employers fought the strikers by bringing in replacement workers from small towns. George Brown launched a counterattack by launching a legal action against the union for "conspiracy." Brown's action revealed the astonishing fact that according to the laws of Canada, union activity was indeed considered a criminal offense. Under the law, which dated back to 1792, police arrested and jailed the 24 members of the strike committee.

Powerful Ally

Brown, however, overplayed his hand. Prime Minister John A. Macdonald had been watching the Nine Hour Movement “with curious interest, his big nose sensitively keen," wrote historian Donald Creighton, "like an animal's for any scent of profit or danger." The scent of profit came from the fact that Macdonald's old Liberal rival George Brown had made himself a hated man among the workers of Canada.

Macdonald was quick to capitalize. In Ottawa, he spoke to a crowd at city hall, promising to wipe the "barbarous laws" restricting labour from the books. Macdonald then came to the rescue of the imprisoned men and on 14 June passed the Trade Unions Act, which legalized and protected union activity. Macdonald's move not only embarrassed his rival Brown but also earned him the enduring support of the working class.

Legacy of the Strike

For the strikers themselves, the short-term effects were very damaging. Many lost their jobs and were forced to leave Toronto. The long-term effects, however, were positive. After 1872, almost all union demands included the nine-hour day and the 54-hour week. Thus the Toronto printers were pioneers of the shorter work week in North America. Meanwhile, campaigns for an eight-hour day were already gaining in popularity, and would eventually take hold, in the United States.

The fight of the Toronto printers had a second, lasting legacy. The parades held in support of the Nine Hour Movement and the printers' strike led to an annual celebration. In 1882, American labour leader Peter J. McGuire witnessed one of these labour festivals in Toronto. Inspired, he returned to New York and organized the first American "labor day" on 5 September of the same year. Throughout the 1880s, pressure built in Canada to declare a national labour holiday and on 23 July 1894, the government of Prime Minister John Thompson passed a law making Labour Day official. A huge Labour Day parade took place in Winnipeg that year. It stretched some five kilometres. The tradition of a Labour Day celebration quickly spread across Canada and the continent. It had all begun in Toronto with the brave stand of the printers' union.