Türkiye marks May 1 Labor, Solidarity Day

By Gizem Nisa Cebi

ISTANBUL (AA) – Türkiye’s president and other top officials on Wednesday marked May 1, Labor and Solidarity Day.

"I hail May 1 Labor and Solidarity Day, which is celebrated in our country and all over the world," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on X.

Erdogan also conveyed his regards and affection to all the workers and laborers striving for "halal sustenance," using a term meaning permitted under Muslim law.

"I hail the May 1 Labor and Solidarity Day of our worker brothers and sisters, who have a great share in our development adventure with their efforts and sweat," Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz said on X.

"I would like to express my gratitude to each of our worker brothers who contribute to our investment, employment, production, and export-oriented growth," he added.

"I hail the May 1 Labor and Solidarity Day of our workers and laboring brothers and sisters who shoulder the development struggle of our country with their sweat. We stand by every single person who works and produces," Labor and Social Security Minister Vedat Isikhan said on X.

The Foreign Ministry also posted on X celebrating the day, saying: "Happy May 1 Labor and Solidarity Day to all our workers, especially our colleagues working in our country and around the world."

The National Defense Ministry added on X: "Happy May 1 Labor and Solidarity Day to all our workers, especially our personnel, who work devotedly day and night for our country and the nation."

- 'We owe them for building a strong Türkiye'

Family and Social Services Minister Mahinur Ozdemir Goktas also shared a message marking the day.

“I hail the May 1 Labor and Solidarity Day of all our workers and laborers who work to earn their livelihood with the labor of their hands and the sweat of their brows and to bring halal food to their homes and families,” Goktas said on X.

“We owe a lot to them for building a strong Türkiye, and our country’s development and growing prosperity,” she added.

Also on X, Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus said: "I hail May 1 Labor and Solidarity Day of all our worker brothers who strive with their mind, effort, and knowledge in all areas of life, for the welfare and peace of their family and country, and to establish a more humane world.”

Trade Minister Omer Bolat also marked the day, saying: "I hail the May 1 Labor and Solidarity Day of all our worker brothers and sisters who have made a great contribution to the growth and development of our country with their efforts and earned their living with the sweat of their brows."

Members of various political parties and unions, including the CHP, DEM Party, DISK, KESK, and TMMOB, gathered at Sarachane, Istanbul to mark the day.

Laying wreaths at the Taksim Republic Monument in Istanbul, members of the Memur-Sen and TURK-IS union confederations addressed Israel's ongoing attacks on Palestine.

"We condemn the Zionist Israel, which has been perpetrating continuous genocide in Gaza for 7 months, martyring more than 35,000 of our brothers and sisters, and killing thousands of innocent children, along with its accomplice the US and supporting countries,” said Cesur Ozturk, the Istanbul provincial head of Memur-Sen.

May Day or International Workers' Day first emerged as an event commemorating the labor of workers worldwide on May 1, 1886, when a group of workers in the US held a massive strike for an eight-hour workday.

Türkiye’s first official May Day celebrations were held in 1923.