Election code mutes May Day celebrations in Madurai district

Madurai: Madurai's association with trade unionism is nearly a century old and the city had its own labour movements and even bloodshed. With a strong workforce, International Workers Day on May 1 used to be a motivational and emotional day for hundreds of workers in the city. But the prevailing model code of conduct has taken the fervour off Sunday's celebrations in the city.
With the advent of Harvey Mill (present day Madura Coats) in Madurai, industrial development kickstarted in Madurai.During the British regime, the labour strike in Harvey mill from 1934 to 1936 was a significant one in which renowned freedom fighters Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar, P Ramamurty, K T K Thangamani, N Sankariah, P Jeevanantham and I Mayandi Bharathi took up the workers' cause. There was a series of protests when the government and the mill management tried to suppress the labour strike demanding decent wages.
Till 1990, there were more than a dozen textile mills in and around Madurai city. Thousands of people worked in these mills, which used to see frequent demonstrations or protests. "On May Day, they tie trade union or party flags across the streets and posters on every wall. They hoist flags and there will be peppy talks on the significance of International Workers Day and how labour rights came into existence. There will be a grand banquet for lunch," recalls V Shanmugam, 79, a trade unionist from Munichalai.
The workers day celebrations used to be held in nearly 300 venues with trade unions of all parties hoisting flags. The workers used to take out small march pasts around their streets, raising slogans on May Day.
On Sunday, except in party offices, these flag poles were removed and restrictions were placed on organising meetings or using light and sound. "Historically the workers' struggle resulted in equal voting rights to every citizen. It is sad that worker's day celebrations had to be muted on grounds of the election code of conduct," said N Nanmaran, veteran politician and former MLA from the CPM.