Speaker talks about history of ‘eight, eight, eight’

The US working class raised this slogan as they wanted a division of their day into three periods

KARACHI: Have you ever wondered where the concept of eight working hours came from? According to Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology social sciences department head Dr Riaz Ahmed Shaikh, this concept emerged at the cost of the lives of several labourers in Chicago, United States.

Sheikh was addressing a young audience that had gathered at a session held to commemorate the International Workers' Day by the International Youth and Workers Movement (IWYM) on Thursday. According to him, it was the first time in USA in 1827 that the workers united themselves against exploitation and the slogan of 'eight, eight, eight' was introduced.

"The working class raised this slogan because they wanted to divide their day's hours in three [periods of] eight hours [each]," he said. He explained how the workers wanted these three periods to be allotted: one period was for work, second for rest and the third for recreation.

Taking the discussion forward, IWYM deputy organiser Abida Ali said that labourers should be paid well enough to allow them to enjoy the eight hours of recreation.

Sheikh then explained how the USA ignored the 'eight, eight, eight' slogan and turned the state into a 'night watchman'. According to him, this meant that the state would keep an eye on every individual's affairs.

"After the adoption of this policy, the labourers' movement was pushed back until 1868," he said, adding that on May 1, 1884, the working class of the America gave a two-year ultimatum to the state to introduce the 'eight, eight, eight' concept in the industries.

"No one paid heed and two years passed by," he said. "On May 1, 1886, the entire working class, comprising millions of workers, went on a strike and held a huge procession."

He then talked about how, on the third day of the strike, a bomb explosion took place and several people lost their lives. "The blame of the bomb blast was immediately put on the labourers and four people heading the movement were arrested," he said. "One of them committed suicide in the jail, apparently due to torture, while the others were hanged to death."

According to Shaikh, when the case reopened in 1893, it emerged that all the labourers were innocent.

He then asked the young audience if the movement had left behind a legacy. According to him, it did. "The legacy has continued, due to which a socialist system emerged and the capitalist system had to mould itself in the shape of a mixed economy."

Published in The Express Tribune, May 2^nd, 2015.