May Day message on April 30, 1972

Today the working people in Pakistan and all over the world are celebrating May Day, a day of great significance in the history of the working class movement.

The blood of innocent, hungry workers shed by the brutal forces of exploitation on the streets of Chicago in 1886 led to the consolidation of an organized working class movement which had taken birth 15 years earlier out of the revolutionary flames of the Paris commune.

The just demands of the workers have been met to some extent because of the unity, struggle and sacrifices of the working classes; but the forces of oppression continue to exist and continue to usurp the wealth produced by the proletariat, by the peasants and other working people.

The workers of Pakistan who are observing May day today must keep a vigilant eye on all forces of exploitation, internal and external. But while they must organize themselves and struggle in a disciplined manner to achieve what is their right, they must also struggle to maintain and safeguard Pakistan’s hard-won independence, its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Without freedom, we shall have nothing: but with freedom we can have everything.

Your Government which has come to power through your own votes gives the highest importance to the well-being of the working class. The workers and peasants are the backbone of the nation; they are the fountainhead of all power and all good. It is for this reason that the Government came out with radical reforms in the field of agriculture and industry. The labor reforms have been introduced to allow the working class to get on its feet. It is a first step and if there are any shortcomings in the new labor laws, which come to light during their application, they will be modified.

Let us all join hands to produce more and share the wealth we generate among ourselves. The more we produce, the more we can raise the standard of living of the down-trodden masses. Revolution and production go together.

On this day, we must pledge to rebuild the nation, rebuild the country, remove all sources of exploitation and oppression. Let the government and the people join together in the great revolutionary struggle for a brighter, securer and happier Pakistan.

On this day, I congratulate and greet all working people throughout Pakistan and earnestly hope that when we celebrate May Day next year we shall have more victories to our credit.

Workers of all lands unite, you have nothing to lose but your shackles and a world to win.