The annual tradition of kicking off on 1st May was admirably upheld all over the world yesterday…

In Turkey protesters defied a ban on demonstrations in Taksim Square and enjoyed a barrage of tear gassing and water cannoning from the 400,000 plus cops who’d been rolled out to greet them. Several demonstrators sustained injuries and five people were locked up.

In Russia, a rally assembled in Red Square for the first time since 1991.

In Hong Kong, workers marched from Victoria Park to government headquarters to demand better working conditions.

In Seoul, the ferry disaster put a dampener on the traditional mode of demonstration and workers instead went to City Hall and paid their respects to those lost in the 16th of April catastrophe.

Here in Blighty, we were all psyched up after the tube strikes and the recent deaths of Bob Crow and Tony Benn – love em or loathe ’em, they had a big impact on union politics and as a result the official organised May Day protests in the capital went under the banner of “Don’t Mourn, Organise”.

Charlotte Dingle

Photo © Jonathan McIntosh