On October 7, 1884, US workers united to demand better treatment and more reasonable working hours. The "Eight-Hour" movement, as it came to be known, sought an eight-hour workday, eight hours of education, and eight hours of rest. To promote the cause, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions rallied some 200,000 workers for a large-scale strike in Chicago on May 1, 1886. Many lives were lost in a brutal police crackdown, but the movement continued to gather momentum. Gradually, the eight-hour workday took root in businesses throughout the US, spreading eventually to the UK, France, other countries of the world.
 
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At the first international labor conference in Paris in 1889, delegates (including representatives from the ROC) passed a Labor Act which called for the use of joint strikes and diplomatic sanctions to advance the working class struggle. During the conference, representatives of France's International Socialist Party proposed that May 1 be designated as International Labor Day. Since then, workers around the world have celebrated the success of the eight-hour movement on this day, known popularly as "International Labor Day," "May Day," or simply "Labor Day."
The ROC labor movement began in 1919 with the founding of the nation's
first worker organizations. It quickly spread throughout the country,
particularly in Canton, bringing with it the arrival of labor unions.
On March 29, 1923, the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce passed general
regulations governing factory work. In another area, the National Workers'
Conference convened in Canton and Hankow to advance worker rights and
interests. A major contributor to the labor movement, the conference
designated May 1 as "Labor Day" in China, and continues to hold commemorative
meetings on this day. Also around this time, the ROC joined the 
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