Havana, May 1 (RHC)-- International Workers' Day, May 1st, was commemorated around the world with rallies, marches and, in some countries, protests against neo-liberal economic and anti-labor policies.
 
Millions of workers and activists gathered in Asia, Africa and Latin America to mark the day with demands that their governments address labor issues.
 
Some 5,000 people gathered in Manila, near the presidential palace, to urge Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to fulfill a campaign promise to end the practice of short-term employment, low wages, unemployment and trade union repression.
 
In South Korea, a rally in Seoul -- where officials estimated a crowd of over 10,000 people -- had protesters chanting slogans against the current minimum wage.  The marchers, called by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, were demanding a minimum wage of $9.34 hourly as well as the formalizing of irregular employees.   Union members demand that the government scrap the restructuring of the shipbuilding and automobile industries.
 
In Indonesia, thousands of workers demonstrated near the presidential palace in Jakarta to urged the government to avoid outsourcing and raise wages.  The crowd grew to about 10,000 strong, as protesters called on authorities to address the unemployment rates of the nationals against foreign-distributed jobs.
 
In Cambodia, some 2,000 workers gathered in Phnom Penh organized by a garment union coalition.  Riot police were dispatched to prevent the workers from marching on the National Assembly to air their labor-related concerns.