Thousands of Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) members gathered at the symbolic Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur last night in style to kick off the Labour Day celebrations.

The four-hour event, filled with varied performances and powerful speeches, culminated in the reading of MTUC's Labour Day declaration at the stroke of midnight.

Members from dozens of unions descended upon the Independence Square with banners and union T-shirts. Many unions also observed the traditional May Day march towards the area.

Making heads turn were members of the National Union of Bank Employees (Nube), who marched into the square en masse with hundreds of helium-filled balloons which was later shared with other MTUC members.

This year's celebration brearing themed, 'Globalisation erodes workers' rights', saw more than 2,000 participants from all walks of life, including veteran union leaders and those from as far as Sarawak and Johor.

More than a holiday

Cries of Hidup Pekerja (long live workers) echoed throughout Dataran Merdeka, punctuated by loud applause of appreciation for performances, speakers and whenever the audience appeared on the big screen.

Addressing the crowd, MTUC president Syed Sharir Syed Mohamud reminded those present that they were gathered not just to be entertained, but also to send a powerful message to the masses.

"Earlier, reporters asked me why our theme is the same as last year. The reason is because things have not changed, in fact, it has become worse.

"Despite the dozens of memorandums, appeals, dialogues (with the government and employers) [...] many issues have yet to be resolved. Instead, more problems have cropped up," said Syed in reference to the impending tariff hike on electricity and water.

Sleeping tiger

Syed said that there are more than 11 million workers in Malaysia, and should the oppression of workers continue, he feared the 'sleeping tiger' might be awoken.

"Don't anyone question our loyalty and love for our country. Malaysians are among the most hardworking and most productive in the world, but yet they receive the lowest wages," added Syed to the rapturous roar of agreement from the audience.

Syed urged members who disagreed with his leadership not to spilt the solidarity of the workers as it was essential to resolving problems faced by the working class.

"Learn from the NUBE crisis . For five years they failed to resolve their internal problems, but when they had support from their fellow workers (within MTUC), they overcame their problems in just eight months," thundered Syed.

Among the demands made in the 10-point declaration read out at midnight includes the legislation of laws pertaining to a minimum wage of RM900 and immediate halt to the privatisation plans of water supply and health services.