Find out more about Labour Day in China!
In this article, let's talk about everything you need to know about Labour Day (劳动节/Láodòng jié) in China!
On May 1st in 1886, strike movements broke out throughout the United States to force the business owners to implement the "eight-hour workday". In Chicago alone, 45,000 workers participated in the strike, paralysing the major industrial sectors of the United States. The U.S. government finally announced the implementation of the "eight-hour workday" a month later, showing that the workers' movement achieved an initial victory.
996 is a popular work schedule practised by several Chinese IT companies such as Byte Dance, Tencent and Huawei etc. In recent years, it's very common for many employees in that industry to work from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm, 6 days per week. 996 is a trending topic in Chinese society over the last few years.
I bring up this topic here as it's ironic to see that workers were fighting for the "three-eight system" 1880s, and now in the 2020s we are still troubled by the same issue.
What's interesting to mention here is that, in 2019, Chinese tech tycoon Jack Ma defended the culture of 996, calling it a "blessing". He also argued that China's economy was "very likely to lose vitality and impetus" if the system wasn't there. His view was backed by Richard Liu, the CEO of another Chinese giant e-commerce company, JD, who called people against "996" as "slackers".
Different from the 1880s, in China's IT industry of the early 2020s, these arguments made by the company's founders, as well as the self-made billionaires, are partly convincing to many young employees. They themselves have chosen to sacrifice their life quality in pursuit of higher income and a consequent class transition.
A Chinese Phrase You Must Know for 五一
After living in China for a while, you will definitely be impressed by all kinds of services that you can get easily. This convenience is built by millions of people extreme hard work.
In Chinese, we have a special expression to thank people for their help or hard work. It's:
辛苦了!
Xīnkǔ le!
It literally means "to go through trouble". In other words, "you've worked hard".
On this special day, let's learn to say "辛苦了/xīnkǔle" to show our appreciation to all the people who have worked to help you, especially the 阿姨/āyí who helps us clean your house and 师傅/shīfu who helps you to fix the floor!
Dàjiā xīnkǔ le! Láodòng jié kuàilè!
Thanks for your hard work, everyone! Happy Labour Day!
Have a great holiday!
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