photo - east newsSeveral hundred people braved rain, Saturday morning, to attend a demonstration in Warsaw, organized by the OPZZ trade union in celebration of Labour Day, May 1, a national holiday in Poland.
The demonstration was lead by OPZZ president Jan Guz OPZZ. A minute’s silence was observed in memory of the 96 who died in the Smolensk air disaster on April 10.
The procession, which started outside the parliament building, included leader of the Democratic Left Alliance and presidential candidate, Grzegorz Napieralski.
Labour Day has been observed in Poland since 1890.
After World War II the May 1 holiday was celebrated very solemnly by the communist authorities. There were marches, rallies and meetings in which participation was often mandatory.
In post communist Poland, May 1 is the beginning of a long weekend holiday, with May 2 being celebrated as Flag day and May 3 as Constitution Day. (pg)