Why Labour Day Is Useless in some Countries in Africa

Télesphore Mba Bizo

It is surprising to see Africans making a spectacle of themselves on 1st May. It represents the International Labour Day. In principle, this celebration comes after one has sacrificed over a year. But in Sub Saharan Africa, mostly, labour day is just another celebration. Actually, the calendar is full of public holidays. The anniversary date when somebody came to power is a public holiday. The launch of political party prevents people from working that day. Established churches also have, at least, two public holidays per year. Each state celebrates a national day. At times, there are two or more. Besides, there are anniversaries that worry state men, for instance, the date a former President or an opposition leader died. Only forces of law and order can work on such a day. Any successful encounter in sports calls for a public holiday. Citizens are paid for idling. The state steals them good working days. Even Saturday is a working day in some countries. But offices are closed that day. Incidentally, people use state cars the same day for shopping.

If countries do not encourage hard-work, citizens themselves cannot be praised. The most disciplined workers spend 8 hours per day in their offices. But they spend their time, when they are not online, playing computer games: cards, zuma, pinball and soccer with virtual encounters like champion’s league matches between Barcelona and Real de Madrid. The most meaningful moment is the time they spend to share bottles of beer at lunch. Nobody ever fails to show up at 12h. It is by that time that administrative documents are signed and processed in a hurry.

How can people justify the relevance of celebrating the international labour day when most workers hardly deliver their best? At this junction, celebrating becomes a mere repetition. That is the only thing that people do over the year. Again, most good workers actually stay at home. Only trade-unionists and administrative officials fight to deliver speeches at the rostrum.

Africa often complains that European development models are imposed on her. The West then acts as if the world is governed by rigid truth; as if laws and clear-cut formula govern the world. A sort of “copy and paste” process. For instance, Europe imagined that the protest in the Arab world would easily propagate and affect Sub Saharan Africa. Now, life is relativity. Many African countries went through hard times in the early 90s after the Berlin wall was demolished. On that occasion, Mathieu Kérékou or Sassou Nguesso were toppled following national conferences.

If Africa has something to learn from the West, it is the working model. 8 good working hours per day in an atmosphere of corporate culture, results-oriented spirit and respect for prescribed deadlines in service delivery. At times, Europe can disappoint many people because she acts as the master who teaches lessons to a continent that has failed grow old, and which enslaved and colonised nations with brutality in the past. It is then high time that new cooperation modes were planned and multiplied. Emerging countries, likely, constitute a destination. Among these countries, only China is making waves because she is a model of hard work to reckon with, even salaries may be low. Yet, South Korea, India, Bresil or Turkey also constitute laudable options. The time for appropriation has come. However, there is no need to duplicate poor examples. People are expected to contextualise without diluting the original quality. A committee of experts in charge of following-up and assessing appropriations and adaptations should see the day of light in countries.

The ultimate goal is to prompt workers within the sector of arts and culture to be devoted as if their workplace is a factory. This production of goods, services and wealth will go a long way to raise the bar of creative industries in the hierarchy of macro-economic contributions to states. The celebration of 1^st May, I am humbly thinking, demands some previous and personal commitment to work. In this light, the British are entitled to celebration.  They worked hard to sell Kate and William’s wedding to the world. Even Africa consumed the culture of the United Kingdom through a ceremony. The beatification of Pope Jean-Paul II is the same success story. For sure, people are unlikely to stop frowning at him because of the Roman Catholic position against the use of condoms in a world where casual sex and HIV-AIDS prevail. But the new generations will keep the memory of a hard-working pope of our century.