The first of May marks Labour Day, which dates back to May 1886 in Chicago where workers started a labour movement that soon became a global trend.

The workers pushed forward the eight-hour day movement, which called for allocating eight hours of the day for work, eight for recreation and eight for rest.

Egyptian workers, however, are still striving for basic rights, including the right to a living wage, in a suffering economy.

The image, taken from Al-Ahram’s archives, shows workers in Kafr Saad in 1964.