In recent times, pro-labor movements around the world have used May 1 to stage mass marches and rallies for the betterment of conditions of the working class.
Imam used to describe the labor force which can largely contribute to the progress of the country in various sectors.
Imam cited the Islamic traditions to explain how workers were given greater status by Islam. He said in this regard as following:
"This is an issue that you should think of later and ponder among yourselves. Compare your youth with those who are idle and spend their life in debauchery. Your value and the value Islam have accorded you are in no way comparable to them. The Holy Prophet has been reported kissing the calloused palm of a worker. This is a token of value for workers throughout history."
Some excerpts from Imam's historic messages highlight Imam's precious views about laborers.
"You should appreciate the value of your labor, which retains the health of your disposition and spirit. If one sits idle, one’s bodily activities and the functions of one’s cells will come to a halt. Those who are active, their cells will function as much as their activity, making up for the deficiencies. You see that in a large group of workers perhaps one of two might be sick and depressed. The overwhelming majority of workers, thank God, are hale and hearty, but imagine that the liege lords are comfortable. This is what the workers might think. However, the liege lords or, borrowing their own words, the upper class, and in our word lower class, are incalculably dejected and in low spirits."
Message
Date: April 30, 1981 [Ordībehesht 10, 1360 AHS / Jamādī ath-Thānī 25, 1401 AH]
Place: Jamārān, Tehran
Subject: Importance of the role of laborers in the self-sufficiency of the country; alertness against the conspiracies of foreign agents
Occasion: On the threshold of the Labor Day
Addressees: Laborers, the Iranian nation, and the oppressed peoples of the world
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Greetings to the laborers and the entire nation and the oppressed peoples of the world on the occasion of Labor Day! (Celebration of) this international day for honoring laborers, who are the backbone of the self-sufficiency of the country and these great destiny-making legends that ensure a country’s independence, is a national and Islamic obligation upon everyone. The noble stratum of laborers has in this short period and especially after the attack of the foreign agents on our beloved homeland proved that by the grace of God Almighty and by striving round the clock it is capable of salvaging its precious country from dependence upon foreigners and it can serve a powerful blow to aliens and the foreign media as well as their internal slaves who are propagating false news. It has also succeeded in dismissing the claims of the deviants and the hypocritical agents of the right and the left blocs. Today, after two years of criminal activities by groups that are connected with foreign powers they have been exposed before the nation and particularly the beloved laborers. These naïve groups have proved their animosity toward God and man, and have revealed their rawness with their acts and words. These agents have exposed their ugly face to the nation, and particularly the oppressed class, with their childish seditious acts to such an extent that even those who were on the verge of being duped by them, now know beyond doubt that they are the mercenaries of the White House and the Kremlin and that they are the worst enemies of the laborers and farmers. My dear laborer brothers who are striving wholeheartedly for the self-reliance of the country! Know that these people imagine that they can use you to attain their evil goals and to serve the superpowers. Beware that these are the same people who, along with their agents, misused the universities to wage a war against Islam and Iran and that their insistence on the reopening of the university is only to serve the evil goals of America. It is these people who have aligned with the enemies of Islam in Kurdistān and the other areas against the Islamic Republic and have initiated a war. These are the people who seize every opportunity to attack our youth with all kinds of weapons. These are the people who indulge in all kinds of belligerence and corruption in the various cities of the country, following every considerable victory of our armed forces, in order to divert public attention from the warfronts. These are the people whose hands are involved in every conspiracy against the Islamic Republic. Brothers and sisters! Stay alert so that your valuable services for the cause of our beloved Islamic country do not end up serving the interests of America through the criminal hands of these groups.
O you great nation of champions and martyrs! Stay alert so that these mercenaries of the colonial powers do not drag your daughters and sons into the service of the world-devourers of the right and left blocs! I, once again, felicitate the Iranian nation and especially our laborers on the occasion of Labor Day. And I pray to God Almighty for everyone’s prosperity and hope that the roots of corruption are severed. Blessings and greetings be upon the great Iranian nation! Long live the Islamic Republic of Iran!
Rūhullāh al-Mūsawī al-Khomeinī
Sahifeh-ye-Imam, Vol.14, page 282-283
Sahifeh-ye-Imam, Vol. 16, page 204