Labour Day Rally at Hong Lim Park features 33 booths and cultural performances
A seemingly unusual convergence takes place on 1 May at Hong Lim Park. This year’s independent Labour Day Rally aims to focus on workers’ rights and climate activism.
The rally’s organisers say workers are “running out of time” amid what they feel are rising living costs, the climate crisis, and the growing emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI).
Image courtesy of Workers Make Possible
MS News speaks to two of its organisers for a sneak peek at what people can expect at this year’s event.
Independent Labour Day Rally at Hong Lim Park focuses on workers’ voices
Since 2023, labour rights organisation Workers Make Possible has held the Labour Day Rally at Hong Lim Park.
One of their founding members is 37-year-old Kokila Annamalai, a community organiser for over 15 years. She feels it is important to hold this rally year after year.
“This is an independent people’s Labour Day Rally,” Kokila told MS News.
Kokila stressed that the worker groups who will be present at their Labour Day Rally are grassroots organisations without ties to large institutions or the government.
This is really focused on workers’ own voices.
For this year’s rally, the organisation joined hands with SG Climate Rally. This youth-led movement aims to tackle the climate crisis.
35-year-old Yong Feng has been with the movement since 2020. To him, climate and labour are inseparable. And he feels the working class bear the brunt of negative climate effects.
“Everyone can feel the heat is getting worse and worse,” he pointed out, “we see new records being broken every year.”
Consequently, the slogan for Labour Day Rally 2026 is “Burnt-out workers on a burning planet”.
Organiser observes ‘hustling culture’ and normalised OT in Singapore
According to Kokila, the rally heavily focuses on the exhaustion workers face, especially in Singapore.
In 2022, a study found that Singapore had the highest rate of overworked employees in the Asia-Pacific region. A separate 2024 report found that 61% of Singaporeans felt burnt out due to work.
Source: charliepix on Canva, for illustration purposes only
She described Singapore as having a “hustling culture”, where regularly taking work home and working overtime has been normalised.
Even outside of work, people spend time and effort caregiving, doing chores, travelling to and from the job site, and other responsibilities.
With little time left for leisure, their relationships, health, sleep, and creativity all suffer, she added.
The lack of time also prevents people from living more sustainable lives, Yong Feng felt, or from organising as a community to tackle issues such as the climate crisis.
Fittingly, the theme picked for the Labour Day Rally 2026 is “Running out of time: Take back your life!”, a double meaning for both workers and the planet.
Source: @labourdaysg on Instagram
The organisers called for an eight-hour workday, no more than five days a week, as the minimum that Singapore’s workers should demand.
33 community booths by grassroots organisations for rallygoers
From 3pm on 1 May, rallygoers at Hong Lim Park will have the opportunity to interact with 33 community booths, the most so far at a Labour Day Rally.
Grassroots organisations will man these booths, such as:
- Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics (HOME), which supports exploited migrant workers
- Makan Minum Workers, a collective for F&B workers
- SG Riders, a network of food delivery riders
- Student Actions for Transformative Justice (SATU), a student group against the death penalty
- People’s Artists Initiative (PAI), a socially-conscious artist group
Additionally, the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), Progress Singapore Party (PSP), and Red Dot United (RDU) Youth Wing will have booths.
“We don’t want people to just treat [the rally] as a once-a-year thing,” Yong Feng explained.
The rally aims to inspire and connect workers through these grassroots organisations.
With 33 booths, rallygoers can choose which interests them and get involved with them even after the rally ends.
Image courtesy of Workers Make Possible
The aim is to find solutions to problems they or their communities face through the power of organised collective action.
Kokila told MS News that recent international events only increased the need for organised workers.
She points to the rise in living costs amid the Iran war.
Yong Feng especially highlighted anxiety over fuel costs, which he said showed the importance of accelerating the transition away from fossil fuels.
AI to be talking point from speakers at Labour Day Rally 2026
After interacting with the community booths, rallygoers can enjoy stage programmes from 5pm to 7pm.
Among the performers are comedian Jacky Ng, cultural dance groups Ekta and Dabke Singapore, and Satu Jiwa, a choir bringing fresh renditions of old labour songs.
Rallygoers will get to hear directly from workers from all walks of life, such as Grab drivers, single parents, and employees caught up in Twelve Cupcakes’ sudden closure.
Source: @labourdaysg on Instagram
A talking point at this year’s Labour Day Rally will be AI, and how workers in Singapore feel it has affected them in various ways.
Kokila stated that workers must organise to ensure they use it in ways that benefit both themselves and consumers.
From a climate perspective, Yong Feng also sees AI data centres as contrary to the push for saving energy.
Labour Day Rally provides safe space for workers
MS News asked Kokila why she found it important to organise an independent Labour Day Rally. She says it’s a space where the public could hear about lived experiences from workers themselves.
Source: @workersmakepossible on Instagram
The organisers encouraged rallygoers to wear red and mask up for what they promised to be an engaging four hours.
“There will also be a bouncy castle for children!” Kokila laughed. In wet weather, they will distribute umbrellas or temporarily pause the event in heavy rain. Rain or shine, the struggle goes on nonetheless.
Both activists commit to building a culture in Singapore where people feel empowered to be the change.
“That we can come together, that we can make decisions, and we can fight for a better future that we want.”
Also read: Report finds millennials the least happy at work, S’poreans discuss if purpose outweighs salary
Report finds millennials the least happy at work, S’poreans discuss if purpose outweighs salary
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Featured image courtesy of Workers Make Possible.
