[ti:World’s Workers Rally for Higher Pay, Time Off, Safety on May Day] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]The first day of May, known as May Day, [00:04.36]is considered a day to celebrate workers around the world. [00:09.60]On Monday, however, workers around the world [00:14.28]took to the streets to express their unhappiness [00:18.96]about the money they make, their time off, [00:22.80]the high cost of living and the age of retirement. [00:28.96]In the former Soviet Union, [00:31.08]May Day was a time to celebrate communism. [00:34.76]But on Monday in Russia, celebrations were overshadowed [00:39.92]by the country's war with Ukraine. [00:44.28]In France, workers want the government to reconsider a decision [00:49.84]to increase the retirement age by two years, to 64. [00:56.04]Police said they were concerned about [00:59.40]protests getting larger if other groups joined in. [01:05.00]Some groups there are protesting climate change. [01:09.16]Others are concerned about [01:11.64]how the 2024 Summer Olympics will affect life in Paris. [01:17.76]In Spain, labor union members said [01:21.44]their pay has not gone up to match inflation [01:25.32]and the higher cost of living. [01:28.40]In the Spanish capital of Madrid, [01:31.44]a group of lawyers said old-fashioned rules [01:35.32]that require them to be on duty [01:38.44]every day of the year must be changed. [01:42.08]Lawyers have used social media [01:45.16]to show themselves working from the hospital [01:48.64]or on days that family members died. [01:52.88]Police in Turkey prevented protesters [01:56.00]from reaching Istanbul's main square, Taksim. [02:00.72]More than 10 protesters were arrested. [02:04.16]Taksim Square is where many people died [02:07.88]after a stampede broke out [02:10.48]during a May Day event in 1977. [02:15.48]In South Korea, thousands of people [02:18.36]attended the largest May Day protests since 2020. [02:23.32]One protester shouted, "The price of everything [02:27.28]has increased except for our wages. [02:30.36]Increase our minimum wages!" [02:34.20]In Japan, workers, lawmakers and academics [02:39.08]gathered in Tokyo's Yoyogi Park to demand higher pay. [02:44.04]They criticized Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's [02:48.80]plan to put more money into Japan's defense budget. [02:53.04]The leader has said he plans to look at [02:56.64]raising pay for workers. [02:58.80]Indonesian workers [03:01.20]marched against a new law called the Job Creation Law, [03:05.24]which they say will only help business owners. [03:09.92]In Pakistan, government restrictions on gatherings [03:14.16]prevented large public rallies. [03:16.44]However, smaller groups gathered indoors [03:20.76]to demand more support for workers and higher wages. [03:27.00]Workers in Beirut, Lebanon marched through the streets. [03:31.88]They included members of unions [03:34.96]and migrant domestic workers. [03:37.84]The country is in the middle of an economic crisis. [03:42.60]About 75 percent of people in Lebanon [03:46.68]are living in poverty because of high inflation. [03:51.56]I'm Ashley Thompson. [03:53.08]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM