Vientiane celebrates Labour Day

Government officials organised numerous activities yesterday to mark Labour Day, with large crowds gathering at the Patouxay Monument in Vientiane to celebrate the occasion.

Government officials lead a walk from the Patouxay Monument yesterday to mark Labour Day.

Attending the celebrations were Supervisor of Ideology and Cultural Affairs Samane Vinhaket, Vice President of the Lao National Assembly Saysomphone Phomvihane, President of the Lao Front for National Construction Sisavath

Keobounphanh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Thongloun Sisoulith, President of the Lao Trade Union Xayker Yachongtua, and government leaders from various departments.

The activities included an early morning walk starting from the Patouxay Monument , a labour product contest and a sword performance from Pakkayoung village in Thoulakhom district, Vientiane province. Various games were also organised, giving participants the opportunity to win prizes.

After the celebrations were over, thousands of workers from around Vientiane continued to gather at Patouxay with their friends and relatives.

It is a tradition for working people to head to the Patouxay Monument in the early morning on May 1 each year. The well-known landmark has become the central gathering point for people from the provinces who have come to Vientiane to find jobs.

“We usually arrange to meet friends and relatives from my hometown in Huaphan province here because it's a convenient place to get together,” a worker at the Dongpalaeb garment factory, Ms Noy, said yesterday.

Workers usually leave their workplaces in tuk-tuks to gather at friends' houses, where they spend two or three hours relaxing before visiting relatives or friends who live in villages outside the capital.

“Five of my friends will have lunch with their relatives, but I and a friend will go to Xiengkhuan temple, a popular visitor attraction in Vientiane , because I haven't been there before,” Ms Noy said.

Most of the workers who gathered at the monument yesterday came from various garment factories around Vientiane . Students whose homes are in the provinces also met up here, to chat about their experiences of life in the city.

“We used to go to the Taladxao shopping mall or the Lao Internation al Trade Exhibition and Convention Centre but they're not the best places for us because they're quite expensive. It's much easier to meet up at the monument,” said an employee at the Sihom Commerce Centre, Ms Tui.

Hundreds of people from the provinces now working in Vientiane take part in similar activities on Labour Day. Many choose to visit popular places such as Tadmoun waterfall or Xiengkhuan temple but one thing is certain, they will all take a break from their jobs.

By Souknilundon Southivongnorath
(Latest Update May 02, 2008)