Regional/Cultural Day
Fête du Travail
The trade unions march in Nouakchott, with demands including a higher minimum wage (about $90 per month), an end to worker exploitation, and protection of workers' rights. The march is both celebration and protest, with signs in Arabic, French, and Hassaniya Arabic. The Syndicat National des Travailleurs de Mauritanie has a long history of activism, and the march often includes Haratin activists protesting the lingering effects of slavery : Mauritania was the last country in the world to abolish slavery (1981) and the last to criminalize it (2007), and anti-slavery organizations like IRA (Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement) use May 1 to highlight continuing forced labor and hereditary servitude.