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Photos: On Labour Day, jobs around the world pulling a vanishing act

Updated On May 01, 2018 11:14 AM IST

May 1 is marked as International Labour Day or May Day. Its origins lie in the labour union movement in the United States where an eight-hour day labour movement advocated eight hours for work, recreation, and rest each. Labour Day celebrates the achievements of those workers. An annual public holiday in many countries, it is referred to as Antarrashtriya Shramik Diwas or Kamgar Din in India. For May Day, AFP spoke to men and women around the globe whose jobs are becoming increasingly rare, particularly as technology transforms societies.

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Mohammad Ashgar, 65, is a rickshaw puller in Kolkata, India. A mainstay of 19th century transportation, the hand-pulled rickshaw survives in India only in Kolkata. Ashgar is among a dying breed still eking a living from this back-breaking labour. Their numbers are declining as pulled rickshaws are relegated to history, usurped by autorickshaws, Kolkata’s famous yellow taxis and modern conveniences like Uber. (Dibyangshu Sarkar / AFP)

Updated on May 01, 2018 11:14 AM IST

Mohammad Ashgar, 65, is a rickshaw puller in Kolkata, India. A mainstay of 19th century transportation, the hand-pulled rickshaw survives in India only in Kolkata. Ashgar is among a dying breed still eking a living from this back-breaking labour. Their numbers are declining as pulled rickshaws are relegated to history, usurped by autorickshaws, Kolkata’s famous yellow taxis and modern conveniences like Uber. (Dibyangshu Sarkar / AFP)

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Delia Veloz’s hands have almost lost their fingerprints from the constantly rubbing dirty clothes against rough stones at an old public laundry in Quito, Equador. The 74-year-old is one of few people left in Ecuador who still undertake the demanding work of a washerwoman -- a trade which is increasingly rare due to the widespread use of domestic washing machines. (Rodrigo Buendia / AFP)

Updated on May 01, 2018 11:14 AM IST

Delia Veloz’s hands have almost lost their fingerprints from the constantly rubbing dirty clothes against rough stones at an old public laundry in Quito, Equador. The 74-year-old is one of few people left in Ecuador who still undertake the demanding work of a washerwoman -- a trade which is increasingly rare due to the widespread use of domestic washing machines. (Rodrigo Buendia / AFP)

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Inserting a blank sheet into her Remington Sperry, Candelaria Pinilla, 63, starts typing in Bogota, Colombia. Once upon a time, street clerks like her played an essential role -- with public deeds, tax documents and contracts all passing through their hands. And until now, they managed to survive pretty much everything -- except perhaps the advent of the internet. (Luis Acosta / AFP)

Updated on May 01, 2018 11:14 AM IST

Inserting a blank sheet into her Remington Sperry, Candelaria Pinilla, 63, starts typing in Bogota, Colombia. Once upon a time, street clerks like her played an essential role -- with public deeds, tax documents and contracts all passing through their hands. And until now, they managed to survive pretty much everything -- except perhaps the advent of the internet. (Luis Acosta / AFP)

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The lack of running water in Kenya’s poorest neighbourhoods has, for the last 18 years, meant a living for Samson Muli, a water seller in Nairobi. The margins are tiny -- he buys water at five shillings ($0.05) a can and sells for 15, but the job allows him to pay his children’s school fees on time. With Kenya’s gradual development, including piped water, Muli’s profitable days are numbered. (Simon Maina / AFP)

Updated on May 01, 2018 11:14 AM IST

The lack of running water in Kenya’s poorest neighbourhoods has, for the last 18 years, meant a living for Samson Muli, a water seller in Nairobi. The margins are tiny -- he buys water at five shillings ($0.05) a can and sells for 15, but the job allows him to pay his children’s school fees on time. With Kenya’s gradual development, including piped water, Muli’s profitable days are numbered. (Simon Maina / AFP)

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Syed Zafar Shah, 40, runs a gramophone repair operation and sells antique gramophones and vinyl records in Old Delhi, India. The primary way to replay audio recordings in the late 19th century, gramophones were steadily relegated to antique status, overtaken in the 20th century by turntables and audio speakers. (Sajjad Hussain / AFP)

Updated on May 01, 2018 11:14 AM IST

Syed Zafar Shah, 40, runs a gramophone repair operation and sells antique gramophones and vinyl records in Old Delhi, India. The primary way to replay audio recordings in the late 19th century, gramophones were steadily relegated to antique status, overtaken in the 20th century by turntables and audio speakers. (Sajjad Hussain / AFP)

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Neon sign maker Wu Chi-kai is one of the last craftsmen of his kind in Hong Kong, a city where darkness never falls thanks to the 24-hour glow of a myriad lights. During his 30 years in the business, neon came to define the urban landscape, advertising everything from restaurants to mahjong parlours. But with the growing popularity of LED lights, demand for specialists like Chi-kai has dimmed. (Philip Fong / AFP)

Updated on May 01, 2018 11:14 AM IST

Neon sign maker Wu Chi-kai is one of the last craftsmen of his kind in Hong Kong, a city where darkness never falls thanks to the 24-hour glow of a myriad lights. During his 30 years in the business, neon came to define the urban landscape, advertising everything from restaurants to mahjong parlours. But with the growing popularity of LED lights, demand for specialists like Chi-kai has dimmed. (Philip Fong / AFP)

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Vicky Luthra, an expert photograph developer and printer, poses with a black and white print in the darkroom at his SV Photographic printing studios in New Delhi, India. In times of digital cameras and platforms to publish images instantly, Luthra caters to photographers still patient enough to wait for a an image’s journey from film to photographic print before the final reveal. (Prakash Singh / AFP)

Updated on May 01, 2018 11:14 AM IST

Vicky Luthra, an expert photograph developer and printer, poses with a black and white print in the darkroom at his SV Photographic printing studios in New Delhi, India. In times of digital cameras and platforms to publish images instantly, Luthra caters to photographers still patient enough to wait for a an image’s journey from film to photographic print before the final reveal. (Prakash Singh / AFP)

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Iain Bell is gas lamp lighter engineer from British Gas, in London, England. 1,500 gas lamps, some of which are 200 years old, continue to light some secret and beautiful corners of the British capital and are maintained by hand by a five-man team, supervised by Bell. (Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP)

Updated on May 01, 2018 11:14 AM IST

Iain Bell is gas lamp lighter engineer from British Gas, in London, England. 1,500 gas lamps, some of which are 200 years old, continue to light some secret and beautiful corners of the British capital and are maintained by hand by a five-man team, supervised by Bell. (Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP)

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Syed Ahmed, 50, owns and operates a letterpress printing machine in Delhi, India. There are only five other such operators in the city according to Ahmed, who says he is the last one in his family working in the tradition. Growing out of the printing press invented by Johannes Gutenberg in the mid-15th century, Letterpress printing remained in wide use for book and newspaper production until overtaken by digital replacements. (Chandan Khanna / AFP)

Updated on May 01, 2018 11:14 AM IST

Syed Ahmed, 50, owns and operates a letterpress printing machine in Delhi, India. There are only five other such operators in the city according to Ahmed, who says he is the last one in his family working in the tradition. Growing out of the printing press invented by Johannes Gutenberg in the mid-15th century, Letterpress printing remained in wide use for book and newspaper production until overtaken by digital replacements. (Chandan Khanna / AFP)

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Nenan Jovanov, 70, literally grew up in this 64 years old “time capsule” perfume shop as the third generation of a family business in Belgrade, Serbia. Nenad says, “There used to be 23 perfume shops of this kind in Belgrade; now I am the only one left.” (Andrej Isakovic / AFP)

Updated on May 01, 2018 11:14 AM IST

Nenan Jovanov, 70, literally grew up in this 64 years old “time capsule” perfume shop as the third generation of a family business in Belgrade, Serbia. Nenad says, “There used to be 23 perfume shops of this kind in Belgrade; now I am the only one left.” (Andrej Isakovic / AFP)

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Surbir Singh, 35, is a shorthand teacher seen here at a stenography centre surrounded by students in Faridabad, India. Shorthand, the nearly two centuries old note taking system was once an essential skill to landing any government job or one in courts and businesses as stenographers. Today, with computers, recorders and apps the skill finds far fewer takers. (Money Sharma / AFP)

Updated on May 01, 2018 11:14 AM IST

Surbir Singh, 35, is a shorthand teacher seen here at a stenography centre surrounded by students in Faridabad, India. Shorthand, the nearly two centuries old note taking system was once an essential skill to landing any government job or one in courts and businesses as stenographers. Today, with computers, recorders and apps the skill finds far fewer takers. (Money Sharma / AFP)

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