It is not uncommon in today’s world to hear about labour strikes happening all over. Unfair pay, long hours, twisted wage gaps, and more can cause a group of workers to simply refuse their jobs and go on ‘strike’.

With the formations of unions and expectations of higher wages and better benefits, jobs can sometimes seem somewhat unstable, and strikes have proven to be a way for workers to get the fairness they want and deserve

With the commonality of labour strikes today, it might be difficult to think of a time where they simply didn’t exist, but have you ever wondered about how labour strikes actually started?

The world’s first recorded labour strike occurred in ancient Egypt, in 1152 B.C. The strike was recorded under the rule of Pharaoh Ramses III, during the coming of the iron age in Egypt. Artisans at the time were working on the tombs in the Valley of the Kings.

The workers’ demands at the time were not as technical as the sort of demands we may hear of today. Where today it is not uncommon for workers to demand things like higher wages, the labourers during the first recorded strike were exasperated due to delays, and quite simply, hunger.

Exhaustion set in for the labourers of Ramses III that was brought on by delays in their supplies. Just like that, the workers laid down their tools, walked off the job, and refused to continue their work until their demands were met.