- International Workers Day, or May Day, falls on May 1 each year and is celebrated by workers around the world
- Millions of craftsmen are seeing their way of life become obsolete thanks to the development of technology
- Professions from watch-makers to rickshaw pullers are disappearing rapidly as the skills are no longer needed
From butchers to bakers and candlestick makers, May Day is a celebration of all things worker-related.
The annual festival, which falls on May 1 and is known in some countries as International Workers Day, is marked across the globe with public holidays and street parties.
But for some hard grafters – the occasion is a solemn reminder that their jobs may not be around forever.
Globalization and rapidly developing technology has rendered millions of craftsmen and their trades almost obsolete.
Shoe makers, washer-women, rickshaw pullers and even photographers have all seen their ways of life come under threat in recent years.
So as extinction looks all the more likely for some of the more obscure professions – we take a look at the world’s vanishing trades.
70-year-old Dragan Dragas has been mending and making intricate watches in Belgrade, Serbia for over five decades in total
Delia Veloz, 74, is a washerwoman from Ecuador who is tasked with hanging out thousands of garments for four dollars a day
Greek shoemaker Simeon Simeonidis poses in his shop in central Athens where he mends thousands of pieces of footwear
Joel Estrella has been offering his photography services to tourists in a park in the Filipino capital of Manilla since 1970
49-year-old Lizie da Silva has been working as a lift operator in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil since 1997 but thinks her job will not be around for much longer
Iain Bell is employed as a gas lamp lighter engineer for British Gas – he is pictured here lighting street lamps in Westminster as part of his daily work
Mario Olavo Campanha has owned a video rental store in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for several years but has seen his business sharply decline thanks to online streaming
Mohammad Ashgar, 65, is a rickshaw puller in the Indian city of Kolkata, but has been undercut by motorised taxis offering faster services
Wu Chi-kai is a neon sign maker in the city of Hong Kong where darkness never really falls thanks to 24-hour artificial lighting
News stand owners have struggled in recent years thanks to the prevalence of online journalism – this vendor in Athens has seen a steady decline in trade
Even photographers have struggled against the tide of new technology – those specialising in pre-digital development methods, like Vicky Luthra from New Delhi (pictured), are losing demand
Uruguayan clock-keeper Abdel Ghaffar posing in the tower of Montevideo’s cathedral in the centre of the historic South American city
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