The New Zealand-wide holiday in October each year commemorates efforts by workers to make eight hours the standard working day.
Achieving 'work-life balance' is still an elusive goal for many of us. But one day a year is enshrined in New Zealand law as a time to relax and to reflect on the efforts made by trade unions to get this balance.
Labour Day became a nationwide holiday in 1900, after Parliament passed the Labour Day Act 1899. This made the second Wednesday in October a statutory public holiday. The date was later ‘Mondayised’ by the Public Holidays Act of 1910, and moved to the fourth Monday in October.
How did Labour Day come about?
The Wellington carpenter Samuel Parnell is generally credited with being the first person in New Zealand to take a stand for work-life balance by insisting on an 8-hour working day. In 1840 he reportedly told a prospective employer:
“There are twenty-four hours per day given us; eight of these should be for work, eight for sleep, and the remaining eight for recreation…”
Parnell encouraged other tradesmen to adopt his approach, and unions campaigned for an 8-hour day. The first official “labour demonstration day” was celebrated on 28 October 1890. The Government supported parades in the main centres by union members and supporters, giving public servants the day off to attend. Many businesses closed for the event.
How the law evolved
The Employment of Females Act of 1873 made it illegal to employ women for more than eight hours in any one day. This was extended to children in the Employment of Females and Others Act of 1881, and to boys and youth—except in times of emergency— in the Coal Mines Act of 1891.
Various attempts during the 1880s and 1890s to set the 8-hour day more widely in law failed to get parliamentary approval.
Over time, the 8-hour day became the standard in many industries. However, it was often based on a six- or seven-day week, and many workers were still required to work longer than 40 hours a week. The 40-hour week became a focus, and eventually this was brought into legislation by the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Amendment Act 1936.
Nowadays, although the 8-hour working day is not set in legislation, it’s implicit in the Minimum Wage Act 1983, which sets out a maximum 40-hour, five-day work week as the norm for employment agreements.
NZHistory
Photo Credit : https://unsplash.com/photos/a-...