Labour Day - then and now

Labour Day commemorates the campaign by workers for an eight-hour working day which began in the 1840s. It was first celebrated in NZ on 28 October 1890 when parades were held by trade union members and supporters in the main centres. The Labour Day Act of 1899 created a statutory public holiday on the second Wednesday in October, which was first celebrated in 1900. Under the Public Holidays Act of 3 December 1910, the holiday was 'Mondayised' and held on the fourth Monday in October beginning in 1911. In various other countries, the first day of May is commemorated as the annual holiday celebrating the union movement and is called May Day. Nowadays, Labour Day is regarded in diverse ways, as captured by cartoonists and news media.

Read more:                                                                                                                                                                                                 'Labour Day', URL: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/labour-day (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 27-Oct-2020)

8-hour working day movement began 1840

Wellington carpenter Samuel Duncan Parnell is credited with starting the eight-hour working day movement in NZ in 1840. When sailing from London to NZ, Parnell had met shipping agent George Hunter on board. After arriving in NZ on 8 Feb 1840, Hunter asked him to build a store on Lambton Quay. Parnell would agree only on the condition that the working day was a maximum of eight hours and said he'd be available from 8am. 

Why 8 hours?

Samuel Parnell was said to have argued,

"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 and in which for men to do what little things they want for themselves."  

Dividing the day into three equal eight-hour parts echoed the phrase coined by Welsh manufacturer and labour rights activist Robert Owen in 1817: “Eight hours labor, eight hours recreation, eight hours rest.”  [See: Herbert Roth.  'Parnell, Samuel Duncan', Dictionary of New Zealand  Biography, first published in 1990. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New  Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/1p7/parnell-samuel-duncan]

Otago movement for an 8-hour working day

Newspaper articles conjectured that whilst Parnell led the way in Wellington, there was also a movement underway in Otago. The Otago Association adopted 8 hour working day in 1845.  

Eight hours movement gains momentum

Samuel Parnell canvassed new migrants arriving at the Post of Nicholson to resist those employers who wanted to impose longer working hours. This led to a meeting of Wellington workmen in October 1840 where, on the motion of William Taylor, seconded by Edwin Ticehurst, they resolved to work eight hours a day, from 8am to 5pm.

Following an investigation into the employment of women, the Employment of Females Act was passed in 1873 making it illegal to employ women for more than eights hours a day. Five years later, the Report of the Royal Commission Appointed to Inquire Into the Working of The Employment of Females Acts (AJHR, 1878, 2, H-2, p. 2) stated that women had expressed their gratitude for the Act as the common belief was that women could not "combine together as workmen do in their trade union to protect themselves and limit the hours of labour".  The Act was later extended in 1881 to also apply the eight hour working day to children. 

During 1880s, the eight-hour working day had become the custom for tradesmen and labourers. However, some workers were employed for longer hours, including seamen, farm labourers, and hotel, restaurant and shop employees. [See: Herbert Roth. 'Parnell, Samuel Duncan', Dictionary of New Zealand  Biography, first published in 1990. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New  Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/1p7/parnell-samuel-duncan] Beginning in 1882, a series of Bills were submitted to Parliament during 1880s to legalise the eight-hour day, but were unsuccessful.

Trade union campaign introduced parades: 1890 - 1899

A trade union campaign to force the Government to restrict working hours by law rather than custom led to the introduction of a parade on 28 October 1890. The floats represented different trades, and the banners carried union slogans.  Various Bills continueed to be submitted to Parliament to legalise the eight-hour day, but failed to gain parliamentary approval.  

Labour Day Act 1899

Although the Government was reluctant to enforce the eight-hour working day by law,  it did pass the Labour Day Act 1899 to establish a statutory public holiday on the second Wednesday in October, which was first celebrated in 1900. 

Labour Day holiday: 1900 - 1909 (Celebrated 2nd Wednesday in October)

A. Parades

The floats continued to represent different trades, and the banners carried union slogans. 

B: Sporting & recreational activities

The parades were followed by a mix of leisure activities.

C.  Increased momentum for Labour Day observance

Public Holidays Act (3 Dec 1910): Labour Day to move from 2nd Wednesday to 4th Monday in October

Labour Day since 1911: Held 4th Monday in Oct 

Labour Day parades less of a public feature by 1920s

By the 1920s, Labour Day parades became less of a public feature. Instead, Labour Day was increasingly regarded as just another holiday with a range of recreational pursuits, sports and conferences taking place over the three-day weekend.

May Day held overseas on 1 May also began to be observed by some workers

Some trades had also begun promoting May Day (1 May) as a day off work which is observed in several countries. May Day, also called 'Workers' Day' or 'International Workers' Day', commemorates the struggles and gains made by the working class and the labour movement. (See: Britannica: May Day). Coal miners in the Waikato district, for example, had been observing May Day as a workers' holiday since the early 1920s.

Increasing focus from 8-hour day to a 40-hour week by 1930s

By 1930s, the 8-hour day became the standard in many industries and there was a changing focus of Labour Day celebrations from processions to sports, horse racing and picnics. However, many workers were required to work longer than five days a week. This led to an increasing focus on introducing the forty-hour week and the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Amendment Act 1936 was introduced. Although the 8-hour working day is not set out in that Act or subsequent legislation, it’s implicit as a maximum 40-hour, five-day work week is the norm for employment agreement. See: Minimum Wage Act 1983 and the Employment Relations Act 2000.

 Labour Day sentiments of today captured in cartoons

Labour Weekend news: Weather, Sales, Traffic queues & Road accidents 

What's happened to the battle for the 8-hour day? 

Tributes to Samuel Parnell

After Samuel Parnell died on 17 December 1890, thousands of people attended his public funeral. He is buried at Bolton Street Memorial Park in Wellington and his grave is part of the memorial trail.  (See: Friends of Bolton Street Cemetery)

FIND OUT MORE

This DigitalNZ story was updated in September 2024