This year Monday 22nd October is a public holiday – Labour Day. It’s really cool to get a day off school, but do you know why we have a public holiday called Labour Day?
The NZ History website as all the info you need. New Zealand was one of the first countries in the world to have an 8 hour working day. Before then most people worked a lot longer than 8 hours in a day – sometimes, 10 or 12 hours or more. We got our 8 hour day because a man named Samuel Parnell decided that he would only accept a new job as a carpenter if he could only work 8 hours per day. After that more people demanded 8 hour working days and to celebrate people took a day off work and marched in parades on October 28th 1890 – New Zealand’s first Labour Day. the marches also had the effect of putting pressure on the government to make laws to protect workers. Labour Day holiday was unofficial until 1899, when it officially became a public holiday.
Labour Day is celebrated every year on the 4th Monday in October, and it’s a chance for us to celebrate workers’ rights – the hours we work, the pay we get, and our unions. Many countries don’t have laws and rights to protect workers like we do in New Zealand, and New Zealand was one of the first countries on the world to have an 8 hour working day.
If you’d like to find out more about Labour Day, Wellington Author Kevin Boon has written a great book full of pictures, facts and info.
this has really helped me finbish my labour day my project