Eight-hour Day

On 21 April 1856, stonemasons in Melbourne, Victoria, walked off the job and marched to the Parliament building in support of establishing an eight-hour workday. Their actions succeeded in reducing the working hours of masons and marked the first victory in the eight-hour-day movement. Other building trade unions followed suit, and eight-hour days were expanded to other workers over the next sixty years. In 1916, Victoria and New South Wales passed the Eight Hours Act. The national government made the eight-hour day and five-day week official in 1948.

Background

Australia's colonial workforce in the early nineteenth century consisted of convicts, free settlers and government workers. Convicts provided free labour for farms and construction projects. They typically were subject to strict discipline and severe punishment; any rebellion or misconduct could extend their imprisonment. Some convicts could work for themselves or private employers, but any misdeed could revoke that right. This created an advantageous work climate for employers, but one in which workers, convict or free, were subject to harsh conditions and had limited ability to negotiate. They typically worked long hours—often fourteen hours a day or more, six days a week—for low pay.

In the early 1830s, skilled workers in several trades, such as cabinet makers and shipwrights, formed unions to improve working conditions but had little success. For example, when printing compositors went on strike in 1840, the government used convicts to replace the compositors. In 1844, the Early Closing Movement formed. Its goal was to reduce working hours from fourteen to twelve hours a day. By this time, the colony of Tasmania alone still transported convicts. This led to a shortage of workers, which helped to improve workers' bargaining position and led to greater support for a shorter working day.

The discovery of gold in Victoria in 1851—and subsequent increased migration—further increased support for a shorter working day. Many newcomers were from Great Britain, where a labour movement had produced the growth of trade unions and collective bargaining. Scottish reformer Robert Owen had introduced the idea of a standard eight-hour workday as early as 1817, and the concept had been taken up by various groups. Their influence helped to inspire a similar labour movement in Australia.

Workers were especially receptive due to an unstable working environment and harsh conditions. After the initial discovery of gold, many would-be prospectors returned from the fields, increasing the labour pool. This resulted in lower wages and wage fluctuations, particularly for workers in the building trades. At the same time, construction boomed because of the need to house the growing population and expanding institutions, with high-profile projects including the Parliament House and the University of Melbourne. Building trade workers did especially strenuous labour and toiled long hours in the heat. They wanted to improve their working conditions but, like their earlier counterparts, had little bargaining power.

The Stonemasons' Strike and March

In the early 1850s, James Stephens, a stonemason who had emigrated from Great Britain, became a leader in Victoria's growing labour movement. A veteran of the Chartist movement, which fought for fairer government representation, he had experience organising social causes. He helped re-establish the Operative Masons' Society, which had been dormant during the gold rush, and the group held a meeting on 4 February 1853 in Clark's Hotel in Melbourne. At this meeting, masons agreed to ask building contractors to limit the working day to eight hours, and they adopted the popular slogan "eight hours labour, eight hours recreation, eight hours rest". The masons formed a committee to meet and negotiate with contractors.

At first the talks were unproductive, and frustration among the masons grew. On 26 March 1856, members of the Operative Masons' Society met and decided they would act on 21 April if they could not effect an agreement with the building contractors before then. By this time, the eight-hour day had gained the support of all building trades in Melbourne, and workers across the trades were considering a strike if contractors refused to reduce the workday to eight hours.

Negotiations between the masons and employers indeed did fail before the deadline. On 21 April, Stephens encouraged stonemasons constructing buildings at the University of Melbourne to walk off the job. The workers laid down their tools and marched to the Parliament House. Along the way, masons at other worksites stopped work and joined the procession. The march ended at the Belvedere Hotel, where they enjoyed a banquet dinner.

Contractors and government officials conducted negotiations with greater intent over the next several months and eventually agreed to grant stonemasons on public works an eight-hour day for the same wages as a ten-hour day. This reduced their overall workweek from sixty hours to forty-eight hours. Inspired by the masons' success, other building trade unions negotiated their own agreements and, one by one, were granted eight-hour days.

Impact

The stonemasons' victory was celebrated with a parade and other festivities on 12 May 1856, drawing hundreds of people from a variety of building trades. Originally known as the Eight Hours Procession, the parade became a tradition and was held in Melbourne for more than ninety years. In honour of the origins of the eight-hour day and workers' efforts to improve working conditions, Victoria's government enacted a paid public holiday in 1879. It was renamed Labour Day in 1934 and continues to be celebrated nationally under various names and on different dates.

The stonemasons' activism strengthened trade unionism in Australia and internationally, led to the formation of the Australian Labor Party, and laid the foundation for government's policies and citizens' expectations on worker-employee issues. Limiting the number of hours in the workday fostered recognition of factors beyond actual labour and profits that ensure a fair system for both employees and employers. However, the stonemasons' strike initially only won a shorter day for a narrow segment of the workforce. Other workers, including child labourers, faced an ongoing fight for fair labour practices. The eight-hour day was not officially adopted into law in New South Wales and Victoria until 1916 and federally until 1948.

Bibliography

Allam, Laura. "The Rise and Fall of the 8 Hour Day: Part One - 888." Hindsight, ABC Radio National, 19 Sept. 2010, www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/hindsight/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-8-hour-day-part-one--888/2987598. Accessed 25 Oct. 2017.

Allam, Laura. "The Rise and Fall of the 8 Hour Day: Part Two, the Trade-Off." Hindsight, ABC Radio National, 26 Sept. 2010, www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/hindsight/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-8-hour-day-part-two-the/2986322. Accessed 25 Oct. 2017.

Bauer, Stephen, and Alfred Maylander. "The Road to the Eight-Hour Day." Monthly Labour Review, vol. 9, no. 2, 1919, pp. 41–65.

Choahan, Neelima. "Labour Day: Why You Have the Day Off." The Age,14 Mar. 2016, www.theage.com.au/victoria/labour-day-why-you-have-the-day-off-20160311-gngu0u.html. Accessed 25 Oct. 2017.

Davies, Glenn. "Labour Day: Family, Freedom and a Fair-Go." Independent Australia, 2 May 2011, independentaustralia.net/australia/australia-display/labour-day-family-freedom-and-a-fair-go,3373. Accessed 25 Oct. 2017.

"Eight-Hour Day." National Museum Australia, www.nma.gov.au/online‗features/defining‗moments/featured/eight-hour‗day. Accessed 25 Oct. 2017.

"Origins of the 8-Hour Day" Ergo, State Library of Victoria, ergo.slv.vic.gov.au/explore-history/fight-rights/workers-rights/origins-8-hour-day. Accessed 25 Oct. 2017.

"Winning the 8-Hour Day." Ergo, State Library of Victoria, ergo.slv.vic.gov.au/explore-history/fight-rights/workers-rights/winning-8-hour-day. Accessed 25 Oct. 2017.