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Secretary Soapbox - December 2005

Heritage Calendar 2006 Launch
On the 1st of December last, the Heritage Council of Victoria invited me as Secretary of the VTHC to launch their official Calendar for 2006.  About 100 people attended with Heritage Council Chair Chris Gallagher officiating.
The theme of the Calendar is the 8 Hour Day achievement of the 19th Century and associated trade union banners.  2006 will mark the 150th Anniversary of the 8 Hour day and plans for suitable celebrations and commemoration are well under way.
In 1856 Stonemasons working at Melbourne University marched to Parliament House to press their claims for an eight-hour working day.  This was based on the idea of – 8 hours labour, 8 hours recreation and 8 hours rest.  An agreement was reached with employers for a 48-hour week.
From that year on, a procession was held to celebrate the victory of the eight-hour day where workers marched behind their banners celebrating their historic win.  In 1879 it became a paid public holiday, proclaimed by the Victorian government.
The 8-hour movement provided the impetus for other trade unions to agitate for similar conditions.  In 1903 the Eight Hour monument was erected in Spring St, and then moved in 1923 to its current position, diagonally opposite Trades Hall.  In 1935 the name was changed to Labour Day and after World War II, the date of commemoration moved to the second Monday in March
Although the processions lost impetus, the Moomba parades started in 1955 on the Labour Day holiday.  Trade unions have individually and collectively fought over recent decades to ‘rescue’ labour day back from the trend to commercialism.
The banners depicted on the calendar were often very large, approximately three metres by four metres, mounted and carried behind horse-drawn carriages or on floats.  They often featured paintings on canvas and silk created by skilled artists.
The main banner depicted on the Heritage Council Calendar is the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters & Joiners, Victorian Branch.  One of the many, which symbolised the struggle for equitable working hours.  The design is based on the union’s membership certificate with a complex mix of symbolism, classical figures and realistic work scenes.
The images on the bottom of the Calendar depict various marches through the streets of Victoria celebrating the Eight Hour Day.

It is timely for the union movement to review its colourful and lively history through its restoration of banners and celebrating the achievement of the 8-hour day all those years ago.  With the John Howard Federal Government hell bent on reducing wages and conditions (including hours of work) a review of trade union history and learning from it could be very useful for the struggles ahead.
Brian Boyd

VTHC Secretary