Victorian Trades Hall Council. The voice of Victorian workers since 1856.Victorian Trades Hall Council. The voice of Victorian workers since 1856.

Trades Hall welcomes 8 hour day funding

On Labour Day, Victorian Trades Hall Council Secretary Leigh Hubbard welcomed the announcement of State Government support for next year's 8 hour day anniversary celebrations and the focus they will bring on contemporary issues of working time.

March 2006 will mark the 150th anniversary of the 8 hour day, a world first in the struggle for a fair split between work, rest and play.

'We are delighted by today's announcement of funding for a range of projects and exhibitions which explore both the history and the current significance of the 8 hour day movement. Working hours are a major issue facing Australian society. Australian workers work the largest number of unpaid overtime hours of any OECD country and the negative impact this is having on people's quality of life is evident,' Mr Hubbard said.

'And if the Federal Government has its way, this situation will only get worse. It's unthinkable that we have come full circle, but it is clearly the intention of the Howard Government to wind back all the progressive changes the trade union movement has fought for over the last 150 years and to make Australian workers work harder, longer and for less pay,' he declared.

In 1856 Victorian stonemasons won an eight-hour day, a landmark, world-first achievement. Now workers are facing industrial changes that threaten to strip them of these, and other, hard-won rights.

'The problems of long working hours or short, precarious hours will be exacerbated as employers are given more control. That means less time with the kids and for community activities' said Mr Hubbard.

'And given that the Federal Government intends to introduce a range of changes that will effectively mean people will earn less than they do now, the only way parents will be able to pay the bills is by working more overtime or getting a second or third job, therefore leaving less time to spend with their families,' he commented.

'We are grateful to the State Government for its generous support and hope that the anniversary will serve to illuminate this contemporary issue through the proposed projects. We also hope it provides us with a time to reflect on the historical significance of the role the trade union movement has played in improving the lives of working men and women of this state,' Mr Hubbard concluded.

A program of arts event and exhibitions will begin on next year's Labour Day holiday.

· $40,000 would go to the conservation of four nationally significant Eight Hour Day and Trade Union banners. The banners, which will be displayed at Melbourne Museum as part of the 888 anniversary celebrations, were carried in Eight Hour Day (later renamed Labour Day) parades in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by members of the United Ironworkers, Boot Trade Employees, Tramway Employees and Metalworkers unions.

· The Australian Centre for the Moving Image will commission and exhibit a major media work by an emerging artist exploring the theme of work, rest and play and will run digital storytelling workshops where workers will be able to record their own experiences of balancing work with the rest of their lives.

· $30,000 will go to Melbourne Workers' Theatre to create a major community theatre work titled We built this city, which will be led by Donna Jackson and Mark Seymour (Hunters and Collectors).

· Major conferences at RMIT and Melbourne Universities exploring both the history of the shorter hours movement and the working-time issues facing Australian workers at the start of the 21st century.

· Education kits for primary and secondary students and a prize for student projects.

· A re-enactment of the April 21 1856 march of building workers from the University of Melbourne to Parliament House. The march will include reproductions of historic banners.

· Major exhibitions of archival material held by the University of Melbourne and the State Library.

The 150th anniversary program will bring together key organisations including the Australian Centre for the Moving Image; City of Melbourne; Melbourne Workers Theatre; Museum Victoria; RMIT University: Centre for Applied Social Research; State Library of Victoria; University of Melbourne's Ian Potter Museum, Australian Centre and History Department; and Victorian Trades Hall Council.


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