Genesis of Labour Day worth remembering

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Source: Labour Party – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Genesis of Labour Day worth remembering

Labour Day is a day to celebrate decent work conditions, epitomised by Samuel Parnell’s courageous refusal in 1840 to work no more than an eight hour day, and a day for us all to commit ourselves to the same values, the Labour Party says.

“Even though we commonly think of the eight hour day and forty hour week as the standard, the reality is a huge proportion of the work force doesn’t have standard hours of work, and a growing number have no certainty or consistency of hours one week to the next,” the Party’s Labour issues spokesperson Andrew Little said.

“Parnell represented the idea that for our own health and welfare and for the good of society we should be free to exercise some control over our work lives.

“Sadly, the unrelenting pressure of employers and their handmaidens in successive conservative governments over many years have eroded the idea that there should be limits on the working day and protection of fair conditions at work.

“The reality is that after twenty years of one of the most deregulated labour markets in the developed world, productivity in New Zealand has grown less than in most other countries and incomes have remained the same or gone down for nearly half the workforce.

“Everything the present government is doing on workplace law is making it harder for working people to have a say, have some control over their work lives, and get ahead.”

This Labour weekend also marks the centenary of a defining dispute in our industrial history, the 1913 waterfront dispute, Mr Little said.

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“Workers in 1913 took industrial action because their wages were not keeping up and they couldn’t get ahead, and when taking action they found their jobs taken by others.

“There are parallels today with many workers struggling to get pay rises in the face of the growing cost of living, and a government about to legislate to allow employers to replace workers taking industrial action.

“We have a lot to reflect on this weekend and the big question remains ‘what will we do to make working life fairer?  Labour remains committed to making real change in our labour laws in order to give workers a voice, to improve wages and ensure fair conditions. Samuel Parnell would have expected nothing less.”

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