The Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. MONDAY OCTOBER 23rd, 1939. WHAT DOES LABOUR DAY MEAN?

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 1, Issue 78, 23 October 1939, Page 4

The Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. MONDAY OCTOBER 23rd, 1939. WHAT DOES LABOUR DAY MEAN?

DID you know that Labour Day has a significance which is unique in the long struggle initiated by the working classes in the: slow process which led to their ultimate emancipation? The foregoing reads like a paragraph from our Familiar Unknown feature, but we make no excuse for our effort to sketch briefly the facts and movement leading up to the declaration of the popular holiday. That in New Zealand the weather has the habit of being unkind, does not serve to dampen the spirits of the holiday-makers or to detract from the fact that Labour Day as an institution is now a permanently installed break recognised by employers and employees as a land mark in industrial and economic progress. The holiday was instituted to mark the first passing of the legislation which introduced the eight-hour working day in 1904. This very important step loomed large •$n the eyes of the world at the time and as usual was fought and won in the British Commonwealth. In spite of the dreary forecasts by industrialists, who said that the limitation of a working day to eight hours, was going to ruin the country, the bill was finally passed, to the great jubilation of the rank and file: throughout the land. With the initiation of the new regime, and in response to the popular clamour at the time, 'The Eight-hour Day' became an official holiday, given over to celebrations, processions, and sports meetings. There wa.s a slight divergence of opinion in the first instance, as to whether the workers should be permitted to use the day as a demonstration for the labour victory, but the spirit in which it was observed quickly overcame all opposition and it was not long before employers of labour combined in making the day as memorable as possible. The old title was dropped as the years went by and the holiday became simply ■ —Labour Day, a day set aside to mark the beginning of a wider better understanding, between labour and capital, and the recognition of the rights of both sides in the matter of hours and working conditions. Who cannot recall the colourful procession which were a feature of the pre-war Labour Days. In many instances it was definitely a children's day, the youngsters for miles being transported to the cities to see the string of decorated floats, the bands and the parade of figures which in many instances stretched a mile along the main thoroughfares. The event was largely commercialised as time went on, but in spite of obvious advertisements it was none the less spectacular and never failed to draw great crowds. The war was the turning point. Dropped in 1914 the processions were not resurrected with the cessation of hostilities, and Labour. Day became merely the holiday,

sucsi as we see today. There are the races, excursions, sports meetings, but the excitement of the processions are a thing: of the past.