Celebrate Labour Day by doing absolutely nothing

Today we wake up anticipating the delights the next few days will offer. It's Friday. We're anticipating a couple of days of rest and recreation as we head into the weekend.

Even more delicious is the prospect of a three day weekend. In Victoria, there's a public holiday on Monday that we call Labour Day. But if you asked most people they'd probably tell you they either didn't know what it is called, or what it is for, and some might say it's a holiday for Melbourne's street festival Moomba.

The origins of the holiday belong to the stonemasons working on major Melbourne construction sites in 1856. Sites like the University of Melbourne and Parliament House.

With leaders fresh from industrial battles in England, and encouraged by successful eight hour day campaigns on building sites in New South Wales and New Zealand, the Melbourne stonemasons fought for and won an enduring eight hour day. It endured in two ways that the earlier successes didn't. The eight hour day won by these men was cemented by legislation passed in the Victorian Parliament, and the entitlement flowed on to men and women working in industries other than construction.

One of the chief complaints of the 1856 stonemasons was that lugging and cutting large stones in the Australian sun for ten to twelve hours a day was hot work. The health and safety concerns were genuine, and should have been enough to warrant the granting of the eight hour day. But it was also about more than that. These men took the fight up because they believed workers should enjoy a balance of work, rest and recreation in equal measure. Eight hours work. Eight hours rest. Eight hours play. It was also about workers exercising a degree of control over the hours they worked.

To mark the achievement of the stonemasons for all workers, the Victorian Government declared an Eight Hours Day public holiday. It was originally celebrated in April each year, and the streets of Melbourne would fill with workers and their families, who would cheer on a parade of unionists marching with hand painted banners or riding vehicles or floats decorated with exquisite detail, portraying the work of a particular industy or group of workers.

In the mid-nineteenth century, the celebration changed.

The date of the annual march was moved from April to the second Monday in March, and workers who had previously marched under union banners or with union floats, began participating in displays by the fast growing companies of the times. Arnotts. Redhead Matches and Myer. When sponsorship of the parade became available, the annual parade was for a long time known as the Myer Moomba Parade.

Just as the Eight Hour Day holiday changed over time, so have our working lives.

Who among us can say that we work for only eight hours each day. Can you think of anyone who manages eight hours of play or pure recreation each day?

And even when we're not physically at work, a whole bunch of us are thinking about work. Whether we are small business operators, company directors, or employees.

The line between our lives outside of work, and our working lives has never been more blurry. For a lot of people, technology has blurred the line completely.

And what of our working hours? Is an Eight Hour Day a reality? And is 9 to 5 everyone's reality? Not if you're a shift worker. Not if you're on call. Not if you're part time or casual. Not if you run your own business. Not if you play in a band. Or perform theatre. Or work in hospitality. Or retail. Or health care. And you're definitely not a 9 to 5 worker if you're a parent or a carer.

Our world of work has changed so much. But should that mean the ideals of the Victorian stonemasons 154 years ago are dead? I don't think so. I know we can't turn back the clock, and that a purely prescriptive approach to one part of our lives doesn't work for everyone. But I do think we all need to get some kind of equitable division of work, rest and play for our continued wellbeing and enjoyment of life.

So on this second Monday of March, our Labour Day, I'm going to celebrate by doing absolutely nothing. I'm not going to do any work of any description (especially unpaid housework), and I'm not going to think about work. Anything that feels even vaguely like a chore is just not going to get done. In fact, there's a remote possibility that I won't even get out of bed on that day. On this long weekend, I'll be taking my share of rest in one big chunk!

Happy Labour Day.

More info: www.8hourday.org.au