The time of their lives: The eight hour day and working life

Lyn Beaton; Margo Beasley; Drew Cottle; Angela Keys; Helen Masterman-Smith; Charles Fahey; John Lack; Patricia Grimshaw; Nell Musgrove; Shurlee Swain; Bobbie Oliver

The time of their lives: The eight hour day and working life

Lyn Beaton, Margo Beasley, Drew Cottle, Angela Keys, Helen Masterman-Smith, Charles Fahey, John Lack, Patricia Grimshaw, Nell Musgrove, Shurlee Swain, Bobbie Oliver

School of Humanities

Research output: Book/Report › Other book › peer-review

Abstract

On 21 April 1856 Melbourne building workers won an industry-wide agreement to establish the Eight Hour Day. In the 150 years since then the slogan ‘Eight Hours Labour, Eight Hours Recreation, Eight Hours Rest’ has symbolised workers’ efforts to take control over the time of their lives and, in doing so, strike an equitable balance between work, rest and play. It was an assertion that they were not simply ‘operatives’ in a labour market, but also family members and citizens in what they hoped could become a civilised community.
This book offers historical perspectives on that continuing campaign, to give readers a long-term context for our current debates over the work/life balance and power in the workplace.

Original language	English
Place of Publication	Melbourne
Publisher	Australian Society for the Study of Labour History
Volume	1
Edition	1
ISBN (Print)	978-0-9803883-0-5
Publication status	Published - 2007

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This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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ER -

The time of their lives: The eight hour day and working life

Abstract

UN SDGs

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