28 April 2021
“No progressive social change that I can think of (think workers’ rights, women’s reproductive rights, climate justice, marriage equality), has come from above,’’ said social justice advocate Dr John Falzon, OAM.
“They come from ordinary people on the ground … always a collective movement under the guiding star of struggle and hope,’’ he says.
This May Day, May 1, help us celebrate the eight-hour working day and all the enhanced working conditions won by labour movements and working-class men and women around the world.
ANMF (SA Branch) members are invited to meet at the SA Maritime Museum, 126 Lipson St, Port Adelaide, at 12.30pm for a 1pm start.
We will march to the May Day community event outside the Waterside Workers Hall in Nile St, Port Adelaide. The family-friendly event will have bands, speeches, an auction, food trucks, bars, a petting zoo and an ANMF stall.
Festivities, which end at 5pm, will also commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Port Adelaide’s Workers Memorial, located at the corner of St Vincent St and Commercial Rd.
The Port Adelaide Workers Memorial was initiated to honour the memory of the labour pioneers associated with Port Adelaide who established unions and campaigned for the 40-hour week. Its founders also intended it as a beacon of justice to inspire future generations to continue to work for a fairer world and a better quality of life for working people.
May Day was borne out the American labour movement of the late 19th Century. In an attempt to end inhumane working conditions, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor held a convention in Chicago in 1884, proclaiming “eight hours shall constitute a legal day’s labour from and after May 1, 1886”.
On May 1, 1886, more than 300,000 workers (40,000 in Chicago alone) from 13,000 business walked out of their jobs across the country. In the following days, more workers joined and the number of strikers grew to almost 100,000.
Overall, the protests were peaceful, but that all changed on May 3 where Chicago police and workers clashed at the McCormick Reaper Works. The next day a rally was planned at Haymarket Square to protest the killing and wounding of several workers by police.
The speaker, August Spies, was finishing up when a group of officers arrived to disperse the 80,000-strong crowd. As the police advanced, a person who was never identified threw a bomb into their ranks. Chaos ensued, and at least seven police officers and eight civilians died as a result of the violence that day.
Seven anarchist scapegoats were arrested and four of them hanged. A fifth killed himself to cheat the noose and two others were sentenced to life terms in prison.
A few years after the Haymarket Riot and subsequent trials shocked the world, a newly formed coalition of socialist and labour parties in Europe called for a demonstration to honour the “Haymarket Martyrs.” In 1890, over 300,000 people protested at a May Day rally in London.
The workers’ history of May 1 was eventually embraced by many governments worldwide.
In Australia, the eight-hour working day was actually won by Victoria’s stonemasons as far back as 1856. On April 21 that year they downed tools and walked off the job, protesting lack of action on their demands for reduced working hours. They not only achieved an unexpected victory but also won the same wage they had previously been paid for 10 hours’ work.
It was the first of a long, hard-fought series of victories that led to Australia having one of the most progressive labour environments in the world by the early 20th century.
Initially only a minority of workers, mainly in the building trades, won the eight-hour day. Most workers, including women and children, generally worked longer hours for less pay.
The fight for working conditions continued throughout the 19th century. It was not until 1916 that the Eight Hours Act was passed in Victoria and New South Wales.
It would not be until January 1948 that the Commonwealth Arbitration Court approved a 40-hour, five-day working week for all Australians.
Unions continue to campaign to improve working conditions, with the ANMF (SA Branch) last year securing members protection of existing working rights, job security and wage increases – against a backdrop of uncertainty and economic disruption which resulted in wages frozen interstate.
On May Day we celebrate the struggles of the past but importantly commit to improve the rights and entitlements of workers today and in the future.
Please note at this year’s May Day event we require strict adherence with COVID regulations. Physical distancing of 1.5m and contract tracing via QR code will apply. Masks are encouraged.
Sources: The History Channel/National Museum of Australia/Maritime Union of Australia