Hard Labour

 

 

Hard Labour

 

If you are part of the current Labour Government and saturated with power you don’t know what to do with, you could be forgiven for thinking every day is Labour Day.

Ego and immaturity play games like that.

If you live in Auckland, and in the 11^th week of lockdown, you can be forgiven for thinking that Labour has had its day and it is time to move on.

Of course, there is only one Labour Day, and that is next Monday, extending the weekend by one day.

Sadly, for you in Auckland and to a lesser extent the rest of us in New Zealand, it will be a hard Labour Day. Variable restrictions on movement and gatherings  still apply, the spectres of non-compliance and illegal cross-border travel will increase, and the tourism and hospitality sectors will continue to stagnate, despite this so-called and erstwhile “holiday”.

It used to be a great day, the first after the winter and the harbinger of summer.

It was when we planted tomatoes.

It also used to be a celebration of the eight-hour working day, though this is largely forgotten, as is the actuality of a working day for many in our community.

But a celebration it was and will be again. And it is one we New Zealanders can be justly proud.

New Zealand was among the first countries in the world to adopt the eight-hour day and it was instigated by a Wellington builder called Samuel Parnell. For those of you reading this on the blog, that is the dude up top with the enviable sideburns.

In 1840, local shipping agent George Hunter commissioned Parnell to build him a new store.

Parnell accepted the commission but added a proviso.

These reportedly are his exact words:

“But I must make this condition… that on the job the hours shall only be eight for the day… There are twenty-four hours per day given us; eight of these should be for work, eight for sleep, and the remaining eight for recreation and in which for me to do what little things they want for themselves.”

Hunter replied that in London, workers were expected to be on site for 6am.

“We’re not in London,” replied Parnell.

That truism saw the instigation of the eight-hour working day, which we celebrate on Monday. It became official in 1899.

And so, we have a holiday on Monday, thanks to Mr Parnell. How much of a holiday in lockdown will depend on what we make of it. To make the best of it will require ingenuity and imagination. The good news is that is exactly what we are good at—being imaginative, innovative, being ourselves, not what the government wants us to be.

Enjoy the holiday, make it your own.