Mitchell - Explanation Draft ( Labour Day )

Have you ever wondered about the day Labour Day? Why do we even celebrate Labour Day? Well today I am going to tell you why Labour Day is celebrated here in our country Aotearoa also known as New Zealand. Well it’s a day people around the world take the day off work. Did you know that New Zealand was one of the first countries in the world to have an 8 hour working day. That’s amazing!

Well every year on the 4th Monday of October, people get to celebrate the rights of working less than at least 12 or 10 hours. Back in the days people did not have the opportunity to work less than 12 hours. Some even had to work for 18 hours. Then one man named Samuel Parnell decided that this was all wrong. He did not think it was right to work more than 8 hours and needed to do something about it. In 1840 he refused to work 8 hours as a carpenter in a shop he worked in.

So Samuel Parnell had worked for 8 hours straight. The normal time the workers would work also known as labour would be for 12 hours. He always went to go explain his decision at court as to why he didn’t work the average hours and it would also affect his pay wage. He didn’t think anything was right. He still worked 8 hours and did not care about what anyone else thought.

Well it was fair enough that New Zealanders were the first workers among the world to claim the right to have an 8 hour working day, but they decided to support his decision of a full 8 hour working day. In Wellington around that time Samuel Parnell visited court and the judge decided for everyone in New Zealand to have the right to work 8 hours.

Well now you know why Labour Day here in New Zealand is celebrated, maybe consider celebrating yourself. If you are a current resident of another country maybe research the dates of Labour Day in your country. What did you do for Labour Day? Have you ever celebrated Labour Day? Now you know the reason of why Labour Day is celebrated. Happy Labour Day to you all!

Thanks for reading!
By Mitchell.M
24/10/17