Labour Day is an international holiday that is celebrated across the world. In NZ, Labour day 2024 observed on the 4th Monday (Mon, 28 Oct 2024) of October.
This day is associated with the commemoration of the achievement related to the labour movement.
This day is even remembered as international worker’s Day which began to be marked as a public holiday across more than 80 countries.
When is Labour Day celebrated in New Zealand?
Labour Day is one of the most popular public holidays that are celebrated in New Zealand with great charm and enthusiasm. This is the day observed on the 4th Monday (Mon, 28 Oct 2024) of October in New Zealand. Generally, it is called ‘Eight Hour Demonstration Day’ and is recognized to honour the memorable efforts made by the trade unions to achieve their goal of eight hours working day for the benefit of all workers who used to work hard day and night in New Zealand.
Back to the old days of Labour Day evolution in New Zealand:
The origin of this day was initiated in the mid-19th century in favour of eight hours holiday. Generally, the majority of the holidays are concentrated on one specific person.
The story behind this celebration is that there was a carpenter living in Wellington colony named Samuel Parnell who first time refused to work for more than 8 hours a day. He reported to the prospective employee and stated, “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…”.
With this, he encouraged tradesmen across the colony to get them restricted to 8 hours of employment a day.
With the advent of 1840, a meeting was introduced by a local worker who passed on a resolution idea.
In 1890, on 28th October a parade was held to mark the 50th anniversary of eight hour day. This idea was supported by the government and the parade was blown by union members and supporters and a day off was offered to all of the public servants.
Many businesses remained closed on this day to attend the event which eventually leads to the annual celebration in late October as Labour Day.
Finally, the New Zealand government stated this day as a public holiday in 1990 after that in 1899 a Labour Day act was passed by the parliament which leads to celebration.
This holiday is recognized in different provinces on different days. The date difference appears like a complaint because the sailor enjoyed more holidays due to time variation that coincided with the local Labour Day holidays. Finally, the situation got cleared in the year 1910 with the introduction of ‘Mondayised’ which moved it to the fourth Monday in October.
Is 1st May a public holiday throughout the world?
In the 20th century, this holiday received official permission from the Soviet Union which makes it the day of celebration of the day of the international solidarity of workers applicable in a few communist states.
During the cold war, celebration in communal countries consists of larger military parades having advanced weapons and displays of the support of people toward the government.
The United States celebrates the 1st of May as a labor day and the first Monday of May Month is considered a loyalty day legally but is not widely accepted as a holiday in the United States.
Some facts suggest that it was the major reason to get rid of the commemoration of riots which frequently occurred in 1886.
The holiday was widely accepted by the communist and socialists as the primary holiday which serves as the major reason for the May Day labour celebration all across America.
But, Canada, Australia, New Zealand as well as Netherlands host this celebration on different dates although it has nothing to do with the origin of the holiday in their countries. May Day has always been the focal point for communist, socialist, and anarchist groups.