Parnell — the eight-hour day pioneer

While the horrors of two world wars, geographic isolation and several outstanding politicians laid the foundation of today’s New Zealand character, a number of less well-known people have also played a significant role in shaping who and what we are. Over

A shorter working day and improved working conditions were part of the general protests and agitation for Chartist reforms and the early organisation of trade unions.

Until about 40 years ago New Zealand working people enjoyed some of the best incomes and employment conditions in the developed world.

Our good wages and reasonable hours of work were the envy of many other nations right from the early days of colonisation. One of the norms of everyday life is, or was until quite recently, the eight-hour working day which was introduced to New Zealand several years before it was accepted in Europe or England and only three days after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.

At the time of British settlement in New Zealand the working day for most labourers and employees could be anything between 12 and 16 hours.

The eight-hour working day movement also known as the short-time movement, was started by James Deb during the Industrial Revolution where industrial production in large factories demanded 24-hour-a-day operation for maximum profit.

After years of agitation women and children in England were granted the ten-hour day in 1847 and French workers won the 12-hour day after the February revolution of 1848.

A shorter working day and improved working conditions were part of the general protests and agitation for Chartist reforms and the early organisation of trade unions.

However the eight-hour day was introduced to New Zealand several years earlier by Samuel Duncan Parnell, a tradesman carpenter who arrived in Wellington on February 8 1840.

Soon after his arrival Parnell was asked by shipping agent, George Hunter, to build a store for him. Parnell accepted the offer of work but insisted that he would only work on the construction for eight hours a day.

He said he was ready to start the next day but only on those terms. Hunter reminded Parnell ‘‘that in London the bell rang at six o’clock, and if a man was not there ready to turn to he lost a quarter of a day.’’

Parnell shrugged and replied ‘‘We’re not in London’’ and walked off.

There were very few tradesmen in Wellington, or the rest of the country, at that time and Hunter reluctantly agreed. Many years later Parnell wrote in his memoirs ‘‘the first strike for eight hours a-day the world has ever seen, was settled on the spot.’’

Other new settlers needing tradesmen tried to impose the traditional long hours of England but Parnell headed them off. He made a point of meeting incoming immigrant ships and enlisted their support in his campaign.

As well as introducing the eight-hour day to the new colony Parnell and his companions also introduced trade unionism harsh treatment for those who broke ranks. At a workers’ meeting-held at Barrett’s Hotel on Lambton Quay in October 1840 it was resolved that no one would work more than eight hours a day and anyone breaking that rule would be hurled into the harbour.

There were several disputes and arguments with prospective employees and even government officials over the new regime but Parnell and his fellow tradesmen refused to back down.

There were few of them and they held the moral high ground.

The final and deciding dispute arose when labourers who were building the road from the foreshore to the Hutt Valley in 1841 downed tools because they were ordered to work longer hours. They did not resume work until the eight-hour day was conceded.

By 1890 the eight-hour working day had become standard for tradesmen and labourers, but many groups of workers, such as farm labourers, domestic servants, railwaymen, shop assistants and clerks, still worked longer hours.

Trade unions publicised the campaign for shorter hours by holding annual processions late in October on what became known as Labour Day or EightHour Demonstration Day.

In 1899 Labour Day became a public holiday by act of Parliament; it provided a suitable occasion to pay tribute to Parnell and the other pioneers of the eight-hour day.

In 1890, to mark 50 years since European settlement of New Zealand trade unions asked the now ageing Parnell to write a short essay on the introduction of the eight-hour day, and Wellington citizens formed a committee to honour him on the occasion of the first annual Labour Day demonstration on October 28.

In a carriage Parnell headed the march to Newtown Park where he was presented with an illuminated address which paid tribute to his ‘noble efforts’ as The Father of the Eight Hours Movement.

Parnell died on December 17, 1890. He was given a public funeral and was buried in the Wellington public cemetery.

In spite of the success of the campaign in New Zealand there was still international resistance to the eight-hour working day until Henry Ford adopted the concept in 1914.

In a move which stunned rivals in the new automobile industry the Ford Motor Company cut the standard work day to eight hours and doubled workers’ pay. This resulted in Ford’s productivity, with the same workforce increasing, significantly and Ford’s profit margins doubled within two years.

Others soon adopted the eight-hour work day as a standard for their employees.