Legacy of the 8 Hour Day

Trades Hall, c. 1892-1900

As working hours reduced, workers, no longer totally exhausted, were able to engage in community, educational and leisure activities.

Trade Unions

In the immediate aftermath of the Eight Hour Day victory, the Victorian trade union movement began to plan for the future by organising a permanent location. They were granted land on the corner of Lygon and Victoria Streets in 1858 and, after occupying a temporary structure, started work in 1874 on the Trades' Hall and Literary Institute of Melbourne, which still occupies this site. It was the world's first Trades Hall building.

CFMEU poster, 2003

Over the past 150 years trade unions have continued to fight for workers rights. Wage increases; reduction and control over hours of work; working conditions; occupational health and safety laws; equal pay; paid public holidays and paid annual, parental, and long service leave; penalty rates and pay loadings; compensation for injury and the right to be given notice and consulted about changes at work are among the achievements of the union trade movement.