|
TKI
Hot Topic for 9 October 2001
Please note: These links were valid
when this page was posted. However the Web is very volatile, and TKI has
no control over outside websites. Please let us know if you find a broken
link or if you have an update for a link. Te Kete Ipurangi recommends
that teachers view all websites we link to before using them with students.
You can register
to receive Hot Topics via email for free by emailing hottopics@tki.org.nz.
Please specify whether you'd
prefer the plain text or the HTML-formatted version.
Other Hot Topics
due to feature in the coming weeks include Children's Day, Guy Fawkes,
surf safety, the Sun, and cards and packaging.
Labour Day, New Zealand's first modern public holiday, celebrates the
struggle for the 8-hour working day on the fourth Monday in October. This
Hot Topic collects some sites on unions in New Zealand to help you celebrate.
The first Labour Day in New Zealand was celebrated on 28 October 1890,
when trade unionists and supporters attended parades in the main centres.
New Zealand was one of the first countries in the world to allow tradesmen
and labourers the right to work only 8 hours a day, thanks in part to
a shortage of skilled labour and the stand of carpenter Samuel Parnell
in Wellington in 1840.
"There are," Parnell argued, "24 hours per day given us; 8 of these should
be for work, 8 for sleep, and the remaining 8 for recreation and in which
for men to do what little things they want for themselves. I am ready
to start tomorrow morning at 8 o'clock, but it must be on these terms
or none at all."
However, there were no laws governing working hours at the time. Most
people continued worked long hours - demonstrating on Labour Day to extend
the privilege enjoyed by those in a strong bargaining position or with
generous employers.
The 1890 Liberal Government passed laws to encourage the formation of
unions, but it was not until the 1940s that the first Labour Government
introduced the 8-hour day and 40-hour week as standard conditions for
most workers.
Resources on TKI
NZHistory Net
NZ History Net has the following relevant sections:
Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
The biographies of key figures in the Union movement are avialable from
the Dictionary of NZ Biography, http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb
Look out for the profiles of::
Situation
Vacant?
This level 5 unit, intended for year 10, explores the type of work people
did in the "olden days", comparing it with the work they do now. Students
conduct an inquiry into the changing nature of work in a chosen sector
of the economy (www.tki.org.nz/r/socialscience/curriculum/SSOL/situation/index_e.php).
Timeframes
The website Timeframes (http://timeframes.natlib.govt.nz)
provides online access to a database of heritage images from the National
Library of New Zealand's Alexander Turnbull Library. TKI published a review
which assesses the relevance and usefulness of the site for the New Zealand
curriculum, particularly in social studies and technology in early New
Zealand (www.tki.org.nz/r/review/time_e.php).
Between
a Rock and a Hard Place
This multimedia website shows the history of the sweatshop industry in
America through a series of images and displays about employees in manufacturing
industries working in unfair and unhealthy conditions (http://americanhistory.si.edu/sweatshops/index.htm).
Employment Relations
Today
This website explains the Employment Relations Act enacted from 2 October
2000. It is designed to answer common questions, and includes an overview
of the employment relations system, employment rights and agreements,
resolving workplace agreements, collective bargaining, and ending employment
relationships (www.ers.dol.govt.nz/act/employees.html).
Department of Labour
The New Zealand Department of Labour has information on community employment,
workplace health and safety and employment relations (www.dol.govt.nz).
CTU
The Council of Trade Unions is one of the largest unions in New Zealand
(www.union.org.nz) and its site
includes information on the Auckland youth union movement.
Curriculum
links on TKI
Social Studies in the New Zealand Curriculum (www.tki.org.nz/r/socialscience/curriculum/index_e.php)
is available on TKI.
|
If you know exactly what you're after, the 
