In the 1800s, most Victorians worked up to 14 hours a day, six days a week. There was no sick leave, no holiday leave, and employers could sack employees at any time, without giving a reason.
On 21 April 1851 the Victorian Stonemasons downed their tools and marched to Parliament House with other members of the building trade. The Stonemasons had been working on the construction of the Old Quadrangle Building at the original site of The University of Melbourne
During the courageous march, workers carried banners that depicted the symbol of ‘888’, which represented the ideal that the workers were fighting for – '8 Hours Work, 8 Hours Recreation, 8 Hours Rest'. Coined as early as 1817 by Robert Owen, an English Socialist, this significant motif of the slogan would later adorn many of Australia's union buildings.
The government agreed that workers employed on public works should enjoy an eight-hour day with no loss of pay and stonemasons celebrated with a holiday and procession on Monday 12 May 1856, when about 700 people from 19 trades marched. The ‘888’ monument across the road from our Victorian Trades Hall in Carlton is a commemoration of this significant movement in Australian and international labour history.
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