In Victoria, Labour Day falls on Monday 9 March 2026 and the long weekend  is full of activities to enjoy with Moomba, the Melbourne F1 Grand Prix and the commencements of the AFL and NRL seasons. So there is lots to do and celebrate ….. but why is it called Labour Day?

The origins

Way back in 1856 (that’s 170 years ago), a group of stonemasons working on the University of Melbourne downed tools and marched to Parliament House with a demand for the introduction of an 8 hours working day citing the mantra “8 hours work. 8 hours recreation and 8 hours rest”.

They won that right and that landmark achievement in workers’ rights is what Labour Day was created to celebrate.

It is an opportune time to reflect on where we are at with workplace rights today and what has shaped where we are at.

WorkChoices and beyond

In 2006, the Howard Government’s WorkChoices legislation took effect and that stripped away guarantees of quite a range of worker entitlements previously provided for under the Workplace Relations Act 1996 and awards.

It was roundly rejected by Australian voters resulting in the Howard-led coalition losing office in the 2007 election and Howard himself losing his seat.

The Rudd Government with Julia Gillard as the Ministers for Employment and Workplace Relations introduced the Fair Work system in 2009 and that still exists with many additions and variations today.

Due to the voter backlash against WorkChoices, subsequent coalition governments have been reluctant to make significant changes to employment laws.

Since the Albanese Government was elected in 2022, we have seen an unprecedented range of changes to the Fair Work Act, modern awards and other employment-related laws and regulations – around 70 changes in the space of 3 years.

These include the right to disconnect, new jurisdictions for the Fair Work Commission, a legislated criminal offence of wage theft, new rights for gig workers, independent contractors and road transport contractors and many other changes.

There is more coming with the move to make superannuation payable by pay period, the increase in parental leave pay to 26 weeks (both coming on 1 July 2026) and the forecast limitation of restraint clauses in employment contracts coming in 2027.  

And there is also the Work From Home provisions in awards to be finalised as well as the Victorian Government’s WFH guarantee to be dealt with. 

The Charter of Employment Rights

One of the effects of the WorkChoices legislation was the mobilisation of people from unions and employers and academia and other fields who were opposed to what the Howard Government was doing in stripping back workers’ rights.

That resulted in the founding of the Australian Institute of Employment Rights which works to promote the recognition and implementation of employment rights in a cooperative industrial relations framework based on the principles and standards of the International Labour Organisation,

That body then created “The Australian Charter of Employment Rights“, a best practice standard of good cooperative workplace relations practice for Australian Workplaces. It sets out 10 fundamental principles on which good industrial relations practice and workplace rights should be based:

1. Good faith performance
2. Work with dignity
3. Freedom from discrimination and harassment
4. A safe and healthy workplace
5. Workplace democracy
6. Union membership and representation
7. Protection from unfair dismissal
8. Fair minimum standards
9. Fairness and balance in industrial bargaining
10. Effective dispute resolution

If you are in a unionised workplace, this provides a pretty good roadmap on what you should be trying to do to create a collaborative and transparent workplace culture.

We have had the privilege of working with The Australian Institute of Workplace Rights some years ago on a joint program with Investors in People which provided for assessment of organisations against both the Charter of Employment Rights and the Investors in People Standard.  If you would like to know more about this, please let us know via the Contact Form below.