Get ready for Labour Day 2025
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 130 No 2, 11 April 2025, page no 10.
The QTU has a proud history. It is more than 136 years since that day on 9 January 1889 when 23 teachers and principals from schools across the colony of Queensland met in Brisbane to establish the first teachers’ union on this continent, our Queensland Teachers’ Union.
Each year the QTU asks members to join in with another piece of Queensland history which is almost as old: Labour Day.
Since 1901, Queenslanders have celebrated Labour Day, or Eight Hour Day as it was previously termed, as an official public holiday. The history of Labour Day stretches back further though, to 1 May 1891 in Barcaldine. On that day, more than a thousand striking sheep shearers marched to protest against their low wages and poor working conditions. That was the first recorded May Day protest in Australia, linking it to the global celebration of workers and our movement, which is said to go back to a general strike of workers in the United States in 1886.
Each year, when planning a well-deserved long weekend, the QTU asks members to consider turning out to celebrate the achievements of the Queensland union movement. In 2025, with marches, events and family fun days again being held across the state, it is incredible to think that it will be 134 year between when those shearers marched in Barcaldine and the 124th official Queensland Labour Day public holiday.
Those previous 100+ years of history are important, but they can sometimes be lost among the T-shirts, hats, banners, singing and flag-waving of the modern-day celebrations. However, that history and solidarity must be remembered. It can be difficult for us to imagine the conditions those shearers worked under in 1891, yet we can surely imagine that our goals and values are similar. Fighting for what is fair, demanding safe systems of work, standing united. Today, although there has been much progress, there’s still so much to fight for, together.
The first Monday in May is important to Queensland workers and their history. This year, if you attend Labour Day celebrations, we ask that you remember what Labour Day is and always has been about. We will come together to celebrate our victories, remember our defeats, and dream of a better world for working Queenslanders.
Many events and celebrations are being planned by the Queensland Council of Unions (QCU) and its affiliates. Part of that planning is about safety and respect. QTU members should be aware that there are conditions of participation, as provided by the Queensland Council of Unions. The QTU must abide by these conditions as a QCU affiliate, which means, by extension, so must those QTU members who attend Labour Day celebrations.
The QTU has been advised that any person found to be breaching the conditions of participation may be refused entry or asked to leave, whether this be at a Labour Day march, event, or family fun day. The conditions of participation below apply to all those who attend, including QTU members.
- All participants must act in a safe and respectful manner to others and other organisations.
- All participants must adhere to a code of non-violence and non-harassment of others and other organisations.
- All participants must comply with the QCU’s Statement of Our Values, as follows:
“As Queensland unions we commit to stand together as a movement of workers for workers.
We gain our power and strength by working collectively and cooperatively and in solidarity with each other.
Everyone has a right to be safe and respected and we stand against any form of discrimination and all forms of harassment.
Our movement is stronger because we seek to be inclusive and embrace diversity, equity, and fairness as fundamental tenets of who we are as a movement.”
More information about Labour Day marches, events and family fun days will be available via the QTU website and social media channels.
For those attending the Brisbane event with a dog, there are rules regarding entry into the RNA Showgrounds. Leashed dogs are welcome in the march; however, the only animals allowed into RNA showgrounds will be for those people with a disability who rely on a certified guide, hearing or assistance dog.