Although some of the arguments that do support that Australia was a working man’s paradise are often looked past upon, it is undoubted that Australia was in fact, a working man’s paradise. There are still some reasons that can prove that Australia was in fact a working man’s paradise. To begin with, what made Australia considered as the working man’s paradise was the introduction to the minimum wage. The introduction to the minimum wage was seen to be the highlight to a new beginning amongst Australian society.
Prior the minimum wage, unskilled workers were paid very poorly or were often not paid at all. Having to work extremely long and exhausting hours in unsanitary and foul environments, employees who were paid poorly thought of this as really unfair. During the progressing years, trade unions were determined to change the working conditions and the amounts of money being paid to unskilled workers. The introduction of the minimum wage was purposely designed to ensure that a worker was able to be comfortable and was able to feed themselves and their families.
As this approach was successful to a great extent, Australians considered this to be one of the greatest ideas introduced. Seeing as the minimum wage was acknowledged by an excessive number of people, more ideas were being introduced by the government. These types of changes contributed to the idea that Australia should be a fair society where anyone could achieve equality. Another idea that was introduced was the 8 hour day movement. The 8 hour day movement focused on eliminating extensive hours of work.
The Term Paper on Reasonable Working Hours Work Workers Actu
For nearly three years, one of the main activities of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has been to conduct a campaign for "reasonable working hours." It commenced with a survey completed in October 1999, which linked the sharp increase in working hours over the past two decades with stress-related illnesses and workplace accidents. Apart from occasional media releases, the "campaign" ...
Prior to the introduction of the 8 hour day movement, workers would work long hours only to earn a small income not even merely enough to pay for food expenses. The 8 hour day movement aimed to allow workers to spend more time with their families, more time to organise leisure activities and the rest of the time left dedicated to working. The introduction of this, made life much more simpler. This idea along with the minimum wage enabled a worker to comfortably live no matter what class they belonged to.
Another thing that made Australia a working man’s paradise was the introduction in 1908 of compensation for workers injured at work. In many other countries during this time, employers exploited their workers and forced them to work regardless if they were suitable to work or not. As Australia was one of the first to introduce this idea, many saw Australia as a working man’s paradise. Compensation for workers injured at work meant that workers were still paid even if they were injured at work.
Around this time, in the 20th century, Old age pension was also established to even pay those who were in their older years. This idea guaranteed a decent income to those who were too old to work. This was beneficial for old aged citizens because not only did they not have to work for money but they can also choose to contribute their incomes towards their families expenses. With these new ideas and revolutionary changes to the way in which Australia operated these ideas helped shaped and support the statement what Australia was indeed a working man’s paradise.
