Sean Scalmer
$34.99
Melbourne University Publishing

As you enjoy your Christmas break, take a moment to thank the Australian union movement for its long fight to ensure you have time to yourself and not to the boss. 

Sean Scalmer’s A Fair Day’s Work looks at 150 years of Australian campaigns to reduce working hours, giving us a work-life balance.

The book begins with the landmark Melbourne stonemasons’ strike of 1856, which secured the eight-hour day; a victory that became a global benchmark. From there, Mr Scalmer charts the incremental progress that saw the standard working week shrink from 60 hours in the mid-19th century to 38 hours by the early 1980s.

Mr Scalmer writes that these efforts were not isolated skirmishes but part of a broader social movement. Australia led the way, setting labour standards that were adopted worldwide.

Sadly, the book shows that, since the 1980s, this hard-won progress has stalled. Economic restructuring, technological change, and the rise of precarious employment have eroded protections against excessive hours, particularly for women juggling paid employment with unpaid domestic labour.

A Fair Day’s Work is an essential read for anyone interested in labour history, social justice, or the future of work.

Taking leave

The Christmas closedown period for 2025-26 will be from Thursday 25 December 2025 to Friday 9 January 2026 inclusive.

The PSA CPSU NSW encourages members to regularly take recreation leave for their own health and wellbeing. Christmas and the New Year are a great time to do so.

While the NSW Government encourages all non ‘frontline’ areas to shut down over the Christmas and New Year period, you are not required to put up a justification or a ‘business case’ to explain why you do not want to take leave. Staff who intend to work should contact their relevant manager with their proposed dates.

Some agencies will be required to maintain full or reduced services.  This means at least some staff may have to work through this period.

If your office is going to be shut, a reasonable alternative work arrangement must be made available for you. If practicable, this could include working from home for some or all of that time. You may have to work at a different location, but you cannot be expected to travel unreasonable distances and you may be entitled to be reimbursed for the additional cost of your travel.