 labour day (labor day in the united states) is an annual holiday to celebrate the achievements of workers. labour day has its origins in the labour union movement, specifically the eight-hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest. for many countries, labour day is synonymous with, or linked with, international workers' day, which occurs on 1 may. for other countries, labour day is celebrated on a different date, often one with special significance for the labour movement in that country. in canada and the united states, it is celebrated on the first monday of september and considered the official end of the summer holiday for most of the respective countries, as public school and university students return to school that week or the following week. ==international workers' day==  for many countries, "labour day" is synonymous with, or linked with, international workers' day, which occurs on 1 may. some countries vary the actual date of their celebrations so that the holiday occurs on a monday close to 1 may. the remainder of this article addresses those countries for whom labour day is not linked to international workers' day. ==other dates== ===australia=== celebrating the australian labour movement and specifically the achievement of a working day limited to eight hours, the labour day public holiday is fixed by the various state and territory governments, and so varies considerably. it is the first monday in october in the australian capital territory, new south wales, south australia and, since 2013, queensland. in both victoria and tasmania, it is the second monday in march (though the latter calls it eight hours day). in western australia, labour day is the first monday in march. in the northern territory, it is called may day and occurs on the first monday in may. the first march for an eight-hour day by the labour movement occurred in melbourne on the 21st of april, 1856.alldownunder.com labour day on this day stonemasons and building workers on building sites around melbourne stopped work and marched from the university of melbourne to parliament house to achieve an eight-hour day. their direct action protest was a success, and they are noted as being among the first organised workers
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