The Early Closing Association was formed in the United Kingdom in 1842[1] or 1843[2] to control the hours of labour in retail shops.
It was promoted by Samuel Carter Hall, George Dawson[3] and John Passmore Edwards,[4] among others.
Half-day early closing was not finally won until 1912.
[citation needed] A similar association was founded in Melbourne in the 1850s.
Retail workers sought to reduce the number of work hours and to introduce early closing on Saturdays.