Making an ethical judgment based on religious text is a serious folly.
Atheist now, but formerly not. This story isn't about that. See my other comment for the broader context it is contained in.
Only if you presume human civilization started with the bible. Fair bit of civilizing went on before that.
The Workers in the Vineyard is a story being told by Jesus within the larger story of the Gospels. It is a parable. It's not a beast fable with some clearcut moral. The whole story itself is intended as a metaphor for salvation and heaven.
He's not even indirect about it this time, he makes it clear from the beginning:
> For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard..."
The workers object because (surprise) this actually is unfair in a landscape of mortal human struggles. It's jarringly so. It defies common sense and notions of fairness. In that confusion, Jesus is trying to make a point about just how incomprehensible the generosity of the godhead is. He's saying it breaks your prior notions and that salvation doesn't map to time and money.
There's literally no other point being made by the parable, and it's a total error to try to divine another message.
This story is also missing the larger context that explains what it's really about -- and the answer isn't labor and wages.
Which may mean that the text is useful as a means to express your opinions.