Working conditions

• We have laws to protect us at work

(OHS). It is a legal responsibility for an
employer to keep their employee safe.
• These laws haven’t always existed.
• Factories and mines were dangerous
and unhealthy.
• Poor light, ventilation, machines not
fenced.
• Children were
employed as they
were cheap and
could climb through
small places.
• Fathers and sons
would ‘hew’ the coal
and mothers and
daughters would
‘hurry’ the coal to the
surface
Children in Mines
• Hurriers – carry baskets or tow trucks of coal to the
surface. Girls as young as six or seven. They had a belt
or chain around their waste that could damage pelvic
bones and many of their children would die during
childbirth later on because of this
• Trappers – Open and close the ventilation doors in
underground tunnels could sit in the dark for up to 14
hours a day
Mines
Commission
• In 1840, a commission was
put together to inquire into
working conditions in the
mines
• Many personal experiences
were given, indicating the
truly poor conditions people
were forced to work
• Mines Act passed in 1842 –
all girls and women and boys
under 10 could not work in
underground mines
Textile
Industry
• Children again, were employed as
their wage was lower than adults
• Often more children than adults
working – in 1788 more than 2/3 of
employees in cotton mills in England
and Scotland were children.
• Older children were could run a spin
or weaving machine. Younger
children had more dangerous jobs
• Piercers – lean over spinning
machine and repair broke
threads – while the machine
was running. They could walk
up to 30kms a day
• Scavengers – crawl under
machines collecting loose
cotton – while the machine was
running
 Other jobs for children
• Chimney sweeps known as ‘climbing
boys’. As young as six to climb up into
chimneys and clean them. Dangerous.
Many choked to death. Many would fall
or become stuck in narrow chimneys

• Laws kept trying to be passed to protect

these boys but most were ignored. In
1875, police gained the power to
enforce these laws and employing
climbing boys was finally stopped
Urbanisation and overcrowding
• Population growth led to issues.
• No planning or government supervision
• Houses poorly constructed – cheap materials.
• Families often just in one room.
• Houses crammed in with no gardens
• Water supply was low
• Streets narrow – poor drainage – filled with rubbish and sewerage
• Cesspits overflowed – diseases spread quickly
• During the Industrial Revolution, people from the
countryside flocked to cities and factory towns
looking for a better life. They wanted to make more
money to support their families, and they hoped to
move up in the world. They believed that they had a
wonderful opportunity to try something new and take
part in an era of wonderful progress. Unfortunately,
disillusionment soon followed when workers realised
that their new life wasn't at all what they thought it
would be.
• Scenario: Choose 1

a) You are part of a typical 18th century working class family. You are an Englishman
with a wife and two children, aged 8 and 12 and you have been a farmer for nearly
your whole life. You quickly adapted to the changes of the Industrial Revolution and
moved your family to a nearby city to take a job at a textile factory/coal mine. Like
most workers, you wanted to do something different and interesting, but your hopes
were soon dashed.

a) You are part of a typical 18th century working class family. You are an
Englishwoman who took care of the household duties while looking after her two
children, aged 8 and 12. Your husband worked the farm providing food and money
for the family to live on. Your husband quickly adapted to the changes of the
Industrial Revolution and moved the family to a nearby city to take a job at a textile
factory/coal mine. Like most workers, you all wanted to do something different and
interesting, but your hopes were soon dashed.
 Task
•

• Write a diary entry to your parents still living in the country based on the following points
below. You can choose to write from the perspective of the Englishman (a) or Englishwoman
(b). You must choose the life of a textile factory worker or coal mine worker.

 An appropriate date for your diary entry.

 What type of working conditions do you have to endure each day?
• Include the type of work each family member does and the conditions they work under.
• Be specific. What type of treatment do you endure at the hands of the factory owners?
 How many hours do the members of your family work?
 What pay do the members of your family receive?
 What type of injuries can, or have you sustained?
 Any other interesting facts you may wish to include.
• You can complete your research using

- JacPlus 3.4 Conditions in factories and mines, 3.5 Child labour and 3.6 Urban
conditions and peoples health
- YouTube clips,
- Google search engine etc.

• *Length: At least 1 A4 page, size 12 font.

• Due Wednesday 22nd Feb 2:15pm