Working Conditions During The Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution was the period of transformation to new manufacturing process during the late 18th century. The revolution began in Great Britain and changed the economic and social structures in Great Britain. The emergence of the new sources of energy and power, and the invention of the new machines had a positive effect on the economic structure in term of increasing the industrial productivity. However, the poorly organized factory system during the revolution had a negative effect in the social structure in term of the employment structure and working conditions. This paper will examine the negative aspects of the factory system, and the development of the early stage trade union. The paper argues that the failure of government
involvements in improving worker’s condition accelerated the process of trade unions’ movement.
The transition from pre-industrial to industrial revolution in Great Britain had a great impact to the industrial organization and to the lives of the workers in the woolen industry.
Before the industrial revolution had taken place with the invention of new machines, most textiles industries were worked under the domestic system. In the domestic system, cloth making was in the hands of small producers. All manufacture of products was done at home or, at times, in workshops. The process of in the making of wool often involved multiple steps such as scribbling, spinning, and weaving. Each stage took place in different cottages; spinning was often done by skilled women and weaving was done by skilled men. However, the textile industry’s organization of labor was challenged when the new machinery (slubbing billy and spinning jenny) was gradually introduced in the 1780s and 1790s. Both slubbing billy and spinning jenny can hold more than one ball of yarn at each operation. The new machinery increased the productivity. More products were produced with the less amount of time. By the late 1790s, mills and factories were created in order to boost the productivity and bringing about more benefits. More products were produced in the mills rather than homes and
workshops.
The introduction of these mills and factories caused the fears of rising unemployment and changes the life-styles of the wool workers in both the West England and West Riding. The replacement of hand spinning with machinery became a threat to the skilled woolen workers. The demand for labor declined because fewer laborers were needed to operate the machines. According to A. Austin, commissioner for Wiltshire and Somerset, “the total labor required to produce a broadcloth fell by some 75% as a result of the introduction of machinery in the years between 1796 and 1828.” In addition, the introduction of the machinery caused the changes in the structure of employment. Unskilled workers started to displace skilled spinners and weavers in the woolen industries since the operation of new machinery required little training. This allowed the employers to hired cheaper laborers. As the result, the numbers of adult male laborers started to fall and the numbers of female and child labor began to rise (see Figure1, a table of the number employed before the introduction of machinery, and Figure2, a table of the number employed after the introduction of the machinery).
The labor and factory system during the industrial revolution was poorly organized, and the poor working conditions increased the tension between laborers and employers. In order to obtain the maximum output from the machines, the employers established a strict system or rules for the workers. The workers worked fourteen to sixteen hours per day for six days a week. The typical workday started at six o’clock in the morning and ended at seven o’clock at night, with a