Terrible Factory Conditions
Working conditions and who worked in them.. By: Sataeya B.
Who Worked In Factories?
In order to save money many employers hired women and children to work in factories because these workers would work for lower wages than men. Some women were paid as little as six dollars per week, a sum much lower than a male would have received.
Immigrants Worked Long Hours in the Factories
Working hours were long averaging at least ten hours a day and six days a week for most workers, even longer for others.
Children Worked Long Hours for Low Wages.
Under pressure from the public many state legislatures passed child labor laws, which limited the hours children could work to ten hours per day, but employers often disregarded such laws.
Men Worked In The Factories As Well
For men and women from agricultural backgrounds these new conditions proved challenging because farm work tended to be more flexible and offered a variety of work tasks. Factory work was also different for skilled artisans, who had once hand-crafted goods on their own schedule.
Actual Working Conditions
- Factory workers had to face long hours, poor working conditions, and job instability. During economic recessions many workers lost their jobs or faced sharp pay cuts.
- Factory conditions were also poor and, in some cases, deplorable. Lack of effective government regulation led to unsafe and unhealthy work sites.
Public Health and Life Expectancy
The tedious and dangerous factory work had negative effects on the health of children. Doctor Turner Thackrah described the children leaving the Manchester cotton mills as “almost universally ill-looking, small, sickly, barefoot and ill-clad. Many appeared to be no older than seven.