THE WESTMINSTER SCHOOL, DUBAI

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL STUDIES

YEAR : 8
What Were The Working Conditions Like?

Q.1) What were the reasons that caused the death of the children?
Answer.) Victorian children were very close to death and suffering. In the
1830s almost half the funerals in London were for children under ten years
old. Many people died from infectious diseases that we would rarely die of
today, such as measles and scarlet fever.

Q.2) What is domestic service and give one example of it during the
Industrial Revolution?
Answer.) Domestic service is the employment of hired workers by private
households for the performance of tasks such as housecleaning, cooking,
child care, gardening, and personal service. During the Industrial Revolution,
many children worked as servants in homes for richer families. In the 1850s,
one in nine of all female children over the age of ten years worked in domestic
system.

Q.3) Why employers preferred to employ children and women over men?
Answers.) 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. Many men were sacked when they
reached adulthood; then they had to be supported by their wives and children.

Q.4) What were the different punishments that employers used to

discipline the workers?
Answer.) There was frequent "strapping" (hitting with a leather strap). Other
punishments included hanging iron weights around children's necks, hanging
them from the roof in baskets, nailing children's ears to the table, and dowsing
them in water butts to keep them awake.

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Q.5) What is meant by the term 'parish apprenticeship'?
Answer.) Orphans from workhouses in southern England were "apprenticed"
to factory owners, supposedly to learn the textile trade. They worked 12-hour
shifts, and slept in barracks attached to the factory in beds vacated by
children about to start the next shift.

Q.6) What is a labor union and explain its ideas to preserve the rights of
the workers?
Answer.) A labor union is an organization intended to represent the collective
interests of workers in negotiations with employers over wages, hours,
benefits and working conditions. Members of a union would agree on the
wages they thought were fair. They pledged to stop working for employers
who would not pay that amount. They also tried to make it so that employers
hired only union members. In the next few decades, unions campaigned for a
10-hour long working day and against child labor. Meanwhile the trade unions
were joining together to form federations. Eventually, national unions were
formed in hopes of improving wages and working conditions.

Q.7) Did the unions' efforts bring changes to the society and what was
the opinion of the people?
Answer.) The unions' efforts brought about many strikes and protests. It was a
fact - things were definitely changing. Some people liked it and others felt they
were going to be "thrown out" and de-skilled. Unions and protest proved to be
successful in many cases.

Q.8) What were some reasons for effecting the health of workers in
factories?
Answer.) Cotton thread had to be spun in damp, warm conditions. Going
straight out into the cold night air led to many cases of pneumonia. The air
was full of dust, which led to chest and lung diseases and loud noise made by
machines damaged workers' hearing.

Q.9) What is the difference between the working conditions of the

factories in the 18th century and the working conditions we have
nowadays?
Answer.) In the 18th century, workers used to have long working hours, long
wages and were disciplined cruelly. The employers also had a very fierce
system of fines and many accidents occurred during working hour in factories.
Many children went to work in factories to support their families, often for low
wages, instead of going to school. Also, Diseases were widely spread during
work due to the atmosphere.

Now, workers have 8-9 working hour, suitable wages and are not being
abused or disciplined cruelly. There are no more fierce system of fines and
the percentage of accident occurring factories decreased. Children no more
work in dangerous conditions in factories and now go to school. Also, the
surrounding and atmosphere in most factories are clean and are suitable to
not affect the health of the workers and highly reducing the risks of catching
diseases.

Q.10) Did a high percentage of accidents occur during the Industrial

Revolution and did employers pay attention to their workers if they got
injured or died?
Answer.) In the late nineteenth century, more industrial accidents occurred in
the Unites States than in any other industrial country. Rarely did an employer
offer payment if a worker was hurt or killed on the job.