Textile Workers During The Industrial Revolution

During the 18th – 19th century, the Industrial Revolution brought an atrocious change in the textile industry. As machines were introduced, the production of textiles grew significantly with the efficiency of the technology being utilised causing a profound change in how workers were treated. Subsequently, the workers were massively affected by machinery being utilised in factories causing outbreaks to occur, low wages were given out and accidents occurred.

Through the Industrial Revolution, the British instituted the beginning of machinery in factories resulting in immense outbursts to befall. The technology – innovative, efficient, advanced - resulted in a group of skilled workers to fear for their jobs. The group was named the Luddite Movement.

Therefore, owners of the factories were able to “set the wages as low as they wanted”. However, most of the workers only earned about $8 a week with 10 cents an hour. Not only was the pay insufficient for men, but women were paid a third of what men received, with children receiving less. (Poddar, 2018). As the Industrial Revolution continued, the pay for the textiles workers decreased. In 1800, the weekly wage was 27 shillings but as the Revolution sustained, in 1820, the wage was 8 shillings. (Ashton, 2012). As owners of factories preferred to pay the minimum wage, women and children were the ideal employees. (BBC – GCSE Bitesize, 2018) Even though the pay was little, people continued to work as they wanted a job that

This included long hours of work, hard labour for young children and dangerous work environments. The employees had a lack of air circulation during a fourteen to sixteen-hour day which caused the workers to come out covered in black soot at the end of the day. (Poddar, 2018) . They also had an inadequacy number of breaks during the day in which they were punished if they went to the toilet more than once a day. (Mackay, 2002). Additionally, with the absence of windows, the smoke from the machines severely affected the health of the workers with constant poisonous gas and soot coming out of the machines. Stated in (Poddar, 2018) and (Mackay, 2002), children were forced into dangerous and unsupervised labour at the ages of 6, the children grew with physical abnormalities or disabilities. This is because of the deficiency of sunlight and the constant work of carrying heavy materials. The children were profoundly punished if they were caught falling asleep, wetting their pants or not working efficiently. With the conditions in the textile factories, workers have treated abominably during the Industrial