This lifestyle drove people to frustrating heights and made the workers fight for their rights which resulted in a lot of workers’ movements in the 19th century. One of the greatest contributors to the workers’ movements was Robert Owen.
OWENISM
Robert Owen was an industrialist and at an early age started handling the reigns of a huge capitalist set up. He is remembered most for his management of labour.
Owen gave special attention to children whose education and everyday routine, he thought, could be organized to produce habits of order and industry. He relied heavily on kindness towards his workers and his employees were well housed and adequately provided with shops, schools and other amenities.
He was grieved by the fact that Industrialization was often attended by waste and misery, by technological and scientific unemployment. The solution to this problem he said was creation of mixed farming and industrial communities. For this purpose he worked day and night and founded the GNCTU in 1932. Co – operative enthusiasm was at its height in the years before 1834, but in this year they collapsed and the GNCTU was replaced by The British and Foreign Consolidated Association of Industry and Humanity and knowledge.
Robert Owen also helped a lot in the workers movements and was an active supporter of the Trade Unions and responsible for starting up a whole new movement in 19th century England called – OWENISM.
THE REFORM CAMPAIGN (1830 – 1832)
The reform act was passed in 1832 and it brought direct representation for the first time to cities like Manchester and Birmingham.
The campaign was dominated by middle class interests, but there was significant working – class participation and the course and outcome of events hastened the development of working – class consciousness and had an important place among the origins of Chartism.
During the 1820’s there was a pressure for the redistribution of parliamentary seats to give greater and more direct representation to the new industrial demands of secret ballots. By 1829 the ‘political unions’ that were to play an important role in mobilizing public opinion were being established and reform was the major issue in the election that followed the death of George IV in 1830.
THE FACTORY MOVEMENT
The factory movement was a part of the greater struggle over the ‘condition of England’. The main aim of the movement was to regulate the factory hours and improve the working conditions for the factory operatives.
The campaign achieved a great deal as the government became heavily involved in regulating the factory hours and factory conditions while most other occupations were still unregulated. The working class support for reform came mainly from the factory districts themselves.
The movement had far greater effects than expected and by 1850 the factory operatives were working less than most of the workers in the week.
All of this advance can not be attributed to factory reform alone but its contribution to the movement is significant.
THE ANTI – POOR LAW CAMPAIGN
The ultimate purpose of the anti poor law campaign was repeal of the legislation of 1834 and this is what is failed to achieve.
Organized protest against the amended poor law began in 1836 when the factory movement was pushing hard for the ten – hour day. The two movements were closely associated.
Even though the movement failed to achieve its goal it was by no means a failure. Firstly, it considerably delayed the introduction of the new regime in the north. Secondly, several permanent concessions were extracted.
Some of these concessions were given easily but others were hard won and without the propaganda and active resistance of the poor law movement it would have taken far longer.
CHARTISM
Chartism is the greatest of all 19th century working movements. It began in May 1838 with the proclamation of the ‘People’s Charter’ and in the following five years eclipsed all other working – class movements. The declared purpose of the Chartist campaign was political reform, that is, to induce the parliament to pass an act containing the ‘six points’: manhood suffrage, annual parliament, secret ballot, equal electoral constituencies, Payment of MP’s and the abolition of their property qualifications.
Chartism depended heavily on economy and the sign for this is that whenever economic conditions improved the support for Chartism fell, even though parliamentary reforms remained the same.
Chartism was the strongest between 1839 and 1842.
With the onset of economic recovery those who’s Chartism was little more than a symptom of temporary distress began to fade away. Then, in the depression that set in towards the end of 1847 Chartism became a mass movement once again, but two years later the economic barometer set fair again and Chartism as a movement was completely finished.
1850 – 1875: JUNTA MOVEMENT
There was considerable Trade Union activity between 1850 and 1875. But the unions did not have a very prominent role in the early campaigning. After 1850 they dominated working class political activity.
The period was divided by the crisis in trade union affairs that began with the ‘Sheffield Outrages’ (1866), The Judicial ruling in the case of Hornby v. Close (1867) and the appointment of the Royal Commission on Trade Unions in 1867. By 1875 the crisis had been resolved in the unions favour.
The Junta was a close knit group which came to act as “an important cabinet of the trade union world”. It was the main influence behind the adult suffrage and vote by ballot association (1862) and the National Reform League (1865) which successively worked to extend the franchise, to make working – class opinion known to politicians and for the election of men sympathetic to working – class interests.
The Junta was also responsible for the Reform Act of 1867 and for several legislative advances on safety and other matters.
ACTS FROM 1875 – 1900
In 1875, the Conspiracy and Protection of Property act was passed which restored the alliance between trade unionism and liberalism. Political objectives after 1875 were more diverse than they had been in the 3rd quarter of the century.
In 1880, the Employers liability act was passed which made the employer responsible for any work place accidents. There were also in these years several piecemeal legislative advances affecting safety and working conditions. The number of mines and factory workers was increased, and the first working class factory inspector began his rounds in 1882.
In 1884, the Reform act was passed again which enfranchised even the rural workers.
1889 – 91 marked the coming of “New Unionism’.
CONCLUSION
Despite industrialization, urbanization and the widening of the gulf between employers and workers, the persistence of harmonious class – relations and the remarkable slow development of working class consciousness are two of the major themes of 19Th C British labour history.
The acts passed during the 19th Century prove to be vital till date. The labour force of 1815 presents a remarkable contrast with that of a century later. There were fewer children at work and workers had moved to the towns and into industrial and tertiary employment. The working week was shorter and, the workplace less dangerous and the Urban environment much healthier, the work force was larger more productive and better paid.
Thus, due the various reform acts and workers’ movements the overall conditions of the British Industrial Society improved and proved profitable for both the employers and the workers.