The punishments that the Greg’s used were not as harsh as what other employers used. The punishments used for the children by the Greg’s were solitary confinement for the children who ran away; they also threatened the girls with cutting their hair off. Fines were the most common punishment with children as they had to work extra hours for free to pay off the fines. For the adults the punishments would be fines or in extreme cases adults may be sacked. The Greg’s never used physical punishments. In other mills employers were harsher with punishments. To punish children many employers beat them, put weights on their ears and hung them by their belts from the rafters on the ceiling over the machines. Adults were not allowed to leave the room without permission, talk, sing or whistle. These would be punished with fines. The mills were very dangerous and unhealthy places. Many people went deaf in the mills due to the noisy vibrations from the machinery. Deformities were common due to all the bending over the machines. The Greg’s prevented many accidents by turning off the machines when the children went scavenging underneath. In the other mills the machines were kept on when the children went scavenging causing accidents especially if the children fell asleep underneath the machines. Machines were unguarded which meant the workers could get caught in the machines. In 1833 the Greg’s fenced in their machines preventing more accidents. The Greg’s claimed to only have had one accident involving machinery in an interview in 1833 with the superintendents which looked after the apprentices.
The children at Quarry Bank Mill were well looked after. On their days off the apprentices were made to go to school by the Greg’s, the children whose parents worked for the Greg’s could also get an education if their parents wanted them to, so all the children got the chance of an education. The boys were taught reading, writing and basic arithmetic whilst the girls were taught reading and writing. This was unlike the other mills of this time who only wanted the children to be able to do their jobs. They didn’t care whether or not they could read or write.
The Greg’s paid their workers lower wages than those of the nearby Manchester. This was because the workers in Styal had cheaper food and rent than those workers in Manchester. Other mills paid their workers more than the Greg’s but they had to pay a higher rent. The mills used the truck system, the Greg’s as well. The Greg’s took the price of things directly off their wages. Many mill owners adulterated their food so that they could make a higher profit; the Greg’s didn’t do this. Most of the mill owners who used the truck system gave their workers tokens to spend in a factory shop. The tokens were totally worthless outside that factory and the mill owners priced the food as high as they wanted; they knew the workers didn’t have a choice but to go there for their food.
The Greg’s built a village for their workers at Styal. Each family was provided with a cottage. The cottages had four rooms; 2 upstairs and 2 downstairs. Each cottage had a small back yard and its own privy. The workers were also given allotments to grow their own vegetables. The village also had a church for the workers so that they didn’t have to make a 4 mile journey every Sunday to the nearest church. Other employers didn’t provide any housing for their workers. Workers were expected to live with the rest of their family in one room in an over crowded house. There would be one privy per street as well as one water pump per street. The streets were poorly paved and had no proper drainage system. Disease spread quickly in those conditions.
At Quarry Bank Mill the Greg’s provided a doctor for their employee’s. The workers could also start a health fund in which each week some of their wages went into it, so that if they got too ill to work they would still have enough money to buy food with. At the other mills the workers were given no doctor to visit and if they were off sick they wouldn’t get paid so they wouldn’t have enough money to buy food with which would mean they would get ill again.
There were several ways in which the Greg’s were not outstanding compared to other mill owners of the same time. The Greg’s didn’t believe the hours of workers should be reduced. They believed the workers should work 13 hours a day 6 days a week; like other mill owners. The Greg’s didn’t agree with the factory reform he believed cut hours would mean a rise in the prices which would damage the population as a whole. It would also hurt Britain’s cotton export trade. The Greg’s believed that if the factory reform was to go ahead it would cause as many problems as it solved.
Robert Owen was also seen as an outstanding employee of his time. Like the Greg’s Robert Owen didn’t use traditional punishments; as he thought that his workers would work better if they didn’t fear him. He used ‘silent monitors’ as punishment; a block of wood would hang above you, each of the four sided would be a different colour and if yours was black that meant you would be in trouble. Robert Owen would give any workers with a black monitor an icy look which told them to work harder. Robert Owen also provided an education for the children at New Lanark; he opened the first infant school there. The children were allowed to stay in school until they were 12 years old; they were taught songs, rhymes and riddles. The girls were taught sewing, knitting and mending clothes. Robert Owen provided housing for his workers and he helped them keep clean by sending round the ‘bug hunters’. He also provided a similar sickness fund to the Greg’s which meant when the workers got sick they could see the doctor for free. All his workers were given Sunday’s off. There are also some differences in the way the Greg’s and Robert Owen ran their mills. Robert Owen provided his workers with baths and hair cuts. He let his workers put any spare money from their wages into an account to gain interest. He also let his older workers go to school and learn how to read and write, and some to play music. There were also special lessons on cleanliness and looking after yourself. Robert Owen also had concerts, lectures and dancing for his workers each week. Owen was also very ahead of his time. Both Owen and the Greg’s can be seen as outstanding employers of their time.
The Greg’s were better than most employers of their time. They understood the importance of children having an education. They also understood the concern for clean and healthy living and working conditions. The Greg’s also made sure all their workers were sufficiently fed and in good health. The Greg’s made sure they were seen in a good light by the public. When the Greg’s had interviews they would show the interviewer around the mill, but Mr.Greg would always be present so he knew exactly what his workers were saying about him. He knew that if he was present his workers wouldn’t be able to give the journalist any bad impressions about him. The journalists couldn’t find any faults with him when giving an interview. The Greg’s knew that if they were good to their workers their workers would be happier and therefore produce more cotton of a higher quality. As long as he was good to his workers there was no need to worry about them going on strike which meant he would have a continuous supply of cotton to sell; giving him a bigger profit.
