Working conditions of London’s youth in early 19th century England
 

In early 19th century England, opinions on child labor were split. It was the norm for young children to work for over 12 hours a day. In 1832, a bill was introduced to Parliament that proposed that the hours worked by individuals under the age of 18 should be limited to 10 hours a day. The bill was not passed. Though there were supporters of stricter child labor laws, many saw nothing wrong with the way things were.

In a 1836 survey of doctors, almost half believed that long working hours didn’t contribute to poor health in children. But even if you didn’t believe that long hours led to poor health, there were plenty of other atrocious working conditions that would. Children who were late to work were severely punished, and money would b deducted from their wages. Some factories didn’t even allow the children to wear watches, a rule some suspected was enforced to trick workers out of their pay.

Most factories were responsible for feeding their laborers. The food was of poor quality, and the children had to continue working while eating. Exposed machinery was another problem for children working in factories. One hospital reported that in one year alone it treated nearly a thousand people for wounds and mutilations caused by machines. To make matters worse, factories provided no assistance to these injured children. From the moment an accident was reported, the worker’s wages were halted and no medical help was ever provided.

The rigorous schedule of a factory worker meant that the children oftentimes grew tired, and could no longer work at the fast pace the owners demanded. To spur the children on, employers would hit them with straps. Some even dunked exhausted children headfirst into vats of cold water to wake them up.

Many parents were unwilling to allow their children to work under such intolerable conditions. So where did these child laborers come from? Many factory owners would buy children from orphanages and workhouses. These children were known as pauper apprentices. Pauper apprentices would be forced to sign contracts that basically made them the property of the factory owners. Acquiring pauper apprentices was much cheaper than hiring adult workers. An owner could house 90 children for the cost of housing 3 families.

Child labor reform didn’t come underway until 1833. An act was invoked by the Whig party which said that children aged 11-18 could work a maximum of 12 hours a day, children 9-11 only eight hours a day, and children under 9 weren’t allowed to work at all. Unfortunately, this law only applied to the textile industry. After further lobbying, another act was passed in 1847 that limited both adult and children to 10-hour workdays.
In Oliver Twist, written in 1838, Oliver deals with many of the issues that real-life orphans had to deal with: life in a workhouse, pauper apprenticeship; and all-round mistreatment from those given his care. Dickens, through his writing, speaks out against such treatment and encourages social reform.