What were the conditions factory workers experienced working in the early nineteenth century?

In the early nineteenth century, factory workers faced challenging working conditions characterized by several hardships:

1. Long Hours: Workers often endured excessively long workdays, sometimes spanning 12 to 16 hours or more, with limited breaks.
2. Low Wages: Wages were generally low and workers, especially women and children, were paid significantly less than adult male workers for the same tasks.
3. Poor Working Conditions: Factories were often poorly ventilated, overcrowded and lacked proper sanitation, leading to unhealthy and unhygienic work environments.
4. Unsafe Machinery: Workers faced dangerous working conditions due to poorly maintained or unsafe machinery, leading to frequent accidents and injuries.
5. Child Labor: Child labor was widespread, with many children as young as five or six years old working in factories under harsh conditions, enduring long hours and performing hazardous tasks.
6. Limited Rights and Protections: Workers had little to no job security and there were minimal regulations or protections for their safety, wages, or working hours.

These conditions prompted the rise of labor movements and unions advocating for better working conditions, improved wages, shorter workdays and increased workplace safety regulations. These movements played a significant role in advocating for labor reforms that eventually led to better working conditions and labor rights in many industrialized nations.