WORKER movement in the 20th century

One of the biggest changes during the twentieth century was the emergence of the labor movement, which was based on the uprising of workers to improve their living situation and that the boss or owner had less power, seeking to equalize social and economic classes. To talk about this phenomenon, in this lesson from a Teacher we are going to offer a summary of the labor movement.

Index

1. How did the labor movement come about? Origin
2. When and why did the labor movement emerge? Most important causes
3. Consequences of the labor movement
4. Labor movement in Spain

The labor movement it is consequence of the industrial revolution, being a period in which the work in the factories had a significant increase and the workers began to have less and less rights. The situation of the workers and farmers was so dire that, for the first time, they decided to unite by using politics and protests to try to change the situation.

We must bear in mind that at the beginning of the industrial era there was no limitation on the part of governments, so employers could set any work condition without fearTherefore, the wages were very low, the working hours were eternal and in case of illness or accident the worker had no protection.

The origin of the movement can be found in England, being the first nation where the Industrial Revolution. After years of abuse, the workers began their first protest movements, being one of them the one to destroy the production machines, since it was considered that the abuses and unemployment were caused in part by those machines that made labor less necessary.

The reaction of the English government to the attack on the machinery was punish the workers, but they continued to destroy machinery, albeit clandestinely to avoid imprisonment.

Over the years, the labor movement it was appearing in numerous nations, being the majority of them those that entered the industrial revolution and arriving a moment in which all the nations had unions and labor movements.

To understand the emergence of the labor movement we must talk about its main causes, being These are the reasons why a movement appears that would change the lives of workers to forever. The main causes of the emergence of the labor movement are as follows:

• The workers lived in the same areas, forming social groups in industrial zones that allowed a greater relationship between the workers.
• Working conditions were unsustainable, with 12-hour working days and where both children and pregnant women worked.
• Salaries were very low, and in many cases they did not even allow to cover basic needs, having to subsist on very little food.
• The workers began to unite in brotherhoods, similar to the guilds of the Modern Age, which were the forerunners of the unions.
• The governments of the time were liberal in nature, seeking the greatest benefit for the company and forgetting the workers' rights, so that at the time of the trials the employers always had the upper hand.
• Society was very unequal, with many differences between the two large social groups.
• Appearance of Luddism, which was based on hatred of machines that had caused labor to cost less.
• Emergence of ideologies of a working class nature such as Marxism or anarchism.
• The Industrial Revolution made money the important thing in the new factories, making the life of the workers secondary.

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Over the centuries, labor movements have made a huge evolution in terms of working conditions. The main consequences of the labor movement are as follows:

• Limit the working day, cutting the huge working hours of more than 12 hours that existed until the common 8 hours today.
• Prohibition of child labor, causing those under 16 years of age to no longer work in most countries and thus making them able to go to schools instead of working.
• Creation of laws to regulate a good work environment, such as occupational risk laws that protect the worker from a possible dangerous environment.
• Emergence of social security and retirement, so that workers do not have to work until their death.
• Creation of unions to watch over workers.
• Women can take maternity leave, and not have to work until the pregnancy itself.

To conclude this summary of the labor movement, we must talk about how the workers' actions were in Spain, speaking briefly about their emergence and evolution.

The Industrial Revolution arrived somewhat late in Spain compared to the rest of the European nations, since in much of the country agriculture was still more important. Due to this situation, in the 19th century the only industrialized regions, and therefore with a labor movement, were Catalonia and the Basque Country. It was in these two regions where the first signs of Luddism appeared, destroying textile machines for the treatment of workers.

Regarding its evolution, we can differentiate two major sections within what is the labor movement, one of them being influenced by the anarchism that appeared in Andalusia and Catalonia, and on the other hand the most typical Marxist movement of the Basque Country and Madrid.

Of these movements, the party known as the PSOE was born, being the party that represented the interests of the workers for years.

If you want to read more articles similar to Labor movement: summary, we recommend that you enter our category of History.

• Toso, S. G. (2007). The Anarchists and the labor movement. Lom Editions.
• Thompson, E. P., Domènech, A., & Hobsbawm, E. J. (1989). The formation of the working class in England.
• Miralles, R. (1992). Historiography of the labor movement in the Basque Country: 1880-1936. Contemporary History, (7).