Biscay Miners' Labor Movement and Strike Demands

Biscay Miners' Petition and Strike Threats

The workers of the Biscay mines appointed a commission to demand that public authorities end the system of quarters and compulsory shops. The reasons they presented were the broken promises from the bosses about closing compulsory shops and quarters, promises made during the 1890 strike, and the fact that this situation ran counter to the liberal spirit of the century, which favoured individual freedom and freedom of work. The miners threatened to go on strike if the government did not accept their petitions.

Context: Restoration and Industrialization

At the end of the century the Restoration system was set up. This system was rooted in the 1876 Constitution. The system presented itself as the only one that could guarantee social peace and political stability. These two factors contributed to an era of economic development.

At the same time Biscay underwent important economic development based on the establishment of industrial companies with foreign and Basque capital, which exploited Basque iron, highly valued in Europe. Iron exploitation produced high profits that were converted into the capital needed to begin industrial development in Biscay. All of this brought the great economic and social change that took place in Biscay at the end of the 19th century.

Interpretation: Social and Labor Changes

Due to the industrialization process in Biscay at the end of the 19th century, the number of industrial workers increased dramatically. A great number of them were immigrants searching for a better life and were employed in Biscay mines and in the new factories founded at this time. Cheap and abundant labour became one of the most important factors in the economic development of Biscay.

Workers faced very harsh working and living conditions: long working hours, low wages, poor hygienic and housing conditions, and lack of medical attention. Miners played an important role in the labour movement of Biscay. Most of them affiliated with the socialist movement.

Socialism was introduced in Biscay by Facundo Pérezagua, who founded the Asociación Socialista de Bilbao. Affiliation grew especially after the first successful general strike.

May Day Demands

The workers met on the first of May and asked the government to defend their rights. The reasons they offered included:

• The labour benefits they had obtained in the 1890 strike, such as the ten-hour workday and the suppression of barracks and company canteens.
• The liberal spirit of the century. The Restoration system represented the triumph of liberalism, and one of liberalism's aims was the defence of citizens' rights and liberties and the protection of workers from capitalist exploitation.
• Opposition to practices that enriched factory and mine owners at the expense of workers: long working hours in return for low wages, compulsory shopping at the bosses' shops, and living in dreadful barracks.

Political Pressure and Threats

As a result, workers pressured politicians to make swift decisions; otherwise they threatened to go on strike. Their demands combined concrete labour claims with an appeal to the prevailing liberal rhetoric of the century in order to justify and reinforce their calls for reform.