Biscay Workers' Movement and 19th Century Labor Rights

Historical Context of the Biscay Workers' Movement

Workers: This text is a primary source and, due to its nature, is a political text. It was written by the workers from Biscay. It was published in "La Lucha de Clases" and the destinations were all the public. It was written in 1896 during the Restoration time when the workers’ movement had an important growth in Spanish industrial areas and Biscay’s workers started fighting for better working conditions.

The workers from Biscay named a commission to require political authorities the abolition of compulsory shops and quarters. The reasons they presented were the broken promises of the bosses about the abolition of compulsory shops and quarters taken in the 1890 strike and the fact this situation went against the liberal spirit of the century that favored individual freedom and work freedom. The miners threatened the government to go on strike if their petitions were not accepted.

The Restoration System and Economic Growth

At the end of the century, the Restoration system was set up. It was rooted in the 1876 Constitution. It considered itself the only option that guaranteed social peace and political stability. These two factors would lead the country to an era of economic development. At the same time, Biscay underwent an economic development based on industrial companies with foreign and Basque capital that exploited Basque iron, which was very appreciated in Europe. The iron exploitation gave high profits that turned into the needed capital for the industrialization of Biscay. All this brought the great economic and social change that Biscay suffered at the end of the century.

Industrialization and the Rise of the Working Class

Due to the industrialization process, which took place in Biscay at the end of the 19th century, the number of industrial workers grew dramatically. A great amount of these workers were immigrants that were looking for a better life and were employed in Biscay’s mines and new factories. This work was cheap and abundant and turned into the main factor of Biscay’s economic development. Workers' living and working conditions were really hard: long working hours, low wages, bad hygienic and living conditions, and no medical attention.

Socialist Influence and the Fight for Better Conditions

The miner will have an important role in Biscay’s labour movement since lots of them were affiliated with the socialist administration. Socialism was brought to Biscay by Facundo Perezagua, who founded the "Asociación Socialista de Bilbao". This association grew especially after the first successful general strike. On the first of May, the workers met and required the government the defense of their rights. They gave the following reasons:

• The privileges they got after the 1890 strike: The ten-hour workday and the suppression of barracks and canteens.
• The liberalist spirit: The Restoration meant the triumph of liberalism, and some of its aims are the defense of citizens' rights and liberties and the protection of workers from capitalism exploitation, which meant long working journeys in return for low wages and the obligation of shopping in bosses’ shops and living in dreadful barracks.

All this supposed the enrichment of factories and mines bosses. After all this, workers persuaded the politicians to make quick decisions; otherwise, they threatened to go on strike.