Early Spanish Labor Movement Origins and Struggles

Labor Movement: Origin and Characteristics (Until 1868)

Origins and Characteristics

Beginning in the 1840s, workers started flocking to cities, driven by the development of the textile and steel industries. Employment conditions were harsh, involving 12 to 14 hours of monotonous and unhealthy work, lacking security, low wages, insufficient food, and little variety. Illiteracy was almost universal. Workers lived in slums without sanitation or any kind of assistance, and children aged 6 or 7 were already considered laborers. The insecurity was complete; economic crises caused sales drops, leading to layoffs, unemployment, hunger, and crime. These new industrial workers came from rural areas, losing the protection previously offered by guilds. They did not control the production process; they simply sold their labor power.

Evolution of the Worker Movement

The 1830s and 1840s

• In the 1830s, a series of movements related to Luddism (movements against machinery) were listed, highlighted by the Bonaplata factory fire in Barcelona.
• From the 1840s, the first attempts at organization appeared, such as the creation of mutual aid societies and the Mutual Protection Society of Cotton Weavers.
• On the other hand, ideas of utopian socialism began to spread, including a failed attempt to establish a phalanstery in Jerez.
• Even during the Progressive Biennium, workers were unclear about their true adversaries. They demanded better wages, shorter hours, and workplace safety, but only saw a few business owners as the root of the problem (Pi i Maragall's view).

The Two Progressives Period

Workers participated in the revolution that ended the moderate government. This involved a general strike lasting 10 days, resulting in an agreement with Espartero's envoy. Workers sent two representatives to Madrid to demand:

1. The right of association.
2. Reduction of the workday to 10 hours.
3. Maintenance of wages.
4. The right to collective bargaining.

However, the bill passed in Parliament did not fully meet the demands. The resulting "Employment Act" only reduced the average time for children, limited local association, stipulated that collective bargaining only occurred in companies with over 20 employees, and formed juries. Conflict continued throughout 1856, and with the return of Narváez, workers' associations were prohibited.

Final Stage of the Reign

The worker movement shifted to support the Democratic and Republican parties, which incorporated some workers' demands. Until 1863, labor action diminished due to suppression by Narváez and O'Donnell. Worker schools were unimportant during this period. Since 1863, worker mobilization reappeared, marked by the peasant uprising of Loja. Some leaders established contact with the First International, and workers participated in the Revolution of 1868.