Reforms through Laws How attentive was the government to the conditions of work of women and children? Laws were passed in prohibiting the employment of children under the age of nine in factories and limiting the hours of work of those between the ages of nine and sixteen to hours a day. But this law lacked the powers needed for its enforcement. It was not until , after intense protest by workers throughout the north of England, that an Act was passed that permitted children under nine to be employed only in silk factories, limited the hours of work for older children and provided a number of factory inspectors to ensure that the Act was enforced.
Finally, in , after more than years of agitation, the Ten Hours’ Bill was passed. This limited the hours of work for women and young people, and secured a -hour day for male workers. These Acts applied to the textile industries but not to the mining industry. The Mines Commission of , set up by the government, revealed that working conditions in mines had actually become worse since the Act of , because more children had been put to work in coal mines.
The Mines and Collieries Act of banned children under ten and women from working underground. Fielder’s Factory Act laid down in that children under eighteen and women should not work more than hours a day. These laws were to be enforced by factory inspectors, but this was difficult to do. The inspectors were poorly paid and easily bribed by factory managers, while parents lied about the real ages of their children, so that they could work and contribute to family incomes.