The Condition of the Working Class in England

Engels takes a closer look at the living and working conditions of miners throughout England and their four-month-long strike in 1844.

The Children Employment Commission’s Report cited by the author concludes that living conditions among miners’ children are somewhat better compared to those in other branches of industry because of higher wages.

However, the miners’ general health is very poor due to spending 12 hours a day underground inhaling air mixed with dust and smoke. Lung, heart, and digestive diseases are the most common, leading to premature aging and death. The “black spittle” condition is prevalent among workers in mines without proper ventilation; the lungs are saturated with coal particles causing a black mucous discharge (252). Physical development is also slowed down, so that a young man of 19 might look to be 11 or 12. Children as young as four or five are employed to watch the fire doors separating different parts of the mine. Older children are tasked to transport coal by creeping on hands and knees through narrow tunnels. Exhausted by 12-hour workdays, young people might simply lie down to sleep by the side of the road, to be found by their parents late at night.

In addition to the health problems caused by long working hours and bad conditions, cave-ins and explosions are also commonplace, increasing the mortality rate among miners.