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Research by John
Fielden suggested that a piecer
walked about twenty miles a day. As the scavengers job, they had to
pick up loose cotton from under the machinery. The machines, of
course, were not switched off and so the children had to dangerously
work underneath it.
If the child made a small mistake, he
or she could end up with missing limbs, no hair or it could even
cost them their lives. All a big risk when some of these children
would have only been six years old or so. The children worked in
terrible conditions, only allowed to go to the toilet 3 times a day;
some wet themselves because of this and ruined their clothes. I have
heard of children dying because of having to suppress their
urine.
The children were forced to look at
their work at all times and were not allowed to talk. If such a rule
was broken, they were beaten. I have met people who are 40 or
so now and they are deformed, have missing limbs and are deaf. These
people all worked as scavengers and piecers when they were young
children. W
ould any of you let your 6-year-old
child work at such a perilous job where the pay was below 2
shillings? I personally think that such
treatment is unacceptable and that child labour should be abolished.
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