Chapter 17: Labor Protection Act
Chapter 17 The Labor Protection Act
The aristocrats are on the move, and naturally the capitalists have not been idle, all along they have been known as reformers, now they have switched roles violently, and many of them are very unaccustomed to it.
Vienna a manor house, is holding a banquet, the participants are mostly Austrian capitalists, of course, but also a group of experts and scholars.
“Mr. Veres, the current public opinion is very unfavorable to us, many people are attacking us for being profit-oriented, if we don’t take action, the enemy’s plot will be realized!”
“Yes, they to are standing on their feet and not thinking about the actual situation, now that the competition is so fierce, our profits are already very thin!”
“That’s right, we only have such a small profit, and the market is ever-changing, maybe we make money today and lose money tomorrow, and we have to keep investing in expanding production, it’s good to be able to feed the workers!
Where’s the money to give them better treatment? If there’s a labor protection law that gives all the benefits to the workers, wouldn’t we be working for nothing?
Who will invest in industry then? These aristocrats, they’re lying around making money every day, thinking of all these crooked ways!”
……
The highly respected Veris spoke up, “Alright, gentlemen, we are aware of all these problems, we must unite at this time and show our enemies our strength!
The Labor Protection Act is absolutely not to be seen, and after the first time, there will be a second time, and if we give in, the enemy will press on step by step.
The nobles want to hang us, they don’t have the guts to do it directly, so they’ve come up with a devious idea.
Don’t look, the current labor protection law only requires us to back down a small step, but once we let the enemy’s ambitions succeed, they will keep on encouraging the workers to rise up against us.
In the end, they’ll use the high cost of labor to send us into decline so that they can ensure that their lofty position remains unshaken!”
“Mr. Veris, what should we do now? You should know that it’s the nobles who are controlling the government now, and I’m afraid that many of us have already used our influence to lobby the government, but it’s still not promising!”
Verris sneered, “Mr. Trios, you are not wrong, with the nobles controlling the government, how can our complaints be of any use?
Why did the aristocrats propose the Labor Protection Act, is it so hard for them to be truly overflowing with love? If so, why don’t they free the serfs?”
Yeah, why did the nobles suddenly become kind?
Everyone was an old fox, this question was a little bit of a problem, and in a short period of time everyone came up with several reasons.
For example: a diversion of everyone’s attention to turn the sights of reform to the welfare benefits of the workers; or a retaliation of the aristocracy against the bourgeoisie’s demand for the abolition of serfdom ……
“What Mr. Verres means is that we continue to do what we do?” Trios asked uncertainly
Vires said with righteous indignation, “Yes, we cannot be led by the nose by our enemies, and the main purpose of the aristocrats in proposing the Labor Protection Act is to get us to make concessions.
But can we make concessions?
One step back is an abyss!
The most important thing for us now is to expose the enemy’s wolfishness and pull more people to our side before we can win the final victory!”
“But Mr. Veris, the enemy caught us off guard with their sudden move, and now public opinion is very unfavorable to us, with many neutrals falling to them on this issue!” Ham asked with a frown
Verris’ face changed, he knew that he was not convincing as a leader, and Ham was one of his challenges, on the surface his questioning was fine, but secretly he was hiding a murderous intent.
“Mr. Ham, I think such a simple thing is not a problem at all for everyone, is it not easy to convince them?
Bribe some of them, let them speak for us, take out the stubborn ones among them, and frame the secret police, it’s not the first time everyone has done something like this!”
Black and white, it didn’t matter anymore, public opinion could be manipulated. Everyone was fighting for profit, and the capitalists didn’t want to give up the benefits that were already in their hands, even if it meant using the government to concede in other areas.
Only want to get, do not want to pay, this is the nature of the capitalists, in other places they may be weak, once involved in their own interests, then they can also explode twelve points of fighting force.
Now that Verris has made things clear, then everyone’s gentlemanly demeanor can be dispensed with, and soon Austria will feel what is the corner of the capitalist’s mouth.
……
The capitalists are strong in battle, at least in their influence on public opinion, it is much stronger than the aristocrats, if it were not for the censorship of books and newspapers pulling the strings, the public opinion is now turned around.
Looking at the information in his hand, Franz didn’t even bother to spit out, in this wave of fighting, the performance of the conservative aristocrats was really rotten.
The first to be fooled by the capitalists were the students, the University of Vienna was the first to be attacked, and many people thought that it was a scam prepared by the government.
Whether they really thought it, or whether they thought it falsely, this Franz did not know, anyway, he was clear that many people were bought by the capitalists.
Franz commanded, “Theron, give a hint to the Grand Duke of Louis so that they can discover the conspiracy of the bourgeoisie and get the Labor Protection Act out as soon as possible!”
The best thing to do now is to take advantage of the capitalists’ counterattack to cause established facts.
The specific content of the Labor Protection Law, Franz will not bother to get involved, he knows that now the aristocrats want to retaliate against the bourgeoisie, so the provisions of this law will be very unfavorable to the capitalists.
The connection between the intelligence organization and the aristocrats, Franz did not even bother, he had to admit that he had overestimated this group of corrupt aristocrats.
At least they controlled the government, a bill in the district, under the influence of the bourgeoisie, actually did not land in a few months time.
Time rushed by, after several months of controversy, tug of war, November 21, 1847, history finally opened a new page, the Austrian Empire’s first “Labor Protection Act” shocked out.
The labor protection law stipulated:
1, from March 1, 1848, Austria began to implement the eight-hour workday, workers can voluntarily choose whether or not to work overtime; (capitalists may not cut wages as a result, overtime work must be paid overtime)
2. Local governments will set minimum wage standards in the near future, and all factories operating in Austria will be required to follow the regulations;
3. Implementing regulations for the protection of workplace injuries, and specific measures will be introduced by the government in the near future;
4, prohibit the withholding of wages without reason, the behavior of arrears, violators will be in more than ten times the compensation, the business sector according to the severity of the situation in the fine;
……
Thank you for all the big brother’s reward, Hai Yue thank you!!!!
The new book period to ask for votes, more good, to come!
(End of chapter)