9781422282724

EMPLOYMENT AND WORKERS’ RIGHTS

F or most of human history, workers have had few if any rights. The majority of people were farmers or agricultural workers who were employed by large landowners. Until the Industrial Revolution began in Europe in the 1700s, as many as 90 percent of people worked in agriculture. There was a small population of skilled artisans in Europe who often banded together in towns and cities to create guilds, or professional societies. The guilds developed training or apprenticeship programs for new members and set rules and regulations for members on prices, wages, and working conditions. They were elitist groups with limited membership—often, they were open only to sons of existing guild members. It was therefore difficult for the average person to gain membership in a guild.

“The Governors of the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke” (1675), by Jan de Bray. The guild had painters and craftsmen of all kinds as members.

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