"Factory Act"

Historically, after experiencing the devastating exploitation of workers in the early stages of the Industrial Revolution, Europe countries gradually recognized this problem and began to try to take measures.

As an industrial pioneer, United Kingdom was the first to enact the Factory Act in 1802 to guarantee the basic livelihood of workers. [Note 1]

Some of the more important regulations include:

Factories are prohibited from employing child laborers under the age of 9. Child laborers aged 9 and above may work 8 hours per day, and those aged 14 and above may work 12 hours per day.

Workers must not start work before 6 a. m. and must not go to bed later than 2 a. m.

-- Factories are required to provide workers with clothing to cover their bodies, and during their first four years working in the factory, they are obligated to ensure that workers receive at least two hours of basic education every day.

--The factory must ensure minimum ventilation and implement protective measures for hazardous Machines, etc.

In the early days of the Factory Act, United Kingdom companies complained, but soon they found that workers' efficiency had increased significantly and production costs were even lower than before the Factory Act was implemented.

In particular, there is a greater abundance of high-quality labor, and recruitment is easier. This is because workers' basic living conditions are guaranteed, and the rates of injury, death from disease, and starvation have decreased, allowing most of them to live to become skilled workers.

The result was a significant increase in the United Kingdom's industrial competitiveness, further consolidating its position as a global superpower.

After witnessing the workers' appalling working conditions today, Joseph decided to push for legislation to protect workers' rights as soon as possible.

This will not only improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of workers in the country, enabling them to at least maintain a basic standard of living, but also increase the efficiency of France industrial production. Moreover, the Labor Protection Act can become a powerful tool in France's hands.

Historically, after enacting the Factory Act, United Kingdom immediately became a human rights benchmark in Europe, receiving widespread praise from workers in all countries.

Skilled workers from various countries flocked to the United Kingdom upon hearing the news, bringing with them a wealth of talent and technology, which further propelled the development of the United Kingdom's Industrial Revolution.

Other Europe countries later realized something was wrong and had to follow suit with similar legislation, but they were already in a passive position. After all, once a benchmark is accepted, it's not so easy to change people's minds.

In this lifetime, Joseph will leave this iconic legacy in France!

Once we get back, we'll convene Mirabeau and Breteuil to discuss the framework of the regulations, aiming to submit them for review at the next Cabinet Meeting.

As he was pondering this to himself, he heard Perna say from the side:

"Your Highness, you just mentioned ' Medical Mask.' Do these also play an important role in medical treatment?"

Joseph nodded:

"That's true. Mask can significantly reduce the chances of doctors being infected by patients during treatment. Oh, in fact, the Plague Doctor Mask that doctors often wear during surgery have this effect."

Perna was somewhat surprised:

"However, some scholars believe that Plague Doctor Mask are merely ignorant superstition and can increase the chance of infection. My father never wore one."

Joseph had previously watched a documentary about the history of Europe medicine, and immediately breathed a sigh of relief, saying:

"That's because they rarely wash their masks; the stuff becomes a petri dish for Bacteria... but Mask are absolutely useful."

At this point, he quickly reminded manager Delas:

"You should also wash your Mask frequently, at least every three days, and ideally each worker should use a specific Mask to avoid sharing."

Upon hearing this, Perna's eyes lit up, as if she had already witnessed yet another Medicine innovation.

She deeply admired the Crown Prince's Medicine expertise, firmly believing that if he said it was effective, then it must be. Previously, she had written a paper on the knowledge he had taught her about "Double-blind Experiment," which earned her considerable prestige in the Medicine community. Of course, the Medicine community generally believed that it was something the Crown Prince and her father Lamarck, had come up with...

She immediately pleaded:

"Your Highness, I would like to distribute some Mask to Battlefield Hospital as well, and later promote their use among doctors nationwide."

"Of course, that's a good thing." Joseph nodded, then, thinking of the high cost of custom-made Mask, he simply said, "Or, we could build a Mask production factory."

"In the future, the needs of medical institutions and factories alone will consume tens of thousands of Mask every month, making mass production by factories necessary."

"Tens of thousands?" Perna asked, somewhat surprised. "Your Highness, the Distillery only has about 200 workers, and even with all the doctors in the country, it shouldn't need that many, right?"

Joseph smiled and said:

"It's not just Coal Gas Distillery; Textile, mills, Chemical, and even construction workers need these. I estimate we can definitely sell 20,000 to 30,000 Mask a month."

After discussing Mask, Joseph, led by Delas, visited the Coal Crushing Plant and talked with Investor such as DuPont about building new Coal Gas Distillery in Nancy and Tunisia.

When an Investor heard that even Tunisia was going to install Gas Lamp, with an investment of up to 2 million Franc, he was somewhat uncertain and said:

"Your Highness, are there any risks involved in laying Gas Lamp in North Africa? In fact, Nancy doesn't seem to be a very prosperous place..."

"You need to see the long-term benefits," Joseph said. "Gas Lamp has a huge impact on enhancing a city's attractiveness."

"Nancy's Industrial Development Zone is the most mature, and it will become a densely populated city in the future. Tunisia has seen an increase of at least 40,000 to 50,000 immigrants in the past six months, and Tunisia City will inevitably become the center of North Africa."

The Investor nodded slightly, but still whispered:

"I mean, with such a large investment, perhaps we should be more cautious..."

Before Joseph could say anything, DuPont spoke first with a smile:

"Mr. Roland, you're being too cautious. The prospects for Gas Streetlight are very good."

"To my knowledge, the British Parliament has approved a grant of Pound Sterling 300,000 for the installation of Gas Lamp in London."

The businessman Roland's eyes widened in disbelief. 300,000 Pound Sterling was 7.5 million Franc! The United Kingdom were investing so heavily in Gas Streetlight! It seemed he had been worrying unnecessarily.

Upon hearing this, Joseph frowned slightly. Historically, there was a reason why the United Kingdom were able to become pioneers of the Industrial Revolution; their keen sense of opportunity far surpassed that of other countries at the time.

[Note 1] In the early 19th century, the so-called Factory Act in the United Kingdom was not actually the name of a single law, but rather a collective term for a number of laws related to factories at the time. The most famous of these was the Health and Morals of Apprentices Act, along with some other miscellaneous supplementary laws.