Chapter 128: The Minimum Wage Law for Laborers

The government's strategy of repurchasing noble land at high prices has proven quite effective. Following the enactment of the law to repurchase noble land at high prices, many nobles on the verge of bankruptcy chose to sell portions of their land to the government in exchange for emergency funds.

In just over a week, the amount of land the government acquired from the nobles exceeded 2, 00 acres, which is approximately 10 square kilometers of land.

This land is actually not much; it is merely the scale gathered from a few small nobles whose assets were not substantial.

Why is it said that the nobility are the pests of Spain? Because at the peak of the nobility, the nobles, who made up only 2% of the population, occupied 95% of Spain's total arable land.

Of course, a large number of clergy, merchants, and specialized professionals were also included, but such data is still extremely exaggerated.

At that time, 95% of Spain's population were farmers, and the land owned by these farmers accounted for 5% of Spain's total land.

The nobles not only possessed a vast amount of land, but their land also consisted of fertile plains and valleys, leaving only barren land for the farmers.

Although the land in the hands of the nobles has decreased significantly after long periods of development and revolution, it still occupies 40% of the arable land area.

The land held by the nobility and the church combined is more than that held by the farmers; this not only affected the development of Spanish agriculture but also forced a large number of farmers to become tenant farmers for these nobles and the church.

The nobility and the church not only collected rent from these tenants but also made them pay heavy agricultural taxes, including tithes and land taxes.

This is the true reason for the outbreak of revolution in Spain. The premise of the luxurious lives enjoyed by the nobility and the church was the constant exploitation of the farmers. When the Spanish people could no longer afford to eat, they naturally had to find ways to survive.

Currently, after the revolution, the proportion of land in the hands of the nobility has dropped to below 35% of the total arable land, which is considered good news.

The government obtained a large amount of land from the nobility and the church, and this land is rented out to farmers for cultivation at lower rents.

Farmers are no longer short of land to farm, nor are they burdened by overly harsh taxes, so they naturally have no other thoughts when they can get by.

In fact, compared to being a landlord, engaging in industry and finance in this era clearly has more potential. Compared to the more traditional landed nobility, Xiang Kaluo clearly values the new-style nobility more.

The new-style nobility do not have much land; they invest their wealth into industry and finance, stimulating the development of the Spanish economy.

The capital formed by the union of nobles also carries significant influence. Rather than holding onto land and offending a large number of farmers, it is better to become a capitalist controlled by the government and the royal family, enjoying a life of counting money until one's hands cramp.

As time entered the middle of May, the Royal Union Bank and the Bank of Spain, under the supervision of the Currency Issuance Committee, manufactured and issued the Kingdom of Spain's newest peseta currency system.

The exchange rate between the peseta and the British pound is 26. 2: , and the value of 1 peseta is approximately 0. 82 grams of gold.

There are two types of pesetas issued by the two banks: one is paper currency with the seals of the bank and the Currency Committee, and the other is a silver coin with a total weight of 4. 3 grams of silver.

According to the current value of gold and silver, the value of 4. 3 grams of silver is exactly equivalent to 0. 82 grams of gold. The silver coin made of 4. 3 grams of silver is the coin version of the peseta and is also the most common version.

A silver coin made of 4. 3 grams of silver is 1 peseta, with a value equivalent to 1 peso from the Spanish colonial period.

Above the 1-peseta coin, there are 5-peseta coins made of 21. 5 grams of silver and 10-peseta coins made of 2. 2 grams of gold.

Of course, these weights only refer to the weight of pure gold and pure silver; some other metals are mixed in to make these gold and silver coins made of precious metals more durable.

Below the larger denomination of 1 peseta, there are cent coins made of copper. 1 peseta is divided into 100 cents, and 1 copper coin is equal to 1 cent. According to the different weights of the copper coins, they are also divided into 1 cent, 5 cents, 10 cents, 20 cents, and 50 cents, serving as the most commonly used currency for the daily lives of the public.

This is also a characteristic of the currencies of various countries during the gold standard era. Generally, there are two types of currency: one is currency with actual value made of gold, silver, and copper, where the specific content of gold and silver in the currency also determines the exchange rate of the currency.

The other type of currency is paper money equivalent to the value of gold and silver coins. Generally, the paper money issued by various governments circulates domestically, while international trade mostly uses gold and silver coins because gold and silver coins have higher value and are more recognized in international transactions.

Currently, the Spanish gold and silver coins are engraved with a bust of Xiang Kaluo, a large portrait, and the coat of arms of the House of Savoy, respectively.

The copper coins are engraved with Prime Minister Primo, Grand Duke Serrano, and other relatively famous figures in Spanish history.

After printing the new peseta currency, the Spanish government also promulgated a new law, the "Minimum Wage Law for Laborers."

According to the provisions of this law, anyone who possesses Spanish nationality is considered a Spanish citizen.

When Spanish citizens perform various types of work within Spain and exchange their labor for income, business owners and factory owners should follow the "Labor Protection Law" and the "Minimum Wage Law for Laborers" to pay Spanish citizens at least the minimum level of guaranteed income.

The minimum weekly wage for an adult male Spanish citizen when working is 1 peseta and 75 cents, and the minimum weekly wage for an adult female Spanish citizen when working is 1 peseta and 15 cents.

The minimum weekly wage for a male Spanish citizen over 50 years old when working is 1 peseta and 10 cents, and the minimum weekly wage for a female Spanish citizen over 50 years old when working is 85 cents.

The minimum weekly wage for child laborers when working is uniformly 75 cents, and child laborers should enjoy at least one day of vacation per month, and daily working hours must not exceed 12 hours.

Because the economic development of various regions in Spain is different, the minimum income in different places has a certain degree of fluctuation.

In order to prevent high-income areas from using the Minimum Wage Law to find loopholes, the government also additionally stipulated that each region should fluctuate according to the actual situation of the local per capita annual income, but only increases are allowed, not decreases.

In relatively developed areas like Madrid and Barcelona, the actual minimum income still needs to be increased.

Especially for Barcelona, after the industrial zone is built in the future, the minimum income of workers will certainly not be as simple as stipulated in the law.

If any capitalist wants to find loopholes in the law and desperately exploit the Spanish people, Xiang Kaluo would not mind letting them feel what it is like to be hung on a street lamp.

All royal factories and enterprises naturally execute the new law promulgated by the government honestly. However, the good news is that the income of employees in royal enterprises is basically above the minimum income stipulated by the government, which also means that the law promulgated by the government does not have much impact on royal enterprises.

For those capitalists who originally desperately exploited the public and even desperately exploited child laborers, if they want to continue to exploit the public, they will have to consider the government's attitude.

Needless to say, the public is quite welcoming of the law promulgated by the government. The actual beneficiaries of this law are the Spanish public, which can ensure that they have a minimum income to obtain when working, without worrying about excessive exploitation by capitalists.

The most worth mentioning is the minimum wage for child laborers stipulated in the law.

The issue of child labor is a topic that this era and even later generations have never been able to avoid.

Simply put, every country has groups living in poverty. Letting children go out to work is not because they do not love their children, but because the family really cannot live on, and these underage children must be allowed to go out and struggle to earn income.

Although the minimum weekly wage for child laborers is only 75 cents, this level is already at the middle-to-upper level among the incomes of all child laborers in Spain at present.

Ensuring the minimum weekly wage for child laborers can not only effectively improve the income of the child laborers themselves but also improve the living standards of those families who are forced to let their children go out to work.

However, after the income of adult citizens increases, it is best for these children to receive an education. After all, only by receiving an education can one enter a higher class; knowledge changing destiny is not just talk.

Of course, this so-called knowledge is not just knowledge from books, but any knowledge that can be practically utilized, including various technologies and ways of thinking.

Such a minimum income level is carefully calculated by the government. It is very difficult to rely on this level of minimum income to be well-fed and well-clothed, but it can ensure that most Spaniards enjoying the minimum level can afford to eat.

As for living a better life and pursuing being well-fed and well-clothed or even eating and dressing well, it requires a large number of Spaniards to work hard during working hours and in their positions, such as sending their children to school to learn, letting them enter more advanced positions, and so on.

The salary of an ordinary worker and the salary of a skilled worker are different, and the salary of a skilled worker and the salary of a technical worker are also different.

Even for the sake of the future quality of life of their own families, the Spanish public will eventually choose to let themselves or their children climb higher and enjoy better job positions and salary treatment.

If it can be said that in 1871 the Spanish government mostly worked hard on industrial development and economic development, then in 1872, Spain, which had tended to be stable, officially began to explore reforms in decrees.

At present, the effects achieved by the two bills, the "Land Leasing Act" and the "Minimum Wage Law for Laborers," are quite good.

The former took care of the vast masses of farmers in Spain, and the latter took care of the emerging group of workers and laborers in Spain.

Although this offended a large number of conservatives, including the nobility, the good news is that there was no major reaction from the nobility.

As for the power of the capitalist class, it is still very weak in Spain at present. As long as the more powerful nobility, the church, and the radical republicans do not react, the capitalist power in Spain cannot have an impact on the stability of the government and the country.

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(End of this chapter)