9. Exploitation by Employers
Employers in Victorian England often preferred hiring children for certain jobs because they could pay them less and utilized their small size for dangerous tasks. For example, in textile mills, children known as piecers repaired broken threads on spinning machines while they were still operating, exposing them to significant injury risks. Similarly, young boys were employed as chimney sweeps, navigating narrow chimneys to clean soot, a hazardous and physically demanding job (historic-uk.com).
