Chapter 17: Chapter 17 – Labor Protection Act of 1847

The nobles were on the move, but the capitalists were certainly not idle, either. Still, many capitalists who had claimed to be reformists for a long time struggled to adapt to the new situation.

A banquet was being held in a mansion in Vienna. The guests included some of the wealthiest capitalists in Austria, as well as a number of experts and scholars.

A pot-bellied man complained to Ernst Vilmos, the host of the banquet and one of the most influential capitalists in Austria, “Mr. Vilmos, public opinion has turned against us. Many people are criticizing us for putting our profit before the lives of the workers. If we do not respond immediately, this smear campaign by our enemies will cause us great harm!”

A balding middle-aged man added, indignantly,“Yes! Their reforms are much easier said than done. They have not even considered our situation. Due to the fierce competition, our profit margins are already slim as it is!”

Encouraged by the support of his peer, the pot-bellied man continued, “That’s correct. We make money today but lose money tomorrow because our profit is so low and the market is ever-changing. In addition, we have to constantly upgrade the equipment in the factories to increase the efficiency of the workers.

It is already difficult for us to feed the workers. How can we, on such slim profit margins, afford to raise their pay? If this Labor Protection Act makes us give up all of our profits to the workers, we will end up working for nothing.

If this act is passed, who would dare invest in factories? Only these damn nobles, who make money every day despite doing nothing, can come up with such a stupid idea!”

Ernst Vilmos nodded and replied, “Well, gentlemen, since we are all in agreement about this, it’s time for us to unite and show those arrogant nobles our strength!

We cannot allow the Labor Protection Act to be passed. If they succeed this time, they will take it as a sign of our weakness. If we make concessions for the Labor Protection Act, they will continue to press us down, little by little, again and again.

The nobles want to wipe us out but they do not have the courage to do it openly, so they came up with this lousy idea.

It is true that now we have no other choice but to make concessions on the Labor Protection Act. However, even if we back down this time, they will continue to encourage workers to rise up against us. To keep their unshakable position, they will increase the cost of labor to push us into decline!”

Roland Trausch, a successful capitalist from Salzburg, asked, “But, Mr. Vilmos what can we do? You know that the government is under control of the nobility. Even after many of us here used our influence to lobby the government, the situation is not looking good for us.”

Ernst Vilmos replied with a sneer on his face, “Mr. Trausch, you are right. Since the nobles have control of the government, how could our complaints make a difference?

Why did the nobles propose the Labor Protection Act? Is it really because of the overwhelming mercy in their hearts? If that’s the case, why don’t they liberate the serfs?”

It was a good question. Why did the nobles suddenly show care for the poor workers?

The people present quickly suggested a number of possible answers. One said that it could’ve been to divert the public’s attention from other reforms to the welfare of workers while another suggested that it might’ve been to get back at the capitalists for pushing for the abolition of serfdom…

“So, Mr. Vilmos, you mean to say that we should continue doing what we were doing?” Roland Trausch asked, puzzled.

Ernst Vilmos replied, cautiously, “Yes, we cannot for their trap. The main purpose of the Labor Protection Act is to force us to take a step back.

But is it possible for us to take a step back? No! Behind us is the abyss!

Our objective now is to expose the nobles’ schemes and draw more people and support over to our side, so that we may survive this crisis!”

“But, Mr. Vilmos, the nobles struck us while we were unprepared which caused the public opinion to be stacked against us. As a result, many people who were originally neutral have moved closer to the nobles!” rebuffed Hahn Tobin, one of the younger capitalists.

Ernst Vilmos frowned. He knew that many of the capitalists present were not convinced by his words. His words seemed straightforward, but danger lurked beneath the surface.

“Mr. Tobin, I don’t think this is too difficult for us. Is it really so difficult to convince them?

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If need be, we can buy off some of them and have them speak in our favor and then have them killed off and blame it on the secret police? It’s not like we haven’t done such things before.”

When it came to manipulating public opinion, it wouldn’t make much difference even if they used dirty tricks. Even if the government made some concessions, the capitalists would never use up all their favors which had taken so long to gain.

They just wanted to make money without having to suffer. Maybe, in some ways, they were weak, but when it came to their own interests, they could show their full fighting weight.

Since Ernst Vilmos had decided, there was no need for them to act like gentlemen anymore. Austria would soon see what kind of people the capitalists truly were.

 

***

 

The capitalists were influential. At least, they were much more influential than the nobles in terms of manipulating the public opinion. If it had not been for the censorship, they would have already turned the tide in their favor.

After reading the intelligence documents in his hands, Franz did not even bother to comment. The performance of the conservative nobles during this battle based around public relations was truly pathetic.

The students were the first demographic that were fooled by the capitalists with the University of Vienna being the first to be captured. Many students had now come to believe that the Labor Protection Act was a scheme invented by the government.

Franz did not know what they really thought, but he was sure that many of them had been bought off by the capitalists.

Franz ordered the head of the Agency, Bernd Schneider, “Bernd, inform Archduke Louis regarding the plot of the capitalists, so he can pass the Labor Protection Act as soon as possible!”

The best way to handle the situation now was to create a fait accompli before the capitalists could cause anymore damage.

Franz did not trouble himself by participating in the enactment of the Labor Protection Act. The nobles would definitely want revenge so the provisions of this act would be very unfavorable to the capitalists.

In addition, Franz no longer cared about the relation between the Agency and the nobles. He had to admit that he had overestimated the rotten nobility.

Despite having control of the government, they could not enact a single law even after months of work–work that was for naught now because of the influence of the capitalists.

 

***

 

Time flew by. After months of controversy and speculation, on November 21, 1847, history finally turned a new page as the Labor Protection Act of 1847 was enacted in the Austrian Empire.

The act read:

1. From March 1, 1848, Austria will implement an eight-hour working day. Workers can choose to work overtime or not, at will (employers must not cut wages because of this, and must pay overtime wages);
2. Local governments must set minimum wage standards in the near future. Every factory operating in Austria must implement such standards in accordance with the regulations;
3. Austria will implement regulations on industrial injury protection with specific details to be introduced by the government in the near future;
4. It will be prohibited to deduct or default wages without reason. Any offender will pay compensation of more than ten times the amount withheld, along with a fine, decided according to the severity of the circumstances by the industrial and commercial authorities.

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