Grown-ups, boys and girls in the Ghent cotton industry: The Voortman mills, 1835–1914

Abstract

The paper investigates high employment of women and young people in cotton mills, and its implications on the wage cost, the wage level, and the labour militancy of the workers. The workforce of one mill, the Ghent Voortman factory, is analysed for the period 1835-1914, and comparisons are made with all other cotton mills of the city. The proportion of women and young people was much higher in this mill than in most others. This kept the wage cost relatively low, influenced wages of both men and women (especially weavers), whereas militancy was limited from 1839 to 1894. All this suggests the existence of a long-term strategy of the owners. Probably Voortman had a reputation of being keen on enlisting many young women. Hence, the short careers and the high turnover of the workers throughout the century. Other firms sought to achieve a low wagebill by founding new weaving and spinning mills outside Ghent, where wages were much lower. Voortman did not do this because of lack of capital, and represents a variation of a cost-saving practice that was pushed to an extreme. © 1995 Taylor and Francis Group LLC.