Industrial reforms

• • l/w republican coalition passed a load of reforms aimed at improving the working and living conditions of the urban proletariat.
• Measures:

  • enforced salary increases - increased by 16% for workers between 1931-33
  • legal entitlement to 7 days paid leave per annum
  • working days were restricted to 8 hours unless overtime was paid
  • social security benefits but these were restricted to areas such as maternity, retirement and insurance against accidents in the workplace
  • freedom to strike without the fear of dismissal from employment
• • urban reforms failed to improve the harsh conditions of many workers
  • Urban poverty was exacerbated by the ongoing effects of the Great Depression - Madrid, the boom in construction, which had led to the migration of many low-skilled laborer's to the city, came to an end, which led to a rise in unemployment.
  • unemployed benefited little since there was no social security for those out of work
  • Economic depression and poverty = urban strikes and protests
  • reforms and strike action led to an increase in r/w support as m/c Spaniards feared a revolution