Final answer:
The conditions for wage laborers in industrial cities such as Manchester and Liverpool can best be described as having unsafe working conditions and low wages. Workers faced long hours, hazardous conditions, and minimal worker protection, with reform only coming later through labor movements.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to observers, the conditions for wage laborers in industrial cities such as Manchester and Liverpool were characterized by unsafe working conditions and low wages, which aligns with option B. Factory work was monotonous, physically and mentally exhausting, and hazardous to workers' health, with long hours of up to 14-16 hours per day. In these industrial settings, there was little to no regard for workers' safety. Injuries and amputations were common due to the lack of safety measures around early machinery. Additionally, the work environment often had insufficient fire safety standards, where workers inhaled harmful chemicals and dust. Labor laws to protect workers, including women and children, were almost non-existent, which allowed employers to exploit their workforce for maximum profit, despite the risks involved.
Conditions were so dire that social reformists, such as the novelist Charles Dickens, highlighted the plight of industrial laborers in their works, referencing them to bring attention to their harsh living standards. Workers had limited options, as they were 'free' in the legal sense but bounded by the constraints of poverty, often having to choose between dangerous labor or starvation.
The intense struggle of labor during the Industrial Revolution eventually led to organized demands for better working conditions, wages, and hours, resulting in strikes and labor movements that pushed for necessary reforms. The labor landscape of this era, especially in the burgeoning industrial hubs, was one of extreme hardships and challenges faced by the working class.