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Original copper plate for printing £1 notes of the Cyfarthfa Iron Works, Glamorgan.

While the workers endured long hours, dangerous working conditions and poor wages, their paymasters were reaping in the rewards. Richard Crawshey, the owner of Cyfarthfa Ironworks, is said to have been the world’s first millionaire, leaving an estate worth £1.5 million in 1810. In the face of great hardships and exploitation, the workers began to collectively organize themselves to campaign for their own interests. In general, these rights revolved around pay, benefits and safe working conditions. This gave rise to the labour movement and the right to unionize.