In a regular job (not owning capital), your wage depends on the cost to your boss if you quit
if you are enslaved and cannot quit, no one has to pay you anything, because you have no leverage
if you are easily replaced, you have little leverage by yourself, but a group of you might strike, so your boss has to pay enough to prevent that
and because repeated strikes lead to unrest and possibly a larger movement, the government reluctantly enforces some minimal protections
if you are hard to replace and your work is central to production, you have more leverage and your boss has to pay you more
Most essential work, like harvesting food and hauling away garbage, does not involve special skills, which puts it in the “workers are easy to replace” category. Even though this crucial work is often exhausting, demanding, and at times dangerous, a large pool of people are willing and able to do the work, so the workers have very little individual leverage. Emphasis on individual—a large strike would bring society to its knees.
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It all comes down to leverage
In a regular job (not owning capital), your wage depends on the cost to your boss if you quit
Most essential work, like harvesting food and hauling away garbage, does not involve special skills, which puts it in the “workers are easy to replace” category. Even though this crucial work is often exhausting, demanding, and at times dangerous, a large pool of people are willing and able to do the work, so the workers have very little individual leverage. Emphasis on individual—a large strike would bring society to its knees.