They seem like slaves.
Genuinely curious, but is there evidence of human peasants being viciously beaten for not working?
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vulpera unlock quest proves that they’re poorly paid people.
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Peasants get paid.
Not sure about peons. They get food, I guess.
Why aren’t you working?
- (First peon) Tools broken. Had to use hands. Now they break too!
- (Second peon) Peons treated like da poop. Never get nothing nice.
- (Third peon) Always been a peon. Never nothing else. Maybe want more?
Do they even want money?
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They’re roughly equivalent. A labor class with very little chance as upward social mobility. The difference being that peasents are born into it, where peons are there on their own merits (or lack there of?).
The child of a peon could presumably take and pass the orcish rites and become a grunt and beyond.
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Orcs probably have a conflict based meritocracy. If you’re not a good warrior or a wise shaman, or a powerful warlock… you are assigned to hard labor. Though, I imagine it’s not always the case. An orc who is just really good at building and fixing things could also find themselves in peon status. But perhaps as task masters.
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Peasants aren’t that much better off than slave labor.
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Peons can progress in life provided they muster up the self-confidence to try and do so, which some do.
Peons are the runts of the litter I believe, traditionally exposed to the elements at birth (as a kindness) on their homeworld. The newly established horde found a use for them - hard labour. They aren’t a slave caste as they can come from any part of horde society.
You can either pick up an axe and go fight man-eating monsters from all over the universe, or you could pick up a hammer and start nailing stuff down. Easy choice.
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I would go an entirely different route.
So IRL:
- in many countries, for some professions like doctor or nurse or even engineering, you are obligated to do one full “service” year before getting your professional license after you graduate
- during colonial slavery, a lot of African warrior societies (initiatory warrior groups) survived among the slaves
- the D9 / the historically Black Greek Letter Organizations in the United States have elements of their hazing (hazing bad!) be stuff that forces the pledges to relive the suffering of their ancestors
So what I would do is that all Peons are Orcs who are entering adulthood, one year before they are “of age” to do the Om’gora rite at the next Kosh’harg festival, as a cultural practice of both service to the community (who are stripped of name, title, privileges, and otherwise) and as a ritualistic reminder of the slavery the Orcs endured during the Gorian Empire.
All Orcs must complete their full year of service as community peons to do the Om’gora and thus be recognized as adults.
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I mean the only orcs lower on the totem pole would be those like gul’dan who couldn’t even do labour work
Poor peons, work is da poop 
goblins control the economy
wake up peons
There is no way that peons in WoW don’t have some form of mental disability.
Me not that kind of orc
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During the grind for the Netherwing dragon mounts, the one activity that I did not mind repeating was that boot flinging quest. Level 70 Peons for the win!
See this would be sick as hell, I wish it was canon.
As others put it, not slave but pretty close.
Human peasants are not beaten in lore from what I recall.