Soviet Union Information Bureau

LABOR

AT the close of 1927 the output of Soviet industries was estimated at 10 per cent above pre-war, while the labor force was about equal to that of 1913. The gain in labor efficiency is the more marked when one considers that the length of the average working day has been reduced by about 25 per cent as compared with 1913.

Real wages for workers in industry in 1926-27 were about 1 per cent above those of 1913. This does not take account of the various additional benefits and services received gratis by the workers. As a charge upon the industries these benefits and services make an addition amounting to 32 per cent of the total payroll.

The highest expenditures of this character are reported by the oil industry, which pays out 6 per cent of the amount of the payroll for additional benefits for the workers.

Money wages have risen steadily for the past few years. In the large-scale industries they increased 17 per cent in 1927. Wages of office workers are generally higher than those of industrial workers. Wages in Moscow are about 35 per cent higher than in other cities.

The labor efficiency has risen through better industrial processes and better machinery. Output per worker in the Soviet Union is still low by Western European standards, but it has been showing a healthy rate of advance. The advance has been aided by a campaign against absenteeism. In 1913 the days of actual work per worker in industry were 257. In the fiscal year 1921-22 they had fallen to 219.5. In 1926-27 they were 262.1.

On the other hand the length of the normal working day, which was 10 hours before the war, was reduced to 8 hours at the beginning of the Soviet régime, and for dangerous occupations to 6 hours. During 1926-27 the working day averaged 7.5 hours.

The Council of People's Commissars, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Soviet State, in November, 1927, decreed the gradual introduction of the 7-hour day in industry. This is being put in force first in the textile industry.

Labor conditions are regulated by the Code of Labor Laws and by collective agreements between employers and the trade unions. Workers are hired generally through Government labor exchanges and the trade unions. Labor disputes are referred to Arbitration Committees, on which both the management and the labor union are represented. Since wages follow productive efficiency, the worker feels that he has a stake in the increasing efficiency of the industrial process. This feeling is a natural corollary of his proprietary position in respect to the industry and the country generally.

Under the labor laws no children under 14 years may be employed in industry. Between the ages of 14 and 16 a 4-hour day is permitted, and between the ages of 16 and 18 a 6-hour day. All industries are required to employ and train a specified quota of apprentices.

During the year there are fourteen legal holidays for workers. In addition each worker has a two weeks' vacation with pay, and in dangerous or heavy vocations an additional two weeks is allowed. In 146 of the dangerous trades a shorter working day is in effect.

Women workers receive from six to eight weeks' vacation with pay before and after childbirth.

The special benefits and services provided by employers under the law include free or nominal rentals for housing, free fuel, water, electric light, transportation, special working clothing, dental and medical service, social insurance (see section on Insurance).

Safety and health regulations are strictly enforced by labor inspectors with the result that much progress has been made in reducing the number of accidents and occupational diseases.

The right to strike is maintained in respect to State enterprises as well as private factories. Under the arbitral provisions of the Labor Code strikes have been reduced to a minimum during the past few years.

The total number of workers in industry was 3,075,000 last year; of this the census industry had 2,564,000.

The average number of workers employed in large-scale State industry during the first half of 1927-28 was 2,103,000, an increase of 5.5 per cent over the corresponding period of 1926-27.

Average wages in census industry for January, 1928, amounted to 67.17 rubles, an increase of 17 per cent over January, 1927. The average wages in Moscow amounted to 92.64 rubles.

TRADE UNIONS.- Trade unions play a most important role in both the social and economic scheme of the Soviet Union. Membership is entirely voluntary. Trade union officers are elected directly by the members and are directly responsible to them.

There are twenty-three large central trade unions in the U.S.S.R. These are united in the Central Council of Trade Unions.

The trade unions, through their factory committees, have organized special production committees in State factories and enterprises. There are over 50,000 of these production committees. Collaborating with engineers and specialists in the industries, the committees have a splendid record of accomplishment in increasing the output of the individual worker, facilitating inventions and bringing about better organization of work and higher rationalization of industry.

The cultural-educational work of the trade unions has brought equally impressive results and has been a mighty factor in the work of stamping out illiteracy. This work is an organic part of every department of the labor organization. The educational program includes the formation of clubs, libraries, schools, discussion circles of all kinds, the production of newspapers and other literature. The trade unions now maintain about 4,000 clubs and nearly 10,000 libraries.

The growth of trade union membership is shown in the following table:

Membership of trade unions as of October 1, 1928, was 11,034,600.

UNEMPLOYMENT.- Despite the steady rise of industry and the attendant increases in the labor force, unemployment remains at a high figure because of the rapid increase of population and the constant influx of young peasants to the industrial centers. Of the 1,352,800 registered unemployed at the beginning of 1928, 263,900, or nearly 20 per cent, were men seeking jobs in industry who had never before been employed in industrial work. There is little unemployment among skilled workers.

Unemployment figures vary with the seasons. It reaches its peak in the winter and early spring and declines by 300,000,000 to 500,000 during the summer months, when irrigation and reclamation work gives much temporary employment and many of the jobless ones of the city can be absorbed in the agricultural field.

Number of unemployed in the U.S.S.R. as of January 1:

The expenditures for unemployment (pensions, etc.) during the past four years were as follows:

This does not include the earnings of the collectives of unemployed which have been organized to render various services.

SOCIAL INSURANCE.- Social insurance, conducted by the State, and under the direct control of the workers' organizations, includes insurance against disability and unemployment, for women during and after pregnancy, and covers mortuary payments to helpless dependents. This insurance is a charge against the employing industry, whether State, cooperative or private. Every employer must contribute 4.5 per cent of the amount of his payroll to the insurance fund.

LABOR

The growth of social insurance is shown in the following table:

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Table of Contents: The Soviet Union: Facts, Descriptions, Statistics