KÖNIGSBERG.
279
Weekly Wages.
Weekly Hours of
Labour.
Municipal Employees :—
Road making and repairing :—
Unskilled labourers
Skilled paviors
Street cleaning :—
Sweepers
Carmen
Gasworks :—
Stokers ...
Labourers ...
Waterworks :—
Labourers
Municipal Tramways :—
Drivers
Conductors ...
Electric lighting and power stations
Stokers
Enginemen
Erectors
Fitters...
Installators
15s.
28s. KM.
21s.
20s. 9d.
24s. (M.
21s.
18s. to 20s. 5d.
21 s.
22s. 9c?.
29s. 5cl.
25s. 6d.
21s. Id.
60
60
54-60
60-72
58|
54
60
68
68
48
54
54
Comparing these wages with those in Berlin, and taking the latter as 100,
the index numbers for Königsberg are as follows :—Building trades, skilled
men, 80, labourers, 90 ; and printing trades, 88.
Metal and Engineering Trades. The two principal concerns in the
engineering trades—one manufacturing railway carriages and the other loco
motives—declined to furnish data respecting the wages and hours of labour of
their men, but, according to the information supplied by the metal-workers’
Union, many of whose members are employed by the firms in question, the
predominant earnings in these establishments for a full week of 60 hours were
those shown in the Table. In the smaller establishments employing fitters
and smiths, e.g., in making and fixing railings and iron structures for use in
connection with buildings, the conditions of labour have been regulated by
agreement since May, 1905. Since October, 1905, the agreement has been
revised, the hours of labour remaining the same, but the hourly rate being
increased from 38 pfennige (about 4^d.) to 40 pfennige (about 4\d.) from
May 1st, 1906, and to 43 pfennige (about b\d.) from April 1st, 1907.
Clothing Trade. The bespoke tailoring trade is of considerable importance
in Königsberg, owing to the strong military, official and scholastic element in
the population, and the journeymen tailors are well organised. In so far as
the work is done in workshops and not given out to homeworkers, its conditions
are fixed by an agreement which provides for a working week of 60 hours.
Transport and Dock Labour. For loading and discharging, the ship
owners deal with the master stevedores, whom they pay by the ton. The latter
have now an agreement with the men for a day-shift of 10 hours, from 6 a.m.
to 6 p.m., with intervals for meals amounting to two hours. For work done
during the day-shift the rate of wages is 6<i. per hour. The time from 6 p.m.
till 8 p.m, is paid for at the rate of 9\d., and every hour from 9 p.m till 6 a.m.
at the rate of Is. The above agreement did not exist, however, at October,
1905, when each master stevedore paid whatever rate per hour he could get his
men to accept. That the rates were then considerably lower is shown by a
return furnished by one of the principal master stevedores, whose men at
October, 1905, earned 22s. for 55 hours’ work, for which, under the present
agreement, they would have received at least 27s. 6d. As a matter oí tact the
same men at October, 1906, earned 28s. for 55 hours’ work.
In the coal import trade practically the whole of the work is done on the
piece-wage system, each of the principal firms having its own piece-wage
list. In each such list provision is made for cases where time work may be
necessary, and the rate invariably fixed is 4^d. per hour.
Printing Trade. The conditions of labour in the printing trade are
regulated by the agreement which exists for the whole of Germany, and fix.es