Finanzen und Steuern im In- und Ausland

Cost of living in German towns

Bibliographic data

Monograph

Identifikator:: 1823190766

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-220010

Document type:: Monograph

Title:: Finanzen und Steuern im In- und Ausland

Place of publication:: Berlin

Publisher:: Hobbing

Year of publication:: 1930

Scope:: 896 S; graph. Darst.

Digitisation:: 2022

Collection:: Economics Books

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Chapter

Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Erster Hauptteil. Deutsche Finanz- und Steuerstatistik

Collection:: Economics Books

HAMBURG. 253 viz., 405. 2d. per week, while labourers engaged in other building work receive 32s. 1 g?., which is the rate for glaziers, plumbers and fitters. Oil, Rubber and Margarine Industries.—Employment for a large amount of unskilled labour is found in oil and rubber works in Hamburg and Harburg, at several margarine factories, the most important being at Altona, at chemical and asbestos works, and in numerous timber yards and sawmills. There is little difference in the rates of wages paid in these groups of industries. Unskilled men begin at from 16s. to 18s. per week and advance to 21s. and 22s., while better men can often earn 24s. Cigar and Cigarette Industry. — Both at Hamburg and Altona a large number of workers of both sexes are employed in the cigar and cigarette trade. There are a few small factories in which the actual manufacture of cigars takes place, but this is in the main a house industry, and the factory workpeople are employed in sorting, packing, box-making, labelling, &c. The home-workers are either employed directly by the manufacturers or they work for “ middlemen ” (“Zwischenmeister”), some of whom have as many as 15 assistants, though most have only one or two. The earnings of the home-workers vary greatly according to individual dexterity and the quality of the cigars made, but in general the rate earned per hour ranges from 3\d. to 4\d. for men. working independently, rates equal to from 17s. 6d. to 21s. 3d. per week of 60 hours, comparing with 30s. usually earned in factories by sorters. The Clothing Trade.—Another industry employing a large number of workpeople of both sexes at home as well as in workshops is the clothing trade, of which Hamburg is an important centre. In the workshops tailors earn from 27s. to 30s. per week, the lower figure being the minimum established by agreement, but in busy seasons their earnings are higher. The earnings of home-workers fall much below these rates and are unfavourably affected by the growth of the “ middleman ” system. Glass Bottle Industry.—Glass bottle blowing is an important industry at Altona and also in several small towns outside Hamburg, like Bergedorf, Geesthacht, &c. Glass workers in the country often live in factory dwellings, to which a little garden ground is attached, paying from £5 to £8 10s. for two living and bed rooms and a kitchen. Many Danes, Swedes, and Norwegians are employed in this industry. The Brewing Trade.— The wages of the brewery employees are regulated by an agreement. Brewers began in 1905 with a minimum weekly wage of 30s. rising after five years to a maximum of 33s. ; coopers began at 31s., rising in two years to 32s. ; draymen had 25s. and 26s., and in addition 2s. per day for food. Free beer is given to the workmen without restriction. The practice of living-in has been abolished. Harbour and Dock Labour.—The wages of harbour and dock labourers are likewise to a large extent regulated by agreements, mostly of a general character, though a few agreements between special firms and their workpeople also exist. Several keenly-contested disputes have drawn the harbour labourers closely together during recent years, and it is estimated that of some 17,000 men of all grades at least 12,000 are organised. In considering the rates of wages given below it should be remembered that there is a good deal of inter mittent work even in busy seasons, and that there are, moreover, two recurrent slack periods of about six weeks each, from the end of January to the middle of March, and from the end of June to the middle of August. The busiest seasons are spring and autumn, when work at good wages is abundant. During the past three years (1904 to 1906) the trade of Hamburg harbour has been abnormally active, and comparatively little slack time has been experienced. The largest group of harbour men are the stevedores, who number about 5,000, and have a good name for steadiness, smartness, and efficiency. The wages agreement current in October, 1905, fixed the rate of daily wages at 4s. Qd. for the loading and unloading of ordinary merchandise, 5s. Id. for chemicals and cement in sacks, and 5s. 4d. for ores, pig iron, loose corn, salt, guano, sulphur, salted hides, turpentine, gambier, and camphor. On piecework higher earnings were made, and there is at times much overtime. A full day

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