Cost of living in German towns

Bibliographic data

Monograph

Identifikator:: 866449027

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-93831

Document type:: Monograph

Title:: Cost of living in German towns

Place of publication:: London

Publisher:: Stat. Off.

Year of publication:: 1908

Scope:: 1 Online-Ressource (LXI, 548 Seiten)

Collection:: Economics Books

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REMSCHEID. 417 these men with stones, power, and all material, they work at the list rates, and the gross proceeds are divided between the two parties. A “ Halblöhner ” is at the disposal of his immediate employer, but he may also work for others. When it is said that the factory system is dominant in Remscheid, it is not meant that the factories are large. There are a few big works, a number of small ones, and a very large number with only a few employees each. The Employers’ Union of Remscheid had in 1905-6 225 members, but these had together only 9,500 workpeople, or an average of about 42 each. When it is remembered that two large firms employ between them about 3,000 persons, and that several other firms have over 100 employees each, it is evident that the great majority of the works are very small. There are, for example, some 170 manufacturers ot tiles and rasps in the Union ; the largest firms have about 150 employees, and the number goes down to 3 or 2. Even where there are ten or a dozen workmen, the employer usually works along with them. In the large factories a 12 hours’ day, with two hours of intervals, is the general rule, but there are variations. In the Alexander werk work begins at 7 a.m. in winter and 6 a.m. in summer, with intervals from 9 to 9.15 a.m., 12 to 1.30 p.m., and 4 to 4-15 p.m., except in summer, when the morning break is from 8.30 to 8.45. In the Bergische Stahl Industrie the hours are from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with intervals from 9 to 9.15 a.m., 12 to 1.15 p.m., and 4 to 4.15 p.m. The hours of work are thus 10^ per day, but against this the workmen have the advantage that the factory closes at 5 p.m. on Saturdays. In the larger file manufactories work starts at 7 a.m. all the year round, and there are three intervals making together two hours. In those departments of the factories in which the nature of the work renders pauses at fixed times impossible, the general rule is that pauses up to the fixed amount per day are to be taken as opportunity offers. It may be added here that the factory rules in force in Remscheid all follow a common form, drawn up by the Employers’ Union. Both piece-work and time-work are in force, and in some branches there is also the so-called “ Gangen - akkord,” or “ Colonnen-akkord,’’ i.e., the men work in gangs, and divide the earnings of their combined work. Workmen are engaged subject to a fortnight’s notice on either side, and wages are paid twice a month in the large works, but elsewhere weekly. In the smaller works the hours of labour are often longer, 11 and 12 hours being not uncommon. The workmen, as a rule, go home to dinner, as the great majority live near the factories in which they are employed. The larger works have canteens, in which beer and coffee are sold at a low price, and in almost all factories there is a supply of hot water to enable the workmen to make their own coffee if they choose. In the Bergische Stahl Industrie milk is sold in the canteens, and is largely consumed. In some of the large works cold coffee is supplied gratis to the men in the various furnace-works during the hot weather. All the larger factories give an impression of cleanliness, and a good deal of attention appears to have been given to the provision of washing arrangements. The working classes of Remscheid are not very strongly organised. The local branch of the German Metalworkers’ Union (the Socialist organisation) has only about 950 members, and the employers persist in refusing to recognise it, on the ground that it is in reality a political association. Apart from this the chief unions are those of the file-cutters, the rasp-cutters, and the smiths. But the great majority of the Remscheid workers are not within the ranks of any trade society. The employers on their side have formed a strong association, the Employers’ Union for Remscheid and district ; in the general meeting of the union each firm has votes according to the amount which it pays yearly in wages and salaries. The members of the union are pledged to support any firm engaged in a dispute with its employees, il its cause is approved by the union, by doing work for it or furnishing it with manufactured goods as long as the 3 G 29088

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