84

BOCHUM.

The  chemical  industry  is  confined  to  the  production  of  goods  intended  for
manufacturing  purposes,  and  comprises  only  a  few  works  of  small  extent.  The
wages  of  the  more  skilled  men  range  from  245.  to  27s.  8d.,  and  those  of  labourers
from  195.  2d.  to  235.  The  Cement  Syndicate  of  Rhenish  Westphalia,  which  has
a  yearly  sale  of  nearly  4,000,000  barrels  of  374  lb.  each,  has  its  seat  at  Bochum,
but  the  industry  is  not  peculiar  to  the  town.
Beer  brewing  is  an  important  industry  in  the  town  and  district,  Bochum
itself  having  six  breweries  employing  some  350  men.  In  addition  to  their
wages  the  men  have  beer  rations  varying  from  3  to  5  litres  (5J  to  8J  pints)
daily.  The  beer  is  reckoned  at  15  plennige  per  litre  (about  Id.  per  pint)
though  the  retail  price  is  from  25  to  30  plennige,  but  it  is  unusual  to  make  a
money  payment  when  it  is  not  drunk,  nor  may  it  be  taken  away,  as  is  the
case  in  some  towns.  Formerly,  all  unmarried  brewers  lived  on  the  premises,
beds  being  provided  for  them,  while  they  bought  their  own  food  and  cooked
it  in  the  common  kitchen.  The  custom  was  abolished  in  most  breweries
at  the  men’s  request,  and  an  allowance  of  155.  per  month  was  made  instead.
Now  the  men  live  less  economically  and  many  of  them  would  gladly  return
to  the  old  arrangement,  but  the  employers,  having  adapted  themselves  to
the  altered  conditions,  are  unwilling  to  reintroduce  the  living-in  system.  The
hours  in  this  trade  are  10  daily  ;  the  notice  on  either  side  is  usually  14  days  in
the  case  of  married  men,  but  in  the  case  of  unmarried  men  some  firms  only  give
and  require  18  hours’  notice.
In  the  building  trades  a  number  of  wages  agreements  are  already  in  force,
and  the  tendency  is  to  regulate  the  conditions  of  labour  in  these  trades  more
and  more  by  this  method.  The  duration  of  work  in  summer  is  10  hours  daily,
the  term  of  notice  is  variously  a  week  or  a  fortnight,  and  wages  are  paid  every
two  weeks.  Wages  in  these  trades  range  in  general  from  27s.  to  305.  7d.  for
skilled  men,  the  lower  rate  falling  to  stonemasons,  joiners,  cabinet-makers,
plumbers  and  fitters,  and  the  higher  rate  to  masons  and  bricklayers  and
carpenters,  but  outside  these  rates  are  painters  at  one  extreme  with  2os.  10d.
and  stucco  workers  at  the  other  with  365.  Bricklayers’  and  masons’  labourers
receive  24s.  7d.
Few  women  or  girls  are  employed  in  the  staple  industries  of  Bochum,  in
any  capacity  whatever,  and  in  general  female  labour  plays  there  a  very
insignificant  part  in  industrial  organisation.
As  a  rule  the  wages  of  municipal  employees  increase  with  the  years  of
service,  a  fact  which  will  explain  the  wide  range  shown  in  some  cases.  The
hours  of  labour  vary  from  63  to  72.
TFuyga  nW  T/m/ra  q/  Aoòowr  m  /Ae  PrzW/W  Oœwpa&'fms,  Oc&Agr,  1905.

Weekly  Wages.

Weekly  Hours
of  Labour.

Building  Trades*  :—
Masons  and  Bricklayers
Stonemasons
Carpenters
Joiners  and  Cabinetmakers  ...
Plumbers
Stucco-workers
Painters
Bricklayers’  and  Masons’  Labourers

30s.  Id.
27  s.
30s.  Id.
27s.
27  s.
36s.
25s.  10(7.
24s.  7(7.

59
54
59
60
60
60
60
60

Engineering  Trades  :—
Moulders
Fitters  .  .
Turners  ...
Smiths
Pattern-makers...
Labourers

30s.  to  32s.
29s.  &  30s.
29s.  &  30s.
29s.  to  31s.
28s.  6(7.
21s.

60
60
60
60
60
60

*  The  wages  and  hours  of  labour  stated  for
summer.

the  building  trades  are  for  a  full  week  in