482

ZWICKAU.

Thus,  while  the  increase  due  to  excess  of  births  over  deaths  has  been  uninterrupted ­
  and  fairly  regular,  and  represents  an  average  yearly  growth  of  12*1  per
1,000  of  the  population,  there  have  been  considerable  variations  of  increase  due
to  migration,  the  number  of  emigrants  being  in  two  years  in  excess  of  the
number  of  immigrants,  while  the  average  yearly  increase  due  to  this  cause  has
amounted  to  only  8*8  per  1,000  of  the  population.
Though  it  has  declined  in  recent  years,  the  rate  of  infant  mortality  in  this
town  is  still  high.  During  the  five  years  1902-6,  the  deaths  of  infants  under
one  year  old  corresponded  to  a  rate  of  265  among  every  1,000  children  born,  as
againsk  297  in  the  previous  five  years,  294  in  1892-6,  and  286  in  1887-91.
Besides  the  gas,  water  and  electricity  supply,  the  Municipality  of  Zwickau
owns  some  1,450  acres  of  land,  of  which  one  half  lies  outside  the  urban  area.
Much  of  this  land  (including  316  acres  within  the  urban  area)  is  let  for
agricultural  purposes,  and  yielded  in  1904  some  £2,000  in  agricultural  rents.

Occupations,  Wages,  and  Hours  oe  Labour.

Compared  with  the  coal-mining  industry,  which  furnishes  employment  for
some  12,000  workpeople  in  Zwickau,  all  the  other  local  industries  seem  of  minor
importance,  for,  taken  together,  they  employ  no  more  than  8,400  workpeople,
including  2,700  women  and  girlsj  These  8,400  workpeople  are  distributed
among  586  factories  and  workshops,  of  which  only  246  employ  power-driven
machinery.  Among  the  latter  the  most  important  are  engaged  in  steel
manufacture,  iron  founding,  machine  construction  (chiefly  for  coal-mining
purposes)!,  the  manufacture  of  miners’  safety  lamps,  automobiles,  britanniametal
  ware,  porcelain,  earthenware,  bricks,  tiles  and  window  glass,  carriages
and  vans.  The  number  of  workpeople  engaged  in  each  of  these  various
industries  cannot  be  stated,  as  no  statistical  records  are  kept  by  the  authorities
in  an  accessible  form.
As  might  be  expected,  having  regard  to  the  preponderance  of  coal-mining
among  the  local  industries,  a  large  proportion  of  the  organised  workers  of
Zwickau  are  coal-miners.  This  is  shown  by  the  subjoined  table,  classifying,
according  to  groups  of  trades,  the  membership  of  the  unions  affiliated  to  the
Zwickau  Trades  Council  in  1906.

Group  of  Trades.

Building
Goal-mining...
Metalworking  and  engineering
Textile  trades
Clothing
Printing  and  allied  trades
Woodworking
Food  and  tobacco  trades  ...
Pottery,  earthenware  and  glass
Other  trades
Total

Membership
of  Trade  Unions.

1,059
2,690
1,331
575
117
173
231
229
152
618

7,175

Among  a  total  of  7,175  organised  workpeople  therefore,  2,690  or  37  per
cent,  are  coal-miners,  and  this  proportion  may  be  taken  as  being  approximately
the  same  as  that  which  the  general  body  of  coal-miners  bears  to  the  total
number  of  industrial  workpeople  in  the  town.
Up  to  the  present  the  efforts  of  the  trade  unions  to  overcome  the  opposition
of  local  employers  towards  wages  and  hours  agreements  have  met  with  no