Urban work Flashcards
Why did urban workers have poor working conditions?
mostly employed in the service or manufacturing industry
factories had the worst conditions
What did Alexander III introduce to report on industrial working conditions?
Russian officials to carry out a series of visits and inspections of industrial factories and worker housing
What were the working conditions for industrial workers reported as? (AIII)
Dangerous and unhealthy
Why were AIII’s inspectors largely ineffectual?
Too few in number, limited powers of enforcement
When were industrial inspectors introduced?
1882-1885
What was introduced in 1882?
Factory legislation banning the employment of children under 12
What was introduced in 1896
a factory law reducing working hours to 11hrs
workers not obliged to work on sundays
What did Lenin introduce in February 1920?
Rabrikin; The People’s Commissariat of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Inspection
Urban working conditions under Lenin
long hours, low pay
harsh discipline
fines for petty wrongdoings
workers were threatened by being dismissed
Officials claimed that certain workers were intent on disrupting production by damaging machinery or purposely working slowly to prevent the implementation of the five year plans
women and children were treated more severely than men
Law introduced in 1914 (NII)
9 hour working day
statutory holidays
Law introduced in 1917
8 hr working day
Why did the Bolsheviks introduce laws to improve working conditions?
To illustrate that they were the workers’ party
Why did Stalin increase the working day?
he claimed the demands of the 1st five year plan meant workers had to endure a longer working day
What did Stalin increase the working day to?
10-12 hours
When did Stalin increase the working day to 10-12 hrs?
1932
When did Stalin reduce the working day?
1939
Why did Stalin reduce the working day?
to reward workers for their efforts in implementing the five year plans
What did Stalin reduce the working day to?
7hrs
Why did Stalin increase the working day in 1940?
war
What was the working day extended to in 1940?
8hrs
holidays not allowed
When did Khrushchev reduce the working hours?
1958
Why did Khrushchev reduce working hours?
Wanted to move away from the oppressive stalinist years
What did Khrushchev reduce working hours to?
7hrs
Contrast on the laws on working hours in Tsarist vs communist regime
• sometimes employers under the tsars found loopholes in the law and pushed workers to work longer than the statutory hours
under the communists hours were strictly controlled by the state
What was introduced by NII to counterbalance low balance?
a workers’ insurance system and bonus schemes
When did NII introduce a workers’ insurance system and bonus schemes?
1903
What was the workers’ insurance system?
Insurance against being injured in the workplace
When was old age and unemployment insurance introduced in Russia?
1924 and 1936 constitutions
What popularised bonus schemes?
The Stakhanovite movement 1935
Between 1928-32 what did wages fall by?
50% but they rose after this time
When did wage levels reach that of the early 1920s?
1954
Why did wage differentials increase substantially under Stalin?
piece-rate payments, meant some workers were paid more than others because they produced more
Why was the piece-rate system introduced under Stalin?
to provide an incentive to workers to be more productive
