ANNEXE II
TO APPENDIX B
Discussions with Trade Union Officials
Our first contact with the Trade Union was with the representatives of the local branch at Kosta, but the main discussions were at the Headquarters in Stockholm of the Federation of Trade Unions, covering 40 affiliated Unions. Within the Glass Union, which covers all types of glass production, are local branches at all the factories, and membership is 95 per cent. The Headquarters has a staff of 21 negotiators with their assistants and is well equipped with modern office machinery, such as calculating and filing machines. From it a weekly journal and other publications are sent out, correspondence courses are organised, and records kept of all meetings of local Unions and of all members past and present. Central funds are handled with records of all contributions, local accounts are audited, and accounts of earnings are kept. (The central funds are said to amount to 12,000,000 kroner.)
In any dispute in the industry, the resources of the whole Federation are available, though it does not actually pay strike benefit, but pays benefits during lock-outs. Prewar, 98 per cent. of negotiations were carried out without open disputes occurring.
Normally the Federation makes unemployment payments, acting for the Unions affiliated to it, but in bad times the State will pay up to two-thirds of the amount of unemployment pay.
In the glass industry, the Union has been trying to bring up the wages of the lower groups. This has not so far resulted in a greater recruitment of boys. It has also worked for improved welfare facilities, while recognising that many manufacturers cannot afford to do all they would like to.
Wages negotiations in the glass industry are held annually and seem to have been fairly satisfactory, improvements having been allowed as the cost of living increased Wage rates are generally flat throughout the glass industry. Sweden is divided into cost of living areas between which wages vary, but most of the glass works fall within one small area.
Overtime is paid in the glass industry on the actual earnings. The rate starts at 37 per cent., but is 75 per cent. for night work, 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., and Sundays or public holidays. (Workers in bottle factories earn 100 per cent. extra for Sundays.) Normal hours are 48 per week, though furnace men work 60 hours or more and are paid accordingly. Until 1943, free houses were provided. Now a comparatively low rent is paid for them. Normally there are no pension schemes except in the bottle industry, where 400 kroner a year is given; and old men are dependent on the small State pension. In some places arrangements have been made for widows and orphans to be taken care of, though they automatically lose their houses if they are owned by the employer on the death of the wage earner, the houses being reserved for workers only. There does not, however, appear to be any strong feeling against this system of tied houses.
Twelve days holiday with pay is enforced by law for all gainfully employed workers, but there is no pay for public holidays. Holidays in Sweden are regarded as obligatory, no worker may take employment during a holiday in his own trade. It is unknown for a glass decorator to work at his trade at home after his paid employment.
In glass blowing everything possible is done on piece-rate; decorators may be paid either on time or piece-rates, but are mostly on time rates. If there is any dispute about a particular rate (details are not fixed in the main yearly negotiations) it is investigated by the Local Piece-rate Committee which, if the claim is supported, negotiates with the employer. The dispute may finally be referred back to the Union and the Employers Federation, and if no agreement can be reached time rates are fixed which both parties bind themselves to observe. It will be seen from the agreement (Annexe I) that the workers have a definite inducement to reach an agreement for a piece rate, but most production is in soda lime. Lead crystal is worked at a time rate which brings earnings up to what the men would have earned on soda-lime piece work.
A list of average glasshouse wages shows that manufacturers are paying 3.51 kroner basic rate for the chair (of six, excluding taker-in). The method of calculating actual wages in the glasshouse is shown in Annexe I.
A good cutter will earn about 500 kroner per month. The wages of an engraver vary with the type of design, e.g., for human figures, the wages are about 2 kroner per hour, for flowers about 1.75 kroner.
The decline in the industry in the last few years is attributed to change in taste and sensitivity to general trade changes.
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