COMING OUT OF SOVIET RUSSIA
I was checked and guarded out of Red Russia in the same manner in which
I had been checked and guarded into it. When I was ready to leave
Petrograd, early in October, Zinovieff delegated as my guard and guide a
short, stocky Esthonian, Isaac Mikkal. As Grafman had reminded me of
Larkin, so Mikkal reminded me of Tom Hickey, the famous Texas socialist.
He appeared rather pleased at my calling him “Hickey” which I did,
throughout the journey.
We left Petrograd at eleven o’clock at night, and arrived at Pskov the
next morning at eight, where we had to remain until five in the evening
before we could get a train for Rejistza, which we reached at six the
following day. Here the division commandant stamped our papers and sent
us on to Velikie Luki to the headquarters of the army command.
“Hickey” had turned out to be a less aggressive and efficient guide than
Larkin, and as he could give me little information about either the
country we were passing through or the events that were taking place, I
longed often for my old friend whom I had left at Moscow weeks before.
With our papers stamped at Velikie Luki, we were allowed to go on to the
front without going through Smolensk, and I asked the commandant to give
me a guide who understood that part of the Western Front, so that I
could proceed more swiftly. He granted this request, but said that
“Hickey” must also be of the party, since he had been charged at
Petrograd with my safe delivery and must make his report on his return
to that city. After a brief telephone conversation, in Russian, the
commandant informed me that another guide would appear in less than a
half hour. We had dinner and waited calmly. At the end of the stipulated
time my guide entered, and to my surprise and pleasure it was “Larkin.”
He stopped short, looked at me a moment, raised his hands to his head
and brushed off his cap which fell to the floor. “God love a duck, is it
you? They told me there was a journalist here who wanted to go to the
front but if I had known it was you I would have said I was laid up with
cholera.”
I introduced my two guides and we went to the station, only to find that
the train we had expected to take at eleven that night would not go
before five the next morning. There was nothing to do but climb in one
of the coaches, but since the train was already full of soldiers,
talking, singing, and smoking, there was but little sleep for me that
night.
At five in the morning we started—on time at last. The conductor
informed me that we would reach Rejistza at five in the afternoon, but
we did not arrive until four in the morning. I endeavored to learn from
both “Larkin” and “Hickey” the real reason for the delay, but they told
me to “forget it. A few hours’ delay makes no difference to you, one way
or the other.” At last “Larkin” must have grown very weary of my
importunities. At any rate he said, “Please remember you are in Russia
and that we are at war. All trains are soldier trains. They must stop to
take on soldiers and to let soldiers off. They must stop to make
repairs. They must stop for many reasons. Don’t imagine you are in
America, on an express train. Some time when the war is over trains will
run on time, but now,—well stop kicking.” I stopped.
In Rejistza we learned that we must wait until four P.M. for a train
going to the Dvinsk front. In the division commandant’s office we found
two foreigners who had come across the front the night before. They were
on the way to Moscow, and were being checked in as I had been. The
commandant asked “Larkin,” whom he knew quite well, if he would take
them to Velikie Luki; and on “Larkin’s” saying that he had been
entrusted with the task of seeing me to the front, the commandant told
him that “Hickey” could see me through. I was sorry to lose “Larkin,”
but there was nothing else to be done, and we parted with a cordial wish
that we might meet again under more favorable circumstances. “But, God
love a duck,—I hope you stay out of Russia until peace comes,” were his
last words to me.
When “Hickey” and I finally reached Dvinsk the Poles were shelling the
town. The soldier train on which I was traveling stopped two miles
outside the city and the soldiers detrained and began marching into
Dvinsk to reinforce their comrades. I did not wish to go through Dvinsk.
One experience under shell-fire had been sufficiently shocking to my
nervous system, and it wasn’t my war at any rate. I protested to
“Hickey” that he had been instructed to see me _safely_ across the
front, and demanded that he take me to some other point where I could
cross. He told me that the papers read that I was to pass through the
Dvinsk front. I said that, papers to the contrary notwithstanding, I
refused to cross at Dvinsk. Poor “Hickey” crossed to an officer and held
a discussion, during which he made a few notes. At the conclusion of
their talk he returned to me “If you _won’t_ go this way,” he told me,
“we will have to go back on this train seventy-five versts and then
drive ten versts across country to the thirty-second division command to
get your papers amended. Then you’ll have to return to the same station,
wait for a train, ride forty versts, get off and drive twenty-two versts
across country to the brigade command of this division, and then from
there we will have to drive twenty versts more to the Soviet outposts,
where you can get into the neutral zone and start for the Lettish
outposts seventeen versts away.”
All my former desire for speedy travel and short cuts seemed to have
evaporated. I yielded meekly to this decree and was, I believe, fairly
patient during the two days it took us to carry out this long program.
When we finally arrived at the Soviet front I was told to start down the
road and walk seventeen versts, which would bring me into Lettish
territory. Again my suitcase was heavy, or rather it was still heavy,
and I protested that I could not walk so far and carry it. But no
vehicles were available in that part of the country. My officer
informant pointed to a village two or three versts away, across a field,
and said: “When you get to that village you may be able to hire a
hay-rick.”
Even that comparatively short walk did not appear attractive, but at
this particular moment there came around a bend in the road an old
Russian driving a familiar hay-rick. He readily consented to take me to
the village, and after saying farewell to “Hickey,” and enjoining him to
“keep smiling,” my aged saviour and I set out on our journey. A half
hour later, in the village, I tried my best, with my still limited
Russian vocabulary, to procure another hay-rick to drive me the fourteen
versts remaining between me and the Lettish front. Out of the crowd of
villagers that surrounded me there emerged a Lettish boy of perhaps
fifteen years, who told me in German that he would take me across. When
the villagers understood what I wanted, the peasant women insisted that
I must have food before starting. I was taken into one of the dingy
little homes, where I was served with good rye bread, butter, milk, and
eggs, which I ate greedily, I am afraid, for I was very hungry. Not even
the thousands of flies that I had to brush away before I could take a
bite prevented my enjoyment of this food.
At seven in the evening my boy rescuer and I reached the Lettish front,
this time in a hay-rick _de luxe_, with straw and an old quilt on the
slats of the floor. The Lettish officers examined me again, and told me
that if I would take a hay-rick and drive twenty-two versts to the
Kreisberg station I could take a train at two in the morning that would
bring me to Riga early the next afternoon. They gave me food, produced a
hay-rick, and, half frozen but safe, I reached Kreizberg and finally
Riga, at one the next afternoon.
Feeling secure at last, I left the station at Riga and proceeded up the
street towards the De Rome Hotel. I noticed an aeroplane circling
overhead, but I had grown so accustomed to war manœuvers that I
disregarded it entirely. About two squares further on my way I heard a
terrific crash and explosion and turned to see smoke rising from the
station I had just left. A German aeroplane had bombed the station,
killing seven people and injuring fourteen.
Arrived at the hotel, I asked the proprietor what was wrong. He told me
that the Germans were marching on the town, and shelling it as they
marched, and that 60,000 of them were just across the river.
My only thought was that I wanted to get out at once. “You can’t go,” he
said. “There are no boats running and the German army[C] controls the
railroad to Mitau.”
Apparently it was as dangerous to come out to civilization as it had
been to go into “barbarous” Soviet Russia. I recalled the peace and the
kindness I had found inside that supposedly violent land with a great
longing.
That afternoon I went to the Lettish Foreign Office to visit the
officials who had granted me permission to enter a few weeks before.
They appeared glad to see me, but incredulous as to my identity. Was I
sure that I had been safely through Russia? Was I still in the flesh or
merely a very vigorous and somewhat pugnacious ghost? My young friend
who had been so concerned was very eager to know what I had seen. I told
him I could indeed confirm his worst fears. The Bolsheviki were people
who had but little respect for the sacred rights of private property. I
hastened to make my escape before he could ask me about the
nationalization of women. I did not want to disappoint him too much.
The next day all the guests of the hotel were locked in and forbidden to
leave the hotel. The Lettish staff officers were established in the
hotel, two doors away from my room. Two regiments of Esthonians reached
Riga that day and their first act was to place a big field-gun
immediately in front of the hotel and begin firing over the roof of it
into the German position. Knowing the reputation of the Germans for
finding gun positions, I was not very sanguine over the prospects of my
safe return to America. The shelling lasted for forty-eight hours,
during which time the deafening noise and the jarring of the walls made
rest impossible.
The Danish Consul and his staff occupied the rooms immediately across
the hall from mine. The third day they invited me over to lunch with
them in their room, as Lettish soldiers had been billeted in the
dining-room downstairs. About four in the afternoon, after the wine had
all been consumed, the Danes began singing the songs of their own
country. Scarcely an hour later the door of the room was opened and five
Lettish officers marched in, ordering us all to “Get your clothes
together and get ready.” The Danish Consul asked what they meant. “You
have been drinking the health of Germany and singing German songs. Yon
are under arrest,” was the answer.
I was somewhat disappointed when they apologized after we had shown them
our papers. Arrest and deportation to other shores seemed very
attractive to me just then.
A little later the proprietor came in and told us that food was getting
scarce, that prices had doubled, and that we would have to pay in
Czarist rubles, since the Lettish rubles (which he had been glad to take
before) were no longer any good. After we had organized a vigorous
protest he recanted and we had no further difficulty on that score.
The next day Michael Farbman of the _Chicago Tribune_, with G. G.
Desmond of the _London Daily News_, dropped in from somewhere and told
me there would be a chance that Sunday night of going to Copenhagen on a
British destroyer. Since Desmond was a British subject we chose him to
take up the matter with the British mission. His efforts were
successful, and we left the hotel under cover of darkness and, hugging
the walls of the buildings, we finally reached the British mission. In
company with several English officers we started through the dark
streets at seven-thirty in the evening with shells falling everywhere,
and walked three miles to the bend of the Dvina, out of range of the
firing. Twice we were shot at by Lettish outposts who had not been
informed that we were supposed to pass. Luckily for us they proved to be
bad shots, and the shouts of “English, English” from the officers
stopped the firing. At nine in the evening we reached the river and were
bundled into two small boats, pulled by a slow-going gasoline launch.
The Letts were on one side of the river; the Germans on the other, and
both sides impartially fired at us with their rifles, but although they
hit each boat once they did not touch us. I shall never forget the
English officers, crouching in the bottoms of the boats—beside
me—shouting “English, English” at the top of their voices as we
proceeded, and persisting in their shouting of the word that had
hitherto proven a magic one, in spite of the fact that it could not
possibly be heard by either side, and forgetting, apparently, that if it
were heard by the Germans it might not deter them.
After two and one-half hours of this, during which we traversed eight
miles, we reached the gulf and the comparative safety of the British
cruiser _Abdiel_. At last my troubles were over.
We were to leave for Copenhagen the next morning. However, at ten the
next morning we were transferred from the _Abdiel_ to the _Princess
Margaret_, a Canadian Royal steamer which had been converted into a
mine-layer during the war, and had come into the harbor the night
before, on her way to Riga with a cargo of goods. She could not proceed
up the river because of the firing. English officers and all were
transferred to this ship, because the _Abdiel_ was not leaving and there
was no telling when the _Princess Margaret_ would leave. For three days
we were kept on this boat. During this time more than a hundred refugees
from Riga were added to its list. Eight or nine British cruisers and
destroyers were lying at anchor in the Gulf, and on our second morning
on the _Princess Margaret_ we learned that the English had given the
Germans until that time to evacuate their positions, after which they
would open fire. The Germans had refused, and the bombarding began. The
_Princess Margaret_ stood out of range, but we could see with glasses
the effects of the bombardment, which lasted the whole afternoon, until
finally the German guns were silenced and the Letts crossed the river.
That evening we heard that the destroyer _Cleopatra_ was sailing the
next morning for Copenhagen and England and would come alongside to take
mail, and that the English officers on the _Princess Margaret_ were
going on the _Cleopatra_. Farbman and I sent Desmond to the captain to
get permission for us to go also, which he obtained after some
persuasion. The others remained—and may be there still.
At eight the next morning the _Cleopatra_ came toward us, but the sea
was running high and she could not approach nearer than a hundred yards.
A lifeboat was lowered from the _Princess_, our baggage thrown in, and
we descended on rope ladders to the swaying and tossing boat below. I am
a poor swimmer and the brief but exciting journey to the _Cleopatra_ was
occupied in meditation on my escape from shot and shell only to be
drowned in the waters of the Gulf.
When we finally reached the _Cleopatra_, I was prepared for more delay,
any amount of delay. I had grown so accustomed to it that I thought it
would save my nerves from further strain to take it for granted. However
we started almost immediately. This was Friday morning, October 17th. We
reached Copenhagen Saturday, October 18th, at six in the evening. At
last I had escaped the roar of cannon and the sound of bursting shells.
The relief and the peace of Copenhagen could only be compared with the
peace I had found in “Barbarous Soviet Russia.”
-----
Footnote C:
This was the Army of Von der Glotz.
-----
------------------
APPENDIX
APPENDIX
SOVIET RUSSIA’S CODE OF LABOR LAWS
I. The Code of Labor Laws shall take effect immediately upon its
publication in the _Compilation of Laws and Regulations of the Workmen’s
and Peasants’ Government_. This Code must be extensively circulated
among the working class of the country by all the local organs of the
Soviet Government and be posted in a conspicuous place in all Soviet
Institutions.
II. The regulations of the Code of Labor Laws shall apply to all persons
receiving remuneration for their work and shall be obligatory for all
enterprises, institutions and establishments (Soviet, public, private
and domestic), as well as for all private employers exploiting labor.
III. All existing regulations and those to be issued on questions of
labor, of a general character (orders of individual establishments,
instructions, rules of internal management, etc.), as well as individual
contracts and agreements, shall be valid only in so far as they do not
conflict with this Code.
IV. All labor agreements previously entered into, as well as all those
which will be entered into in the future, in so far as they contradict
the regulations of this Code, shall not be considered valid or
obligatory, either for the employees or the employers.
V. In enterprises and establishments where the work is carried on in the
form of organized cooperation (Section 6, Labor Division A of the
present Code) the wage earners must be allowed the widest possible
self-government under the supervision of the Central Soviet authorities.
On this basis alone can the working masses be successfully educated in
the spirit of socialist and communal government.
VI. The labor conditions in the communal enterprises organized as well
as supported by the Soviet institutions (agricultural and other
communes) are regulated by special rules of the All-Russian Central
Executive Committee and of the Council of People’s Commissars, and by
instructions of the People’s Commissariat of Agriculture and Labor.
The labor conditions of farmers on land assigned them for cultivation
are regulated by the Code of Rural Laws.
The labor conditions of independent artisans are regulated by special
rules of the Commissariat of Labor.
ARTICLE I
ON COMPULSORY LABOR
1. All citizens of the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic, with
the exceptions stated in Sections 2 and 3, shall be subject to
compulsory labor.
2. The following persons shall be exempt from compulsory labor:
(_a_) Persons under 16 years of age;
(_b_) All persons over 50 years;
(_c_) Persons who have become incapacitated by injury or illness.
3. Temporarily exempt from compulsory labor are:
(_a_) Persons who are temporarily incapacitated owing to illness or
injury, for a period necessary for their recovery.
(_b_) Women, for a period of eight weeks before and eight weeks
after confinement.
4. All students shall be subject to compulsory labor at the schools.
5. The fact of permanent or temporary disability shall be certified
after a medical examination by the Bureau of Medical Survey in the city,
district or province, by accident insurance office or agencies
representing the former, according to the place of residence of the
person whose disability is to be certified.
_Note I._ The rules on the method of examination of disabled workmen are
appended hereto.
_Note II._ Persons who are subject to compulsory labor and are not
engaged in useful public work may be summoned by the local Soviets for
the execution of public work, on conditions determined by the Department
of Labor in agreement with the local Soviets of trade unions.
6. Labor may be performed in the form of—
(_a_) Organized cooperation;
(_b_) Individual personal services;
(_c_) Individual special jobs.
7. Labor conditions in government (Soviet) establishments shall be
regulated by tariff rules approved by the Central Soviet authorities
through the People’s Commissariat of Labor.
8. Labor conditions in all establishments (Soviet, nationalized, public
and private) shall be regulated by tariff rules drafted by the trade
unions, in agreement with the directors or owners of establishments and
enterprises, and approved by the People’s Commissariat of Labor.
_Note._ In cases where it is impossible to arrive at an understanding
with the directors or owners of establishments or enterprises, the
tariff rules shall be drawn up by the trade unions and submitted for
approval to the People’s Commissariat of Labor.
9. Labor in the form of individual personal service or in the form of
individual special jobs shall be regulated by tariff rules drafted by
the respective trade unions and approved by the People’s Commissariat of
Labor.
ARTICLE II
THE RIGHT TO WORK
10. All citizens able to work have the right to employment at their
vocations and for remuneration fixed for such class of work.
_Note._ The District Exchange Bureaus of the Department of Labor
Distribution may, by agreement with the respective unions, assign
individual wage earners or groups of them to work at other trades if
there is no demand for labor at the vocations of the persons in
question.
11. The right to work belongs first of all to those who are subject to
compulsory labor.
12. Of the classes exempt from compulsory labor, only those mentioned in
subdivision “_b_” of Section 2 have a right to work.
13. Those mentioned in subdivisions “_a_” and “_c_” of Section 2 are
absolutely deprived of the right to work, and those mentioned in Section
3 temporarily deprived of the right to work.
14. All persons of the female sex, and those of the male sex under 18
years of age, shall have no right to work during night time or in those
branches of industry where the conditions of labor are especially hard
or dangerous.
_Note._ A list of especially hard and health-endangering occupations
shall be prepared by the Department of Labor Protection of the People’s
Commissariat of Labor, and shall be published in the month of January of
each year in the _Compilation of Laws and Regulations of the Workmen’s
and Peasants’ Government_.
ARTICLE III
METHODS OF LABOR DISTRIBUTION
15. The enforcement of the right to work shall be secured through the
Departments of Labor Distribution, trade unions, and through all the
institutions of the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic.
16. The assignment of wage earners to work shall be carried out through
the Departments of Labor Distribution.
17. A wage earner may be summoned to work, save by the Departments of
Labor Distribution, only when chosen for a position by a Soviet
institution or enterprise.
18. Vacancies may be filled by election when the work offered requires
political reliability or unusual special knowledge, for which the person
elected is noted.
19. Persons engaged for work by election must register in the Department
of Labor Distribution before they are accepted, but they shall not be
subject to the rules concerning probation set forth in Article IV of the
present Code.
20. Unemployed persons shall be assigned to work through the Departments
of Labor Distribution in the manner stated in Sections 21–30.
21. A wage earner who is not engaged on work at his vocation shall
register in the local Department of Labor Distribution as unemployed.
22. Establishments and individuals in need of workers should apply to
the Local Department of Labor Distribution or its division
(Correspondence Bureau) stating the condition of the work offered as
well as the requirements which the workmen must meet (trade, knowledge,
experience).
23. The Department of Labor Distribution, on receipt of the application
mentioned in Section 22, shall assign the persons meeting the
requirements thereof in the order determined by the same.
24. An unemployed person has no right to refuse an offer of work at his
vocation, provided the working conditions conform with the standards
fixed by the respective tariff regulations, or in the absence of the
same by the trade unions.
25. A wage worker engaged for work for a period of not more than two
weeks, shall be considered unemployed, and shall not lose his place on
the list of the Department of Labor Distribution.
26. Should the Local Department of Labor Distribution have no workers on
its lists meeting the stated requirements, the application must be
immediately sent to the District Exchange Bureau, and the establishment
or individual offering the employment shall be simultaneously notified
to this effect.
27. Whenever workers are required for work outside of their district, a
roll-call of the unemployed registered in the Department of Labor
Distribution shall take place, to ascertain who are willing to go; if a
sufficient number of such should not be found, the Department of Labor
Distribution shall assign the lacking number from among the unemployed
in the order of their registration, provided that those who have
dependents must not be given preference, before single persons.
28. If in the Departments of Labor Distribution, within the limits of
the district, there be no workmen meeting the requirements, the District
Exchange Bureau has the right, upon agreement with the respective trade
union, to send unemployed of another class approaching as nearly as
possible the trade required.
29. An unemployed person who is offered work outside his vocation shall
be obliged to accept it, on the understanding, if he so wishes, that
this be only temporary, until he receives work at his vocation.
30. A wage earner who is working outside his specialty, and who has
stated his wish that this be only temporary, shall retain his place on
the register on the Department of Labor Distribution until he gets work
at his vocation.
31. Private individuals violating the rules of labor distribution set
forth in this article shall be punished by the order of the local board
of the Department of Labor Distribution by a fine of not less than 300
rubles or by arrest for not less than one week. Soviet establishments
and officials violating these rules on labor distribution shall be
liable to criminal prosecution.
ARTICLE IV
PROBATION PERIODS
32. Final acceptance of workers for permanent employment shall be
preceded by a period of probation of not more than six days; in Soviet
institutions the probation period shall be two weeks for unskilled and
less responsible work and one month for skilled and responsible work.
33. According to the results of the probation the wage earner shall
either be given a permanent appointment, or rejected with payment for
the period of probation in accordance with the tariff rates.
34. The results of the probation (acceptance or rejection) shall be
communicated to the Department of Labor Distribution.
35. Up to the expiration of the probation period, the wage earner shall
be considered as unemployed, and shall retain his place on the eligible
list of the Department of Labor Distribution.
36. A person who, after probation, has been rejected, may appeal against
this decision to the union of which he is a member.
37. Should the trade union consider the appeal mentioned in the
preceding section justified, it shall enter into negotiations with the
establishment or person who has rejected the wage earner, with the
request to accept the complainant.
38. In ease of failure of negotiations mentioned in Section 37, the
matter shall be submitted to the Local Department of Labor, whose
decision shall be final and subject to no further appeal.
39. The Department of Labor may demand that the person or establishment
provide with work the wage earner who has been rejected without
sufficient reason. Furthermore, it may demand that the said person or
establishment compensate the wage earner according to the tariff rates
for the time lost between his rejection and his acceptance pursuant to
the decision of the Department of Labor.
ARTICLE V
TRANSFER AND DISCHARGE OF WAGE EARNERS
40. The transfer of wage earners in all enterprises, establishments, or
institutions employing paid labor, can take place only if it is required
in the interest of the business and by the decision of the proper organ
of management.
_Note._ This rule does not apply to work with private individuals
employing paid labor, if the work is of the subdivisions mentioned in
“_b_” and “_c_” of Section 6.
41. The transfer of a wage earner to other work within the enterprise,
establishment or institution where he is employed may be ordered by the
managing organs of said enterprise, establishment or institution.
42. The transfer of a wage earner to another enterprise, establishment
or institution situated in the same or in another locality, may be
ordered by the corresponding organ of management with the consent of the
Department of Labor Distribution.
43. The order of an organ of management to transfer a wage earner as
mentioned in Section 40 may be appealed from to the respective
Department of Labor (local or district) by the interested individuals or
organizations.
44. The decision of the Department of Labor in the matter of the
transfer of a wage earner may be appealed from by the interested parties
to the District Department of Labor or to the People’s Commissariat of
Labor, whose decision in the matter in dispute is final and not subject
to further appeal.
45. In case of urgent public work the District Department of Labor may,
in agreement with the respective professional unions and with the
approval of the People’s Commissariat of Labor, order the transfer of a
whole group of wage earners from the organization where they are
employed to another situated in the same or in another locality,
provided a sufficient number of volunteers for such work cannot be
found.
46. The discharge of wage earners from an enterprise, establishment or
institution where they have been employed is permissible in the
following cases:
(_a_) In case of complete or partial liquidation of the enterprise,
establishment or institution, or of cancellation of certain orders
or work;
(_b_) In case of suspension of work for more than a month;
(_c_) In case of expiration of term of employment or of completion
of the job, if the work was of a temporary character;
(_d_) In case of evident unfitness for work, by special decision of
the organs of management and subject to agreement with the
respective professional unions.
(_e_) By request of the wage earner.
47. The organ of management of the enterprise, establishment or
institution where a wage earner is employed, or the person for whom a
wage earner is working must give the wage earner two weeks’ notice of
the proposed discharge, for the reasons mentioned in “_a_,” “_b_” and
“_d_” of Section 46, notifying simultaneously the Local Department of
Labor Distribution.
48. A wage earner discharged for the reasons mentioned in subdivisions
“_a_,” “_b_” and “_d_” of Section 46 shall be considered unemployed and
entered as such on the lists of the Department of Labor Distribution and
shall continue to perform his work until the expiration of the term of
two weeks mentioned in the preceding section.
49. The order to discharge an employee for the reasons mentioned in
subdivisions “_a_,” “_b_” and “_d_” of Section 46 may be appealed from
by the interested persons to the Local Department of Labor.
50. The decision of the Local Department of Labor on the question of
discharge may be appealed from by either party to the District
Department of Labor, whose decision on the question in dispute is final
and not subject to further appeal.
51. Discharge by request of the wage earner from enterprise,
establishment or institution must be preceded by an examination of the
reasons for the resignation by the respective organ of workmen’s
self-government (works and other committees).
_Note._ This rule does not apply to the resignation of a wage earner
employed by an individual, if the work is of the character mentioned in
subdivisions “_b_” and “_c_” of Section 6.
52. If the organ of workers’ self-government (works or other committee)
after investigating the reasons for the resignation finds the
resignation unjustified the wage earner must remain at work, but may
appeal from the decision of the Committee to the respective professional
union.
53. A wage earner who quits work contrary to the decision of the
Committee, pursuant to Section 52, shall forfeit for one week the right
to register with the Department of Labor Distribution.
54. Institutions and persons employing paid labor shall inform the Local
Department of Labor Distribution and the respective professional union
of each wage earner who quits work, stating the date and the reason
thereof.
ARTICLE VI
REMUNERATION OF LABOR
55. The remuneration of wage earners for work in enterprises,
establishments and institutions employing paid labor, and the detailed
conditions and order of payment shall be fixed by tariffs worked out for
each kind of labor in the manner described in Sections 7–9 of the
present Code.
56. All institutions working out the tariff rates must comply with the
provisions of this article of the Code of Labor Laws.
57. In working out the tariff rates and determining the standard
remuneration rates, all the wage earners of a trade shall be divided
into groups and categories and a definite standard of remuneration shall
be fixed for each of them.
58. The standard of remuneration fixed by the tariff rates must be at
least sufficient to cover the minimum living expenses as determined by
the People’s Commissariat of Labor for each district of the Russian
Socialist Federated Soviet Republic and published in the _Compilation of
Laws and Regulations of the Workmen’s and Peasants’ Government_.
59. In determining the standard of remuneration for each group and
category attention shall be given to the kind of labor, the danger of
the conditions, under which the work is performed, the complexity and
accuracy of the work, the degree of independence and responsibility as
well as the standard of education and experience required for the
performance of the work.
60. The remuneration of each wage earner shall be determined by his
classification in a definite group and category.
61. The classification of wage earners into groups and categories within
each branch of labor shall be done by special valuation commissions,
local and central, established by the respective professional
organizations.
_Note._ The procedure of the valuation commissions shall be determined
by the People’s Commissariat of Labor.
62. The tariff regulations shall fix the standard of remuneration for a
normal working day or for piece-work, and particularly the remuneration
for overtime work.
63. Remuneration for piece-work shall be computed by dividing the daily
tariff rate by the number of pieces constituting the production
standard.
64. The standard of remuneration fixed for overtime work shall not
exceed time and a half of the normal remuneration.
65. Excepting the remuneration paid for overtime work done in the same
or in a different branch of labor, no additional remuneration in excess
of the standard fixed for a given group and category shall be permitted,
irrespective of the pretext and form under which it might be offered and
whether it be paid in only one or in several places of employment.
66. Persons working in several places must state in which place of
employment they wish to receive their pay.
67. Persons receiving excessive remuneration, in violation of Section
65, shall be liable to criminal prosecution for fraud, and the
remuneration received in excess of the normal (standard) may be deducted
from subsequent payments.
68. From the remuneration of the wage earner may be deducted the excess
remuneration received in violation of Section 65, and the remuneration
earned by the wage earner during his vacation; deduction may also be
made for cessation of work.
69. No other deductions, except those mentioned in Section 68, shall be
permitted, irrespective of the form or pretext under which they might be
made.
70. Payment of remuneration must not be made in advance.
71. If the work is steady, payment for the same must be made
periodically, at least once in every fortnight. Remuneration for
temporary work and for special jobs provided the same continues at least
for two weeks, shall be paid immediately upon completion of work.
72. Payments shall be made in money or in kind (lodgings, food supplies,
etc.)
73. To make payments in kind special permission must be obtained from
the Local Department of Labor which shall determine the rates jointly
with the respective trade unions.
_Note._ The rates thus determined must be based on the standard prices
fixed by the respective institutions of the Soviet authority (valuation
commissions of the Commissariat of Victuals, Land and Housing
Department, Price Committee, etc.)
74. Payments must take place during working hours.
75. Payments must be made at the place of work.
76. The wage earner shall be paid only for actual work done. If a
cessation of work is caused during the working day by circumstances
beyond the control of the wage earner (through accident or through the
fault of the administration), he shall be paid for the time lost on the
basis of the daily tariff rates, if he does time work, or on the basis
of his average daily earning, if he does piece-work.
77. A wage earner shall be paid his wage during leave of absence
(Sections 106–107).
78. During illness of a wage earner the remuneration due him shall be
paid as a subsidy from the hospital funds.
_Note._ The manner of payment of the subsidy is fixed by rules appended
hereto.
79. Unemployed shall receive a subsidy out of the funds for unemployed.
_Note._ Rules concerning unemployed and the payment of subsidies to them
are appended hereto.
80. Every wage earner must have a labor booklet in which all matters
pertaining to the work done by him as well as the payments and subsidies
received by him are entered.
_Note._ Rules regarding labor booklets for wage earners are appended
hereto.
ARTICLE VII
WORKING HOURS
81. Working hours are regulated by the tariff rules made for each kind
of labor, in the manner described in Sections 7–9 of the present Code.
82. The rules for working hours must conform with the provisions of this
article of the Code of Labor Laws.
83. A normal working day shall mean the time fixed by the tariff
regulations for the production of a certain amount of work.
84. The duration of a normal working day must in no case exceed eight
hours for day work and seven hours for night work.
85. The duration of a normal day must not exceed six hours: (_a_) for
persons under 18 years of age, and (_b_) in especially hard or
health-endangering branches of industry (note Section 14 of the present
Code).
86. During the normal working day time must be allowed for meals and for
rest.
87. During recess machines, beltings and lathes must be stopped, unless
this be impossible owing to technical conditions or in cases where these
machines, beltings, etc., serve for ventilation, drainage, lighting,
etc.
88. The time of recess fixed by Section 86 is not included in the
working hours.
89. The recess must take place not later than four hours after the
beginning of the working day, and must continue not less than a half
hour and not more than two hours.
_Note._ Additional intermissions every three hours, and for not less
than a half hour, must be allowed for working women nursing children.
90. The wage earners may use their free time at their own discretion.
They shall be allowed during recess to leave the place of work.
91. In case the nature of the work is such that it requires a working
day in excess of the normal, two or more shifts shall be engaged.
92. Where there are several shifts, each shift shall work the normal
working hours; the change of shifts must take place during the time
fixed by the rules of the internal management without interfering with
the normal course of work.
93. As a general rule, work in excess of the normal hours (overtime
work) shall not be permitted.
94. Overtime work may be permitted in the following exceptional cases:
(_a_) Where the work is necessary for the prevention of a public
calamity or in case the existence of the Soviet Government of the
R. S. F. S. R. or human life is endangered;
(_b_) An emergency, public work in relation to water supply,
lighting, sewerage or transportation, in case of accident or
extraordinary interruption of their regular operation;
(_c_) When it is necessary to complete work which, owing to
unforeseen or accidental delay due to technical condition of
production, could not be completed during the normal working hours.
If leaving the work uncompleted would cause damage to materials or
machinery;
(_d_) On repairs or renewal of machine parts or construction work,
wherever necessary to prevent stoppage of work by a considerable
number of wage earners.
95. In the case described in subdivision “_c_” of Section 94, overtime
work is permissible only with the consent of the respective trade union.
96. For overtime work described in subdivision “_d_” of Section 94,
permission must be obtained from the local labor inspector, in addition
to the permit mentioned in the preceding section.
97. No females and no males under 18 years of age may do any overtime
work.
98. The time spent on overtime work in the course of two consecutive
days must not exceed four hours.
99. No overtime work shall be permitted to make up for a wage earner’s
tardiness in reporting at his place of work.
100. All overtime work done by a wage earner, as well as the
remuneration received by him for the same, must be recorded in his labor
booklet.
101. The total number of days on which overtime may be permitted in any
enterprise, establishment or institution must not exceed 50 days per
annum, including such days when only one wage earner worked overtime.
102. Every enterprise, establishment or institution must keep a special
record book for overtime work.
103. All wage earners must be allowed a weekly uninterrupted rest of not
less than 42 hours.
104. No work shall be done on specially designated holidays.
_Note._ Rules concerning holidays and days of weekly rest are appended
hereto.
105. On the eve of rest days the normal working day shall be reduced by
two hours.
_Note._ This section shall not apply to institutions and enterprises
where the working day does not exceed six hours.
106. Every wage earner who has worked without interruption not less than
six months shall be entitled to leave of absence for two weeks,
irrespective of whether he worked in only one or in several enterprises,
establishments or institutions.
107. Every wage earner who has worked without interruption not less than
a year shall be entitled to leave of absence for one month, irrespective
of whether he worked in only one or in several enterprises,
establishments or institutions.
_Note._ Sections 106 and 107 shall take effect beginning January 1,
1919.
108. Leave of absence may be granted during the whole year, provided
that the same does not interfere with the normal course of work in
enterprise, establishment or institution.
109. The time and order in which leave of absence may be granted shall
be determined by agreement between the management of enterprise,
establishment or institution and proper self-government bodies of the
wage earners (works and other committees).
110. A wage earner shall not be allowed to work for remuneration during
his leave of absence.
111. The remuneration of a wage earner earned during his leave of
absence shall be deducted from his regular wages.
112. The absence of a wage earner from work caused by special
circumstances and permitted by the manager shall not be counted as leave
of absence; the wage earner shall not be paid for the working hours lost
in such cases.
ARTICLE VIII
METHODS TO ASSURE EFFICIENCY OF LABOR
113. In order to assure efficiency of labor, every wage earner working
in an enterprise, establishment or institution (governmental, public or
private) employing labor in the form of organized collaboration, as well
as the administration of the enterprise, establishment or institution,
shall strictly observe the rules of this article of the Code relative to
standards of efficiency, output and rules of internal management.
114. Every wage earner must during a normal working day and under normal
working conditions perform the standard amount of work fixed for the
category and group in which he is enrolled.
_Note._ Normal conditions referred to in this section, shall mean:
(_a_) Good condition of machines, lathes and accessories;
(_b_) Timely delivery of materials and tools necessary for the
performance of the work;
(_c_) Good quality of materials and tools;
(_d_) Proper hygienic and sanitary equipment of the building where
the work is performed (necessary lighting, heating, etc.).
115. The standard output for wage earners of each trade and of each
group and category shall be fixed by valuation commissions of the
respective trade unions (Section 62.)
116. In determining the standard output the valuation commission shall
take into consideration the quantity of products usually turned out in
the course of a normal working day and under normal technical conditions
by the wage earners of the particular trade group and category.
117. The production standards of output adopted by the valuation
commission must be approved by the proper Department of Labor jointly
with the Council of National Economy.
118. A wage earner systematically producing less than the fixed standard
may be transferred by decision of the proper valuation commission to
other work in the same group and category, or to a lower group or
category, with a corresponding reduction of wages.
_Note._ The wage earner may appeal from the decision to transfer him to
a lower group or category with a reduction of wages, to the Local
Department of Labor and from the decision of the latter to the District
Department of Labor, whose decision shall be final and not subject to
further appeal.
119. If a wage earner’s failure to maintain the standard output be due
to lack of good faith and to negligence on his part, he may be
discharged in the manner set forth in subdivision “_d_” of Section 46
without the two weeks’ notice prescribed by Section 47.
120. The Supreme Council of National Economy jointly with the People’s
Commissariat of Labor may direct a general increase or decrease of the
standards of efficiency and output for all wage earners and for all
enterprises, establishments and institutions of a given district.
121. In addition to the regulations of the present article relative to
standards of efficiency and output in enterprises, establishments and
institutions, efficiency of labor shall be secured by rules of internal
management.
122. The rules of internal management in Soviet institutions shall be
made by the organs of Soviet authority with the approval of the People’s
Commissariat of Labor or its local departments.
123. The rules of internal management in industrial enterprises and
establishments (Soviet, nationalized, private and public) shall be made
by the trade unions and certified by the proper Departments of Labor.
124. The rules of internal management must include clear, precise and,
as far as possible, exhaustive directions in relation to—
(_a_) The general obligations of all wage earners (careful handling
of all materials and tools, compliance with instructions of the
managers regarding performance of work, observance of the fixed
standard of working hours, etc.);
(_b_) The special duties of the wage earners of the particular
branch of industry (careful handling of the fire in enterprises
using inflammable materials, observance of special cleanliness in
enterprises producing food products, etc.);
(_c_) The limits and manner of liability for breach of the above
duties mentioned above in subdivisions “_a_” and “_b_.”
125. The enforcement of the rules of internal management in Soviet
institutions is entrusted to the responsible managers.
126. The enforcement of the rules of internal management in industrial
enterprises and establishments (Soviet, nationalized, public or private)
is entrusted to the self-government bodies of the wage earners (works or
similar committees).
ARTICLE IX
PROTECTION OF LABOR
127. The protection of life, health and labor of persons engaged in any
economic activity is entrusted to the labor inspection—the technical
inspectors and the representatives of sanitary inspection.
128. The labor inspection is under the jurisdiction of the People’s
Commissariat of Labor and its local branches (Department of Labor) and
is composed of elected labor inspectors.
129. Labor inspectors shall be elected by the Councils of Professional
Unions.
_Note I._ The manner of election of labor inspectors shall be determined
by the People’s Commissariat of Labor.
_Note II._ In districts where there is no Council of Trade Unions, the
Local Department of Labor shall summon a conference of representatives
of the trade unions which shall elect the labor inspectors.
130. In performing the duties imposed upon them concerning the
protection of the lives and health of wage earners the officers of labor
inspection shall enforce the regulations of the present Code, and
decrees, instructions, orders and other acts of the Soviet power
intended to safeguard the lives and health of the workers.
131. For the attainment of the purposes stated in Section 130 the
officers of labor inspection are authorized—
(_a_) To visit at any time of the day or night all the industrial
enterprises of their districts and all places where work is carried
on, as well as the buildings provided for the workmen by the
enterprise (rooming houses, hospitals, asylums, baths, etc.);
(_b_) To demand of the managers of enterprises or establishments,
as well as of the elective organs of the wage earners (works and
similar committees) of those enterprises or establishments in the
management of which they are participating, to produce all
necessary books, records and information;
(_c_) To draw to the work of inspection representatives of the
elective organizations of employees, as well as officials of the
administration (managers, superintendents, foremen, etc.);
(_d_) To bring before the criminal court all violators of the
regulations of the present Code, or of the decrees, instructions,
orders and other acts of the Soviet authority intended to safeguard
the lives and health of the wage earners;
(_e_) To assist the trade unions and works committees in their
efforts to ameliorate the labor condition in individual enterprises
as well as in whole branches of industry.
132. The officers of labor inspection are authorized to adopt special
measures, in addition to the measures mentioned in the preceding
section, for the removal of conditions endangering the lives and health
of workmen, even if such measures have not been provided for by any
particular law or regulation, instructions or order of the People’s
Commissariat of Labor or of the Local Department of Labor.
_Note._ Upon taking special measures to safeguard the lives and health
of wage earners, as authorized by the present section, the officers of
inspection shall immediately report to the Local Department of Labor,
which may either approve these measures or reject them.
133. The scope and the forms of activity of the organs of labor
inspection shall be determined by instructions and orders issued by the
People’s Commissariat of Labor.
134. The enforcement of the instructions, rules and regulations relating
to safety is entrusted to the technical inspectors.
135. The technical inspectors shall be appointed by the Local
Departments of Labor from among engineering specialists; these
inspectors shall perform within the territory under their jurisdiction
the duties prescribed by Section 31 of the present Code.
136. The technical inspectors shall be guided in their activity, besides
the general regulations, by the instructions and orders of the People’s
Commissariat of Labor and by the instructions issued by the technical
division of the Local Department of Labor.
137. The activity of the sanitary inspection shall be determined by
instructions issued by the People’s Commissariat of Health Protection in
conference with the People’s Commissariat of Labor.
APPENDIX TO SECTION 79
RULES CONCERNING UNEMPLOYED AND PAYMENT OF \
SUBSIDIES
1. An “unemployed” shall mean every citizen of the Russian Socialist
Federated Soviet Republic subject to labor duty who is registered with
the Local Department of Labor Distribution as being out of work at his
vocation or at the remuneration fixed by the proper tariff.
2. An “unemployed” shall likewise mean:
(_a_) Any person who has obtained employment for a term not
exceeding two weeks (Section 25 of the present Code);
(_b_) Any person who is temporarily employed outside his vocation,
until he shall obtain work at his vocation (Sections 29 and 30 of
the present Code).
3. The rights of unemployed shall not be extended—
(_a_) To persons who in violation of Sections 2, 24 and 29 of the
present Code, have evaded the labor duty, and refused work offered
to them;
(_b_) To persons not registered as unemployed with the Local
Department of Labor Distribution (Section 21 of the present Code);
(_c_) To persons who have wilfully quit work, for the term
specified in Section 54 of the present Code.
4. All persons described in Section 1 and subdivision “_b_” of Section 2
of these rules shall be entitled to permanent employment (for a term
exceeding two weeks) at their vocations in the order of priority
determined by the list of the Department of Labor Distribution for each
vocation.
5. Persons described in Section 1 and subdivision “_b_” of Article 2 of
these rules shall be entitled to a subsidy from the local fund for
unemployed.
6. The subsidy to unemployed provided in Section 1 of the present rules
shall be equal to the remuneration fixed by the tariff for the group and
category on which the wage earner was assigned by the valuation
commission (Section 61.)
_Note._ In exceptional cases the People’s Commissariat of Labor may
reduce the unemployed subsidy to the minimum of living expenses as
determined for the district in question.
7. A wage earner employed temporarily outside of his vocation
(Subdivision “_b_” of Section 2) shall receive a subsidy equal to the
differences between the remuneration fixed for the group and category in
which he is enrolled and his actual remuneration, in case the latter be
less than the former.
8. An unemployed who desires to avail himself of his right to a subsidy
shall apply to the local funds for unemployed and shall present the
following documents: (_a_) his registration card from the Local
Department of Labor Distribution; and (_b_) a certificate of the
valuation commission showing his assignment to a definite group and
category of wage earners.
9. Before paying the subsidy the local funds for unemployed shall
ascertain, through the Department of Labor Distribution and the
respective trade union, the extent of applicant’s unemployment and the
causes thereof, as well as the group and category to which he belongs.
10. The local funds for unemployed may for good reasons, be denied the
applicant.
11. If an application is denied, the local fund for unemployed shall
inform the applicant thereof within three days.
12. The decision of the local fund for unemployed may within two weeks,
be appealed from by the interested parties to the Local Department of
Labor, and the decision of the latter may be appealed from to the
District Department of Labor. The decision of the District Department of
Labor is final and subject to no further appeal.
13. The payment of the subsidy to an unemployed shall commence only
after he has actually been laid off and not later than by the fifth day.
14. The subsidies shall be paid from: the fund of insurance for the
unemployed.
15. The fund of unemployment insurance shall be made up,
(_a_) from obligatory payments by all enterprises, establishments
and institutions employing paid labor;
(_b_) from fines imposed for default in such payments;
(_c_) from casual payments.
16. The amount and the manner of collection of the payments and fines
mentioned in Section 15 of these rules shall be determined every year by
a special order of the People’s Commissariat of Labor.
APPENDIX TO SECTION 80
RULES CONCERNING LABOR BOOKLETS
1. Every citizen of the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic,
upon assignment to a definite group and category (Section 62 of the
present Code), shall receive, free of charge, a labor booklet.
_Note._ The form of the labor booklets shall be worked out by the
People’s Commissariat of Labor.
2. Each wage earner, on entering the employment of an enterprise,
establishment or institution employing paid labor, shall present his
labor booklet to the management thereof, or on entering the employment
of a private individual—to the latter.
_Note._ A copy of the labor booklet shall be kept by the management of
the enterprise, establishment, institution or private individual by whom
the wage earner is employed.
3. All work performed by a wage earner during the normal working day as
well as piece-work or overtime work, and all payments received by him as
a wage earner (remuneration in money or in kind, subsidies from the
unemployment and hospital funds), must be entered in his labor booklet.
_Note._ In the labor booklet must also be entered the leaves of absence
and sick leave of the wage earner, as well as the fines imposed on him
during and on account of his work.
4. Each entry in the labor booklet must be dated and signed by the
person making the entry, and also by the wage earner (if the latter is
literate), who thereby certifies the correctness of the entry.
5. The labor booklet shall contain:
(_a_) The name, surname and date of birth of the wage earner;
(_b_) The name and address of the trade union of which the wage
earner is a member;
(_c_) The group and category to which the wage earner has been
assigned by the valuation commission.
6. Upon the discharge of a wage earner, his labor booklet shall under no
circumstances be withheld from him. Whenever an old booklet is replaced
by a new one, the former shall be left in possession of the wage earner.
7. In case a wage earner loses his labor booklet, he shall be provided
with a new one into which shall be copied all the entries of the lost
booklet; in such a case a fee determined by the rules of internal
management may be charged to the wage earner for the new booklet.
8. A wage earner must present his labor booklet upon the request:
(_a_) Of the managers of the enterprise, establishment or
institution where he is employed;
(_b_) Of the Department of Labor Distribution;
(_c_) Of the trade union;
(_d_) Of the officials of workmen’s control and of labor
protection;
(_e_) Of the insurance offices or institutions acting as such.
APPENDIX TO SECTION 5
RULES FOR THE DETERMINATION OF DISABILITY FOR WORK
1. Disability for work shall be determined by an examination of the
applicant by the Bureau of Medical Experts, in urban districts, or by
the provincial insurance offices, accident insurance offices or
institutions acting as such.
_Note._ In case it be impossible to organize a Bureau of Medical Experts
at any insurance office, such a bureau may be organized at the Medical
Sanitary Department of the local Soviet, provided, however, that the
said bureau shall be guided in its actions by the general rules and
instructions for insurance offices.
2. The staff of the Bureau of Experts shall include:
(_a_) Not less than three specialists in surgery;
(_b_) Representatives of the Board of Directors of the office;
(_c_) Sanitary mechanical engineers appointed by the Board of the
office;
(_d_) Representatives of the trade unions.
_Note._ The specialists in surgery on the staff of the bureau shall be
recommended by the medical sanitary department, with the consent of the
Board of Directors, preferably from among the surgeons connected with
the hospital funds, and shall be confirmed by a delegates’ meeting of
the office.
3. During the examination of a person at the Bureau of the Medical
Commission, all persons who have applied for the examination may be
present.
4. An application for the determination of the loss of working ability
may be made by any person or institution.
5. Applications for examination shall be made to the insurance office
nearest to the residence of the person in question.
6. Examinations shall take place in a special room of the insurance
office.
_Note_. If the person to be examined cannot be brought to the insurance
office, owing to his condition, the examination may take place at his
residence.
7. Every person who is to be examined at the Bureau of Medical Experts
shall be informed by the respective insurance office of the day and hour
set for the examination and of the location of the section of the Bureau
of Medical Experts where the same is to take place.
8. The Bureau of Medical Experts may use all methods approved by medical
science for determining disability for work.
9. The Bureau of Medical Experts shall keep detailed minutes of the
conference meetings, and the record embodying the results of the
examinations shall be signed by all members of the bureau.
10. A person who has undergone an examination and has been found unfit
for work shall receive a certificate from the Bureau of Medical Experts.
_Note_. A copy of the certificate shall be kept in the files of the
bureau.
11. The records as well as the certificates shall show whether the
disability is of a permanent or temporary character. If the disability
for work be temporary, the record and certificate shall show the date
set for examination.
12. After the disability for work has been certified the proper
insurance office shall inform thereof the Department of Social Security
of the local Soviet, stating the name, surname and address of the person
disabled, as well as the character of the disability (whether temporary
or permanent).
13. The decision of the Bureau of Medical Experts certifying or denying
the disability of the applicant may be appealed from by the interested
parties to the People’s Commissariat of Health Protection.
14. The People’s Commissariat of Health Protection may either dismiss
the appeal or issue an order for the re-examination of appellant by a
new staff of the Bureau of Experts.
15. The decision of the new staff of the Bureau of Experts shall be
final and subject to no further appeal.
16. Re-examinations to establish the recovery of working ability shall
be conducted in the same manner as the first examination, with the
observance of the regulations of the present article of the Code.
17. The expenses incurred in connection with the examination of an
insured person shall be charged to the respective insurance office. The
expenses incurred in connection with the examination of a person not
insured shall be charged to the respective enterprise, establishment or
institution.
18. The People’s Commissariat of Labor may, if necessary, modify or
amend the present rules for the determination of disability for work.
Rules concerning payment of sick benefits (subsidies) to wage earners:
1. Every wage earner shall receive in case of sickness a subsidy and
medical aid from the local hospital fund of which he is a member.
_Note I._ Each person may be a member of only one insurance fund at a
time.
_Note II._ A person who has been ill outside the district of the local
hospital fund of which he is a member shall receive the subsidy from the
hospital fund of the district in which he has been taken ill. All
expenses thus incurred shall be charged to the hospital fund of which
the particular person is a member.
2. The sick benefits shall be paid to a member of a hospital fund from
the first day of his sickness until the day of his recovery, with the
exception of those days during which he has worked and accordingly
received remuneration from the enterprise, establishment or institution
where he is employed.
3. The sick benefit shall be equal to the remuneration fixed for a wage
earner of the respective group and category.
_Note I._ The group and category in which the wage earner is enrolled
shall be ascertained by the local hospital fund through the Department
of Labor Distribution or through the trade unions.
_Note II._ The subsidy for pregnant women and those lying-in shall be
fixed by special regulations of the People’s Commissariat of Labor.
_Note III._ In exceptional cases the People’s Commissariat of Labor may
reduce the subsidy to the minimum of living expenses as determined for
the respective district.
4. Besides the subsidies, the hospital funds shall also provide for
their members free medical aid of every kind (first aid, ambulatory
treatment, home treatment, treatment in sanatoria or resorts, etc.)
_Note._ To secure medical aid any hospital fund may, independently or in
conjunction with other local funds, organize and maintain its own
ambulatories, hospitals, etc., as well as enter into agreements with
individual physicians and establishments.
5. The resources of the local hospital funds shall be derived:
(_a_) From obligatory payments by enterprises, establishments and
institutions (Soviet, public and private) employing paid labor;
(_b_) From fines for delay of payments;
(_c_) From profits on the investments of the funds;
(_d_) From casual payments.
_Note._ The resources of the local hospital funds shall be consolidated
into one common fund of insurance against sickness.
6. The amount of the payments to local hospital funds by enterprises,
establishments and institutions employing paid labor shall be
periodically fixed by the People’s Commissariat of Labor.
_Note I._ In case these obligatory payments be not paid within the time
fixed by the local hospital funds, they shall be collected by the Local
Department of Labor; moreover, in addition to the sum due, a fine of 10
per cent thereof shall be imposed for the benefit of the hospital fund.
_Note II._ In case the delay be due to the fault of the responsible
managers of the particular enterprise, establishment, or institution,
the fine shall be collected from the personal means of the latter.
7. The decision of the hospital funds may be appealed from within two
weeks to the Department of Labor. The decision of the Department of
Labor shall be final and subject to no further appeal.
8. The People’s Commissariat of Labor may, whenever necessary, change or
amend the foregoing rules concerning sick benefits to wage earners.
THE SECOND ALL-RUSSIAN CONGRESS OF TRADES UNIONS (VOCATIONAL UNIONS)
RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED AT THE CONFERENCE
Moscow, June 16th to 25th, 1919
A year’s work of the professional trades unions of Russia was completed
by a new conference, the second one in its history—which shows how young
our professional movement is as yet. The past year was unparalleled in
the history of the entire international trade union movement, both
according to the kind of activity as well as those circumstances under
which our unions had to carry on their work.
It was a year of the dictatorship of the proletariat.
On the ruins of the demolished capitalist system, the proletariat of
Russia has taken upon itself the task of building up a new, Socialist
Russia. While struggling and conquering, it was gradually turning to
constructive work—strengthening its dictatorship by taking possession of
the entire apparatus of the country’s economic administration.
The proletariat, organized into professional unions, constituted the
vanguard of the Socialist revolution. The unions were the hotbeds of
revolution, and it has fallen to their lot to solve the most complicated
problems—in fact they took into their hands the management of all
economic affairs, taking over the factories, the mills and the mines.
This problem was difficult in itself, and its complexity was increased
still further through the economic disintegration and chaos which were
caused by the imperialist world war.
The Second All-Russian Conference of Trades Unions demonstrated that the
Russian professional trades union movement has grown stronger during the
year and that its organization has improved in both quantity and
quality.
The qualitative progress made by the Russian trades union movement
expressed itself in that marvelous intelligence which the Conference
displayed in grappling with the complicated problems it had to face. If
the first All-Russian Conference of Professional trades unions outlined
a rough draft of a plan according to which the working class was to
steer its course during the period of its supremacy, if at that first
conference the delegates were groping in the dark, trying to feel the
correct way,—the second Conference found the path sufficiently cleared
to proceed forward toward the solution of new problems put forth by the
life and practice of the professional movement. If at the First
Conference we could only speak of regulating industry and controlling
it, now, at this Second Conference, we can already tabulate the results
of organization in the realm of industry by the efforts of the working
class itself.
A big stride forward was made by the proletariat organized within
professional trades unions, when in discussing the question of
organization it pointed out clearly and definitely the place which the
proletariat of the entire world is occupying under the present
circumstances. The Conference has not only firmly and decisively drawn
the line between its position and that of neutrality, but it took a
definite stand in favor of recognizing “the revolutionary class struggle
for the realization of Socialism through the dictatorship of the
proletariat.”
The quantitative growth of the Russian trades unions since the first
Conference, notwithstanding the fact that the counter-revolution has
snatched away a number of provinces (Siberia, Finland, the Donetz
region, Caucasia, etc.), has resulted in a membership of 3,422,000
whereas only 2,500,000 members were represented at the First Conference.
Thus, within one year the membership increased by almost one million.
According to the All-Russian industrial groupings, the number of union
members represented at the conference was distributed as follows:
Metal trades 400,000
Tanners 225,000
Members of Trade-Industrial Union (probably 200,000
sales clerks)
Workers engaged in the food industry 140,000
Tailors 150,000
Chemists 80,000
Architectural and building trades 120,000
Wood-working trades 70,000
Printers 60,000
Railroad workers 450,000
Glass and chinaware workers 24,000
Water transportation workers 200,000
Postal-telegraphic employees 100,000
Sugar industry 100,000
Textile workers (according to data furnished by 711,000
the local union)
Firemen 50,000
Oil miners and refiners 30,000
Chauffeurs 98,000
Bank employees 70,000
Domestic help 50,000
Waiters (in taverns) 50,000
Cigar and cigarette makers 30,000
Drug clerks 14,000
Foresters 5,000
According to the data furnished by the committee on credentials, there
were 748 delegates at the Conference with the right to vote, and 131
with a voice. The political composition of the Conference (according to
the results of an informal inquiry) was as follows: 374 Communists, 75
sympathizers, 15 Left Socialists-Revolutionists, 5 Anarchists, 18
Internationalists, 4 representatives of the Bund, 29 United
Social-Democrats, 23 non-partisans, and 236 delegates did not state
their party affiliations. The party registration bureaus showed entirely
different results, which have been confirmed by the vote cast for the
main resolutions. Thus, at the Communist bureau 600 persons have
registered (this includes party members having the right to vote,
sympathizers, and people with a voice only, but no vote), the
Internationalists had 50 persons, and the United Social-Democrats had
70.
Geographically the delegates were represented as follows:
Second First
From Unions Conference Conference
The Northern Region 100 delegates 69 delegates
The Central Region 320 " 112 "
The Volga Region 144 " 25 "
The Ural Region 2 " 13 "
The Southern Region 31 " 62 "
The Western Region 30 " .. "
From Soviets and
Northern Region 29 "
Central Region 70 "
Ural Region 3 "
Southern Region 6 "
Western Region 14 "
Volga Region 30 "
The local Soviets of the Professional Unions were represented according
to regions, as follows:
Central Region 36 cities 1,004,500 persons
Northern Region 16 cities 396,000 persons
Volga Region 19 cities 499,300 persons
Western Region 7 cities 73,800 persons
Southern Region 4 cities 64,000 persons
—————— —————————
Total 82 cities 2,037,600 persons
At the preceding 49 cities 1,888,353 persons
Conference
From June 16th to 25th, 1919, during the nine days of its work, the
second All-Russian Congress of Trades Unions solved the fundamental
questions of the Russian professional (trades union) movement. The
Conference more precisely defined the place of the professional trades
unions in a proletarian state, it has more concretely outlined the
interrelations of the trades unions with the organs of administration
and, above all, with the People’s Commissariat of Labor. All other
questions, such as the regulation of working hours and wages, the
safeguarding of labor and the social insurance of laborers, the
organization of production, and workmen’s control have been solved on
the basis of the experience of the past year.
The Russian professional unions entered upon a new era of proletarian
activity. And the unions are already facing practical problems—to put
into practice the principles and resolutions adopted and in all phases
of its work to follow one direction, that of still further strengthening
its power, and participating more closely in establishing the might of
proletarian Russia.
THE PROBLEMS OF THE PROFESSIONAL TRADES UNIONS
(_A resolution introduced by M. Tomsky_)
One year of political and economic dictatorship of the proletariat and
the growth of the workers’ revolution the world over, have fully borne
out the correctness of the position taken by the first All-Russian
Conference of the Professional Trades Unions, who have unconditionally
bound up the fate of the economically organized proletariat with that of
the Workers’ and Peasants’ Government.