THE HISTORY OF TUNGSRAM 1896-1945 - MEK

TUNGSRAM 96FemaleworkersTheworker'sstatusLamp and AudiondepartmentsNo ofworkersHourlywages(fillers)No ofworkers'E'DepartmentHourlywages(fillers)No ofworkersGlass factoryHourlywages(fillers)Skilled workerTrained workerDay-worker1,5001647382137138Total1,516—21—1—As the table reveals, the workers of the Ujpest plantcould basically be divided into four groups. The skilledworkers made up the first group: lockmiths,mechanics, turners, tool-makers, etc. They weremostly working in the 'E' Department, the unit whichmanufactured and serviced the machinery. They werethe best-paid workers in the whole factory — and therewas not a single woman among them!The most numerous group was that of the trainedworkers, the so-called machine-workers. Women hadan overwhelming majority in this category: there were1500 female workers, opposed to the 260 male employees.They were all working in the Lamp ManufacturingDepartment and the Radio Valve Department.There were only 94 male skilled workers helping the1500 female trained workers in these two fundamentaldepartments.The third group consisted of the untrained labourerswhere, again, men had the outright majority: the ratiohere was 38 women against 178 men. There were nowomen in the last group, either, where the journeymenand the apprentices were lumped together.TUNGSRAM is still remembered by many people as afactory which used to pay its workers above theaverage. And indeed, this was so in the final year of theDepression, in 1933. According to a report dated 1December, 1933, the hourly wage of a skilled workerwas 7 fillers more in TUNGSRAM than elsewhere,while a trained worker received 5 fillers less and atrained female worker, 2 fillers more in TUNGSRAMthan their counterparts would get in the factoriesbelonging to the Association of Iron and MachineWorks.That is to say, the skilled male workers were paid 3Pengos more, the trained female workers 1 Pengomore in a week, than they would get working in thefactories of the afore-said association. In the sameperiod one kilo of sugar cost 1.30 Pengos, one kilo offat was 2.10 Pengos, brown bread cost 40 fillers andthe price of 1 kilo of beef was 2.40 Pengos. By payingthat little extra, TUNGSRAM had the edge over theother employers in the eyes of the workers, when itcame to doing their weekly shopping.Between 1933 and 1938 the labour costs hardlychanged at all in the entire Hungarian industry.The hourly wages were only raised significantly duringthe war, but in real terms these raises were worthnothing because of the simultaneous price rises. Highinflation in the second half of the war had the effectthat the wages could not keep up with the rising prices.Hourly wages in the various ranks of the workersduring the war went as follows:... I