CONDITIONS IN THE SARKANAIS METALURGE PLANT, LIEPAJA: MANAGEMENT/MATERIALS/STATE OF EQUIPMENT/PLANS, NORMS AND INCENTIVES/WORKERS' BENEFITS/LABOR DISCIPLINE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00926A006300040001-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 25, 2013
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: May 13, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

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11110
CONFIDSI!IAL
SECURITY INFORMATION
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
SUBJECT Conditio ar t die jjWbjLj.UrjM plant,
/Starts or, Z9dgwt/p]>e s, Nor= arc
Iacentiwe1 /Workers' Henfits 3Aabw Discipline
This CONTAINS INFORMATION AFFECTING THE NATIONAL DEFENSE
D STATES. RITHIN THEMEANING OF TITLE 1!. SECTIONS 792
THE U.S. CODE. AS WENDED. ITS TRANSMISSION OR RZYE.
S CONTENTS TO OR RECEIPT BY AN UNAUTHORIZED PERSON IS
THE R PR N OF THI REPORT P DI ED
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
DATE DISTR.elJMay 1953 1
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NO. OF PAGES 7
SUPP. TO
REPORT NO.
moment
"Sarkanais I4etalurgs be'louge ostensildy- to the Latvian Ministry for Local Industry.
Since June 1952, however, two departments a the Martin furnaces and the foundry,)
have been subordluatedLdirectly to Moscowd.
"T'he director of the factory is Peterija
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C ONFXEMIAL
STATE IARMY NAVY 17
-ims report is Ior the use within the USA of the Intelligence components of the Departments or
Agencies indicated above. It is not to be transmitted overseas without the concurrence of the
originating office through the Assistant Director of the Office of Collection and Dissemination, CIA.
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COUNTRY USSR (Latvia)
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SECURITY INFORMATION
Production for Export
"Most of the output of Sarkanais Metalur?gs is exported to the'USSR; almost all of the
.pig,-iron is exported. Only third-rate products and rejects are-sold to Latvian enter-
prises, although these enterprises may have purchasing permits which entitle them to
good quality material.
"There is a continual shortage of rew materials. That portion of the Sarkanaals Metalurgs
pig iron production which is not carried off to the USSR is sold to the large Latvian
factories only. When a asma3rll factory wants to buy some pig iron, it mast deliver up
some scrap iron in addition to the cash price. There is a continual scrap iron drive
in Latvia; schools and 'house collectives' win red banners if they collect enough. Under
the prevalent vatchwo d of 'economy' there 'is also a campaign against rejects. Since
1951 the varkers at Sarkaaanais Metalurgs haatve had to pay for the rejects they roduce 50X1-HUM
even if these are due to defective' raw-materials rath ? irh,ano r rgannnl rwrerT,o
S&rkanais Metalurgs does not produce over 20% rejects. However,
nobody takes an interest in such things except the worker concerned. Great notices
listing workers' names entages of rejects produced hung at the entrance
of the plant The purpose of these notices was to shame the
workers into improving their ways, but nobody oar so mach as glanced at them.
Bq uIpment
"Most of the machinery at Sarkanai,a Metalurgs is very old. The rolling mill dates
from Tsarist times, Some new machines have, been i*w,orted during the Soviet era, eg
a macb?ne for rolling sheet iron. The Martin furnace department has, been enlargea.
.But that is all.
"This old wetc may- often breaks down. The 14arttn furnaces frequently have explosions
because the old iron with whi-;h they are charged often includes old guns and tanks with
ammunition still in them. The bottoms of the furnac=?s sometimes give way. The accident
rate is high became of the terrible state r~ this .achinery and the furious work tempo.
In the rolling mill there -is at least one major accident a week. Workers are getting
burns from the molten iron. On New Years night 1951, two workers were killed when
two cranes collapsed on them. The cranes had been 'rattling and trembling for a long
time' but no one had thought of repairing them.
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COMPIDENTILL
SECURITY IINFORRMN
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33T,' VRTTY INFORMATION
8. "Every factory has ,stated in its plan the amount rf time, money and material it may
spend on repairs., These eblloeatioms are J;!,-j?oue'.y hoarded for the repair of machinery
that has a direct bearing on the ftal fiiisw;nt of the production plan. The renaire fund
is not sufficient to keep , vfnn the, vital machlnrzy in running order. Nothing is ever
thoroughly overhauled; tll, repai:r-z ire but makernifte to get product i~::.jr. :started again.
How long the machine will stay .?Wring before, another break:d n is not considered.
9. The work pace in Latvian :'actories is either :a slaw -down because of lack of raw
materials, defective mdhinery -etc, or a ma~d rush to make up for lost time when the
materials are-delivered ; the pleiny muo be fulfilled in any case: Sarkanais Metalurgs
usually mmnagees somehow to fulfill its plan, but everybody says this is largely the
doing of Manager Zv iigzne who is f"ci endly with all sorts of planning men and knows
all the tricks from his time in sauce USER.
10. "Most of the production ; ? ,hr featured in the newspapers are imaginative idealism.
Nothing runs so smoothly in -. soviet-controlled plant. When there is no shortage
of. material, a machine will have broken down The smooth curves in the graphs are
at ieast for SarkenaaiG i~S t ,t.tixi g ; y So -much propaganda.
Labor
11. rkanais Metalurgs has abowu -, J.POQ vorkere. They are divided into seven categories
with wages ranging from to 1000 rubles per mc"nth.. An electrician in the Martin
furnace department, for example, belongs to the second highest category; his wages
(1951) averaged 9`0J rubles per month, fluctuating with the percentage of plan fulfill-
ment and percertage of rejects produced. Although he has no fixed norms to meet since
his Job depends on current repairs ) his wages fluctuated with the department's
rate of achievement,.
12. "The number of female workers at the plant is not large; a few hundred perhaps. The wo-
men, L1wtzys get the worc t paid, unskilled jobs. The lowest wages in the plant are
earned by the women who carry the bricks for the furnaces. The female bricklayers
earn a bit more, about 450 rubles a month
13.. "Until 1950 about 300-4O0 German POWs were ,working at Sarkanais Metalurgs, both as
ordinary laborers, and as The plant; did not employ slave labor.
Plans, Norms and Incentives
14.. "The length of a workers day is fixed by law at eight hours. There is little legal
overtime work for extra pay. In early 1951, for example, the Martin furnace department
of Sarkanaia Metalurgs had the right to let workers do paid overtime only four hours
a week. There is, actually, a considerable amount of overtime work, the worker being
credited with free times to draw on when the work is slack. At the end of each plant
period there is a frightful, rush to fill the plan; almost everybody will work overtime.
At the start of a new plan period work is slack, and the workers get their free days
An electrical repair man for eels, by' virtue of his Job1 ias not bound by norms or
plans. But whenever anything breaks down in his department he way have to work two
or three days or nights in succession without overtinE compensation only the equiv-
alent number of ` frer_ ? hours.
15.. "The norms .keep changing from one w.ek to the next in Latvian industries-. Sometimes
a department gill be told that its norm has been raised 50%,P .chile other persona
working, in the same branch of industry will retain their old nor s ~ The reason perhaps
will be that the plan has provided for the delivery to the department of new machines
producing a larger output.. Though' the arcs ?.v . of the new machines may be delayed
by non-fulfillment of plan in another factory, transportation difficulties etc, the
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~, 0NFI NTIAL
SECURITY IN1'()TION
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go OJL
OOKPI>~lT
iaac ased eu put- expected frem these aaa .axee will be ineorpo t d in t! ' artment s s
plan and. ha- to be fulfilled so t -oldd machines.
16 0 "When a persi at his Me'beel ee . may, he. gets a S alarq- increase based
ca the fit. god'' his sae (double y for a 2C%, p ?odnetiom ace) 0
But if he keeps thia up for his ae is iMaeeged, ate.thav of other
workers . in his departumt. Althseqh the Sever ss write that a- eert4in worker
has exceeded hi norms to such an extent that he is now doing his work for 1960,this
is pure props, a0 Nobody is allow" to o lfill his norm. to such an extent.
IT. "Pbr. the. worhetae~;-at i:e Met alargr, SUddukasy1sm exists sanetalnothing y ea ''r; .it brings.
to the worker except an hiaorable. aematiaa, :praise= in the Se t press and.
pups a . red banner, Beeause It brings . f`]. it .'i e:.not seriously coveted
There ne 2baldm.erii~ts in the Martir AL daps, qt, ftZkanals Yfetalurgs
title is allotted, a]aa+sst in 50X1-HUM
s TAO the mere porvUr and .politi oniiy . prominent workers of an enterprise. $rery
emte^~isea mist be able to boast some Stakhanoyitea 0 In the BOlsheyik Fang Ko].khoa
the ? the Mawt s
18. "The wo"mTv? attitude towards the premia for f%dfi.lled or onerfuitilled norms is
quite a diftvre ...w&t*r; these bri.ag in. M=W sad everybody is,. balm ice tem. There
is co>aaiderab .e- -abuse im the allotment of such premia.o 'may us ly go to workers
who belong. t,q the OP or Xonsoasl. An-oraliaury 'worlaer? rare-1. Y .dam s a p ua unless
he d?es something rea1Iy spM tc iar0 An ?u liablea person (,eg a eleg~a ry
who fb light against the iiaviete in World War II, even if' he has served hi.s sentence)
has..mo tape of earning a premiums no aaettar. how hard be, array :work 0 Theme. i;s . no to fart these- ?, ? It is tear way daugormv to question the de0gsiMs Of omea s enpertl
iora., and the. "v~ culation is so complicated , that nobody under-
ffituds It depends. on such factor aa.the morns g which keep, changing-.9-and the
fulfillment car the overall plan
190
"W ? r+ati.onsUzin& ossleo
Most workers are pretty
exhortations to ? rati
-.
ise?? ; then rewards ar
ll
.
e
ems
has. .o nou&'ti'ara to Mead W orb h ,s job. and nobody
200 "golist ? ihemr- ~u~ "~:
merialy on pmmr
ollr]aoses All types of3t get iaav~l `im ~t3~ra8'
t1ehing ko].kh 's, separ&be -fishing bomta, fames, departments of
factories, indtvidtni, workers. Often the co ition is forgot ,. once the paper
in mod; in re e? -to an order- f cz the awtharit?ee...em yes are sent up as
ms's, arteaar: selected at- rumba. O io 1iy the authoritie attach especial
importance to a mertain cavgwtitixoa, a ad f sh better Vials, or su, for its
duration. Then everybody does try to work harder, because there. might be money
preaia at the ends
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CONrIDIWrIAL
AITY IWORMATIOJ
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45 O?ICIA.LS ONLY
CONFIDENTIAL
SNGHR1Y INFORMATION
~lo "One more pressure technique to increase production involves a 'premise to Stalin's
such as t . se to complete a certain job of work by a- certain date or to fulfil
a -plan before the time- limit set. Such prrmrdteee- are- entered into the ssm.. way. as
the Socialist competitions: a meeting is called;- the workers are asked if anyone
opposes. the promise; nobody ever does so it is signed then and there.. The workers.
get no more excited about these promises tkan,.sheet the competitions-, for no material
gnin is attached. Re ,ever cons ider bi pobitcity- attars them~, and the manapapmt
calls a meeting if a promise is not fulfilled in due time. Culprits who have 'retarded'
fulfillmen ere ound among the lower employees. They are not aiahed9 only blamed;
a now date for fulfillment is set; and when the promise is at last fulfilled there.
is a new meeting at which special premia are awarded to certain CP and Komsamgl workers
not for work done but for Ior izingI fuifilasnto -
Workers' Benefits
220 "Workers are entitled to a yearly holiday with pay. This pay 'is not based on their
actual earnings but on the base daily wage of the category to'which they bslloug, which
usually is- considerably lesso Nvamerous? small abuses arise-in connection with holidays.
Everybody is asked in the spring when he wants his holiday; he usually gets it thotigh
when it suits the maaageaento Sometimes a worker may get no holiday at all, and no
extra:dompensation , if it is in the interest of the factory to keep hiss at work.
Carry-over of leave from or* year to the next is rarely possible; a special certifl-
cats fram'the, aster is needed
23. -The much publicized rest houses- and sanitoria for workers are- fly a fiction.
if a factory has a 1000 workers,, it may receive one or two journey orders for a
sanitorium in the Crimea., or other resort area; such orders go to Party or Komsomol
-bosses, The workers spend their holidays at how. Few people in-L.epaj go to the
country as they did before Wor 4. War IIo The countryside is starving; there is more
food in the-towns. Some workers-have ill garden plots where they putter about;
-others just. sit in the sun. Som - take their .haliday..?n single days, so as to trans-
act the bureaucratic formlities of daily living.
24 o "Workers receive no benefits- if they acre- Injured- at workq Under Soviet law there
aFe
no. accidents at works only c ayelessnese. If an accide happens, either the worker
himself or his superiors are to blamo Every worker enter tug a job- is informeed of
the 'labor protection' devices goveuiring that -,job. For example, an electrician is told
t#at' he' say' never work without-- rubber gloves and must 'Unrar^e of electric current'
etc) - for pages and pages o The rules are quite impossible to reaeaber and follow
completely. an electrician cannot work in rubber-gloves and fulfil his norm, and
even if -he does follow all the rules and get an electric shock,, he has neglected
to 'beware of the current'. If the blame cannot be fixed on the` worker in any way,
then his.1mme'diate superior is guilty: Thus,-if a worker has an assistant and the
latter has an accident notVcaused by hitnelfV, the worker pays the assistant's hospi-
tal fees and other expenses; if the worker has no assistants and receives an injury
his foreman pays for him. If it is actually proved that ncr but the mpanageecent
is guilty,, and the injured worker has worked in the factory over..ei g -t yeergs he gets
threw months of hospital treatment free of charge plus- hi.s full pay. Accidents
are treated like simple illnesses; the-benefits are the see for both.
25- "It is not much use to take out accident insurance. The moment an insured person
- is involved in an accident, the ? insura a enterprise- sum him in court for having
caused the-.accident himself. The.worker only Sets his insurance if he manages
to win the case. Thies sold m ham. Kolkhoz cows,, fore le are insured,
also When one dies the attendant. comes ully has to pay its price, no 50X1-HUM
kolkhuz..?e has- yet been . able to. prove in court that the- cow ea-trusted to him has
not died t .ugh his own negligence,
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EMCURITT INFORMATION
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AS MFFICILS OLY
C0N IDMIAL
nFO
26. "A person who is ta'tal disabled by a work accident usually gets a saaaatll: pension,
depe g. on hiar, w a Only if the accident was plainly the fault of the
ma us ,at does be . get, aiW mere o At Sa i s . 4 fur 'is 1950 a man vhn operated
a mnehi-for cuttisg_serap iron for the. ohargee of the Thin furnaces vas killPA when
a .gimm e. exploded, ia- the tank. be was cutting. liantget Zvaiga. tried t persuade its
-wife not to sue., promising . bar good work a Others persuaded bar to-sue the plan -, a The
court granted her a pension equal to her husband's wage
27 The factory club is one of those ?voluatae'-c sary" institutions frequent in the
-'moo The workers have to contribute epe percent of their wages towards-its upkeep. At .Sar-
' - kwaals Metal tm an effort seems to be made to keep the club. as- =dox'table at ac -
tive as possible, as it is the primer exa ple in a factory of t the propagpsndists
claim. Actually the clubs are avoided, except' by young workers who, go Vim to dance
an iaturday-nightso People have no time to sit'aroundo When they are not working
they-.have to scrounge the shape for food.- Club dues-are collected at the sale time
as trade union dues, io not deducted anat. tk* payroll a P in a tide union
is not couspalsory, but is useful in case of illness o The" are usually two trade
union officials to represent 1000 workers. One of their 4y}ties is to hear workers'
roan assts, but there is no poiect' >'to- this because-, no Asproeements will. result a Offi
ci c, for .,example, the workers-. and ire m?w t eater. into a collaativ+e' bargain
which .stipulatites that wages will be pa .d an time o . Thisy. never are,, and though it is
the plain daty. of the trade uarion' borers to goaabat this. ate, the..ouiy thing they
c=do' is- -rxm "abuat .and- pacify or coo 'workers tit silence o
Pa,litical Indoctrination
28 o "ire is no regalar political instruction' for the workers at the ].after Latvian
;f for o Occasionally a meeting is organised for-tom workers to make a promise
to -Stalin. or to enter into a socialist case vtition. ' ,T re are also s meetings
on May 1 and the 'an l y of the 'Octolaerx"Revn11wti4ao The arftuary-'arotings are
mmudly- earllad 'twee - shifts to get a.. lard etta e o The at locks
sap the nmaber plater o then oextgolaQg Shift se tbpy won?t -be ab-1e to leave 'tbe growzds;
the workeroL have- to produce such plates on, exit o Them ' acre Amr , so that
p claw productinu?? time Will not be ' tedo W* ,.nth _also,_ ad it hard to
make the workers- attend -the parades on. Caafrms -st hali&Ws o :The deem qf factory
s. marcir. to a men, as- do the- workers who are, scared- of r ehals o But
br real .:gstw pamris for absence a
Labor Dis line
29. "Labor? di ipline 'is strict according to law, but the actual entercenno de ends
considerabl.y on the solidarity of the workers within a given-.factor-. The first
tine acme is lat., nothing nmuobh happens- > the fvreza n Just makes a row abe t' 'endanger-
ing the plan' o If latesss occurs, aagsd+a, a o cis' court tries the case o Such
a court, consists- of three workers from the ms's department or,faoctory, one of whom
mat be a CP oa r o To them the offender accounts for .his latexess o If they con-
Oider the- ,a uae valid, the mm, is excused. If he is late a third time, and not
l+ear f " the ' co rades' court ? , his case is tined over, to the ordinary i eople' a
ribawla 'heir sentence is usually three- to five years of forced labor o It is
for a case to go- so far be-cause theirs, is a certadm solidarity b m -the workers
in. a factory, can -be late, even the- - ges. !a vase is referred to the,
tribaausl without first being tried In a ? commdeall a Tribal sentrnces are
sere For starting a brawl in a public glace, or ford zat s duly bahavi&r,
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Svifr I OWIQh
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us OMM Qi LY
CO Y]J TIA
NEGUSLTI ~M
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~, osm yew yf forced labor. Fomwr4- the .. for, disti:31i bootleg, 50X1-HUM
li?r "esa- eaw -ywr- air it is ems at over two F ''s "t be .,served. in. 50X1-HUM
Vie a o At, swkamiw, , a~aba = a work -samte eat- the
Beet t aa. red Ucrad ,,,era ,bat at ttw ' sh srda in Liepaja 50X1-HUM
persons working at reduced was Per` periods of six micull a or a year.
har'i
no of La
Mse. MW
t(P m a trip three
22MM1 Attttides
31. "The general spix ..amvag the -workers. in a Sovimt-cerntro]lad factOZ7 :in IatTia.i4 one
of sarIien but tacit discontent . Evoroaft k a -then the mean : -a i.y go.- an rising wad
that . them:-is ,. h' Hof iupr+rr~!er sfo The. ,old workers ree r .th...9 old times f but
&art _ lreep.~n ~' 8 _lua .adapt. a of dev .i Amy-care mac .t ;y -drink
-a 1mt, - tryr . to..la ?.:and have fun and mover ink of the future. At 18, they are con-
scripted, wb? . mans three -to five years. =ray fram -how . On, return9 it will be the
bard work. for .little psy and-, rerybody yo= g or old, fuels.. in his '.leart?
that this cannot continue; and that there will s to be & ,war."
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SBCNRT"
tvian t*cbnIct= or r : to -
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