SOVIET PAMPHLETS
Document Type:
Collection:
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST):
CIA-RDP80S01540R004100050004-3
Release Decision:
RIPPUB
Original Classification:
C
Document Page Count:
307
Document Creation Date:
December 22, 2016
Document Release Date:
June 6, 2012
Sequence Number:
4
Case Number:
Publication Date:
December 31, 1953
Content Type:
REPORT
File:
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
CIA-RDP80S01540R004100050004-3.pdf | 25.39 MB |
Body:
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11 WN-1
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
tional Defense of the United States, within the mean-
ing of Title 18, Sections 793 and 794, of the U.S. Code, as
amended. Its transmission or revelation of its contents
to or receipt by an unauthorized person is prohibited
by law. The reproduction of this form is prohibit(50X1-HUM
REPORT
DATE DISTR. 31 December 1953
NO. OF PAGES
THE SOURCE EVALUATIONS IN THIS REPORT ARE-':DEFINITIVE.
THE APPRAISAL OF CONTENT IS TENTATIVE.
d. Labour Protection at Soviet Industrial Enterprises (1953)
e. American Workers Look at the Soviet Union (1952).
f. Trade Union Health Resorts in the USSR (1953)
detached from the covering memorandum, are as follows:
a. Constitution of the Trade Unions of the USSR (1949)
b. Social Insurance in the USSR (1953)
c. Odessa Dockers (1953)
belief that they will. be of interest.. The pamphlets, which,areNFREE whe
Enclosed are six Soviet pamphlets which are being forwarded to you in th
50X1-HUM
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INFORMATION REPORT
CONFIDENTIAL
COUNTRY USSR
SUBJECT Soviet Pamphlets
PLACE ACQUIRED
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Odessa
Dockers
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Ships in the Port of Odessa
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STAT
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SKETCHES
OF
SOVIET LIFE
B. SMOLYAKOV
FOREIGN LANGUAGES PUBLISHING HOUSE
Moscow 1953
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Soviet-made self-propelled harvester
combines are being loaded on a ship
FROM the corner of the Primor-
sky Boulevard, where the
citizens of Odessa have erected a
monument to the great poet
Pushkin, you. get a view of the
port, spreading before you like a
panorama. Away down, as far as
the eye can see, ships are moored
to the quayside, and over them,
turning this way and that, swing
the latticed arms of cranes. Their
hoist to the height of a three-
story house harvester combines,
automobiles, huge steam boilers
which from afar look like toys.
From time to time you hear the
shrill of steamship sirens and the
prolonged, high-pitched shriek
of shunting engines.
The docks are filled with all
sorts of mechanical apparatus
that do the heavy work of load-
ing and, unloading formerly done
by human. muscles. Ros'tislav
Lubenov, the chief engineer of
the port, informs use that 06-5 per
cent of all operations have
been mechanized. The tradition-
al docker is vanishing; in the
vast majority of cases his work
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L 'J'
t Ni,
now consists of operating the
machines that Toad and unload
ships=the portal, self-propelled
and floating cranes, power trucks,
stack pilers and conveyers.
Odessa port, wrecked by the
Hitler invaders, has not merely
been restored; it has been recon-.
strutted on the most up-to-.
date technical principles. Nearly
everything had to be built anew,
for the enemy occupation forces
had wrecked 74 per cent of all
docking facilities, 60 per cent of
the protective structures, 91' per
cent of the warehouses, and all
the machinery.
It was a sad spectacle that met
the eves of the workers who re-
turned to liberated Odessa and.:
gazed at the lifeless port... Every-
thing that had been created and
built by the Russian people in
the course of one and a half cen-
turies had been reduced to rack
and ruin. But in less than. six
months the Port of Odessa was
able to receive the first ships.
The captains of English ves-
sels, amazed at the scale of de-
struction, said sceptically that it
would take no' less than twenty
years to restore the port, but the
Soviet State almost completely
restored and reconstructed it in
only four years.
Unlike the ports in the U.S.A.,
which are a chaotic jumble of
piers, wharves and other struc-
tures belonging to different pri-
vate firms, at the Port of Odessa
all the work is, distributed among
three sections, each of which
handles a definite type of cargo.
All the work is conducted ac-
cording to a definite plan, based
on the schedule of arrivals and
departures of ships. Each section
has a permanent staff of workers
w,lo work in : teams, and is sup-
plied with the necessary machin-
ery, Loading and unloading goes
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been reduced by nine-tenth
on all year round in three shifts
during the past four years..
a. day. The amount of cargo
handled far exceeds prewar
figures, and the portal cranes
now in use have a much greater
lifting capacity. Y The port is
equipped with floating cranes, a
floating coaling crane, a huge
mechanized granary, a grain
transporter and grain suction
pumps with which two men can
unload a barge of grain in five or
six hours. Formerly, this job re-
quired forty men working ten
days. Thanks to the extensive
mechanization of operations, the
number of men employed on
loading and unloading work has
s
In capitalist countries the in-
troduction of machines usually
causes unemployment, but in the
Port of Odessa not a single man
was put out of work for this rea-
son. The labourers received two,
three or six months' technical
training at a special school that
has been set up at the port, ac-
quired new trades, and all re-
mained at the port ias skilled
operators of machines and
niechanisnms. They work the con-
veyer lines and mechanical
loaders and serve as motormen
on the floating grain, elevators. A
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Pvotr Bryushko is another stevedore turned mechanic-
-he is a riveter in the ship repair yard
large number of the former
dockers are now skilled' mech-
anics working in the repair
shops; others are managers or
assistant managers of ware-
houses. An important point to
note is that all of them received
their average pay while attend-
ing these training courses.
During the pastr three years
over 3,000 dock workers, inchid-
ing 500 men demobilized from
the Soviet Army, have Learned
new trades. The training covered
such subjects as safety rules
and, regulations, draughtsman-
ship, metallography, physics,
mechanics, electrotechnics and
mathematics.. The courses were
conducted by university lecturers
by engineers', working at
and
the port.
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Nikolai Sbabinskv. graduate of a six months' training
course. now in charge of a coal-loading crane
The Soviet docker is thus a
new type of port worker--a
skilled and educated operator of
intricate machinery. Representa-
tive of these' new port workers is
Vasili Turlenko, senior craneman
in Section 2, at the Port of
Odessa. He was demobilized from
the Soviet Army in 1946 and was
given a job at the port. He went
through a 'six .months' course of
training, after which he worked
on portal cranes of Various
types. He thoroughly mastered
the handling of these machines,
achieved high efficiency, and
even introduced a number of
improvements. One of these was
particularly important. On his
proposal portal cranes designed
to handle only piece goods were
altered so they can also handle
cargo shipped in bulk. This. in-
creased their efficiency and at the
same time brought about aconsid-
erable saving in electric power.
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This coal-lifter has done away with manual labour in the coal docks;
All the docker has to do is to show the craneman where to drop the coal
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Loading and unloading is
mechanized not only in the docks
but also in the ships' holds. Fyo-
dor Shelest, senior craneman in
Section 1, proposed that the lift
trucks used for laying out car-
goesi.on the quayside should also
be used below deck. This, propos-
al was
adopted, and now a stack
piler is lowered by crane into the
hold where it performs all the
heavy work.
Last year alone 11.6 rationali-_
zation proposals .made. by work-
ers were put into practice.
A group of port engineers, to-
gether with the Stakhanovites,
organized the loading and un-
loading of ships' according to an
hourly schedule. When a ship
has to be loaded or unloaded the
technological council of the sec-
tion, together with the workers,
draws up a definite schedule and
technological chart showing what
each team has to do every hour
of its shift, what cargoes have to
be handled, from what warehouse
they are. to 'come, and what
mechanical appliances are to he
used. This method has consider-
ably . increased efficiency in the
handling of cargoes and has re-
sulted in a 40 per cent increase
in the workers' earnings.
The life of the Odessa docker
today is quite unlike the lost of
the dock worker in the past. An
interesting comparison was made
by the veteran clocker Andrei
Lysyuk. He is sixty now, and he,
has gone through a great deal in
the course of his 'life. For years
he was a. homeless, ;wanderer,
roaming from port to port in all,
parts of A he world, occasionally
working as a shiphand on a mer-
chantman. This. was before the
Revolution.
"I began to feel I was a human
being only with the coming of the
Soviets," says Lysyuk.. ".And so
did the other waterside workers,
who formerly used. to lug on
their backs as much as seventeen.
tans of cargo a day for a mere:
pittance. How happy I am' that
my sons never had to go through
anything like that.. My oldest
son, Leonid, has had an educa-
tion and is now an. engineer and
safety inspector. There was no
such job in the port before the
Revolution. Safety regulations!
How many of my mates have
been killed by falling into holds
either because it was too dark or
because the rotten hatch ladders
collapsed. Today no job is started
until the safety inspector gives
permission. Before the Revolu-
tion, if, anyone dared to demand
that guard rails be put on the
gangways he'd be kicked out at
once. There were always hun-
dreds of homeless. `bums'-that's
what they called us then-out-
side the dock gates eager, to get
any kind of work. The things
you saw in the Port of Odessa
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before the Revolution can be
seen only in capitalist, countries.
today."
Andrei Lysyuk's seconds son
Nikolai is attending a six months'
training course for crane opera-
tors and getting his average pay.
He doesn't have to worry about
his future.
Dock workers are paid at pro-
gressive piece rates. Higher rates
are paid for night. work and
double rates for work on holi-
days. All workers receive an, an-
nual vacation with pay.
Earnings range from 1,000 to
2,000 rubles per month. A meat
dinner of three courses at the
port canteens costs from 3 to
3.50 rubles. Meals 'cooked at.
home cost even less. Consequent-
ly, the docker's earnings suffice
for buying clothes, domestic fur-
niture, and other requirements.
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House rent, does not exceed four
or five.per cent of earnings.
Lysyuk's family consists of six
persons. Three of them work at
the port. When the family re-
turned to Odessa after the city
had been liberated from the fas-
cist invaders, they found their
home completely ransacked. The
Hitlerites had stolen everything.
After a short time, however, they
were able to refurnish their home
and buy new clothes; Lysyuk's
sons own motorcycles. When the
oldest son, Leonid, married and
his wife had a baby, the family
decided to build a cottage in the
country. In this they were as-
sisted by the trade union. The
port trade union committee, by
arrangement with the Executive
Committee of the City Soviet of
Working People's Deputies, had
a former estate assigned to it
near the health resort "Arkadia"
on which members of the trade
union can receive a plot of 1,200
square metres for a cottage and
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garden. The Regional Municipal
Bank grants those wishing to
build a loan of 10,000 rubles to
be repaid in seven years. The
Ministry for the Merchant Ma-
rine assigned funds for building
a transformer substation to pro-
vide electricity for the workers'
cottages.
Lysyuk's family spend the
summer in their country cottage,
which stands in an orchard-
they grow peaches, strawberries,
grapes and plums.
In 1948,. the average monthly
earnings of Soviet dockers were
100 per cent above the prewar
year 1940, and in 1950 were 152
per cent above the prewar level.
Maritime transport workers
enjoy a number of special privi-
leges. Among other things, they
are entitled to higher old-age and
permanent disability pensions.
They also receive service bo-
nuses: ten per cent after three
years' work, another five per cent
after the next two years, and an
additional, two per cent for each
subsequent year. Long and de-
voted service receives recognition
from the state in the form of
Medals and Orders.
Soviet dockers' real wages do
not comprise only what is en-
tered in their paybooks. One must
add the benefits all receive from
the state insurance fund, pen-
sions, sick pay, cultural services.
accommodation in sanatoriums
and rest homes, physical culture
and sports facilities, and coun-
try holidays for their children.
The dockers have a recreation
club, libraries, reading rooms, a
polyclinic and medical centres,
the best swimming pool in
Odessa, and so forth.
Waterside workers often gather
in their club in the evenings to
listen to lectures on the Stalin
plan for transforming Nature, the
great construction works of Com-
munism, the latest technical im-
provements introduced in the So-
viet marine transport service, the
international situation, etc.
Often the young workers
gather round the veteran dockers
to hear their reminiscences of the
revolutionary struggle
Young working girls find it
easy to operate a stack piler
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The Year-old grandson of docker Andrei l.ysyu.k is ready for his afternoon
outing. The whole family is there to see him off. Left to right: Andrei Lysyuk:
Larisa. wife of his oldest son Leonid: Leonid Lysyuk and his brother Nikolqi
times and of the heroic defence
of the city during the second
world war.
The working people of Odessa
are proud of the fact that in their
city arose the first workers' or-
ganization in Russia-the South
Russian Workers' Union (1875),
and that the. great Lenin was the
delegate of the Odessa Bolshevik
organization at the Third Con-
gress of the Russian, Social-Dem-
ocratic Labour. Party.
During the 1905 Revolution
the Odessa dock workers fought.
vigorously against the autocracy,
and rendered assistance to the
insurgent sailors on the battle-
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ship Potyomlcin. It is with rapt
attention, that the young folks lis-
ten to the stories told about that
thrilling time by th'e' veteran
docker Mikhail Rodubinsky, who
was a participant in those events.
He was one of the dockers who
carried coal to the revolutionary
warship and maintained contact
with the insurgent sailors.
The magnificent stairway that
leads from the Primorsky Boule-
vard to the beach was drenched
with the blood of workers. Here,
on the night of June 15, 1905, the
tsarist gendarmes shot down
nearly two thousand strikers as
they were streaming out. of the
port, which bad been set on fire
by police agents.
In addition to his home in town, Andrei Lysyuk has a cottage in the country,
near the well-known "Ark-adia" health resort. Photo shows him in the garden
with his son Nikolai, a craneman in the port
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In January 1918, the Odessa
dockers! took part in the barri-
cade fighting against the counter-
revolutionary troops of the
Whiteguard generals, and a year
later they helped to rout the
French interventionists who had
occupied the city.
The inhabitants of Odessa con-
tributed a glorious page to the
annals of the Great Patriotic War
the Soviet people waged against
the Hitler invaders. Although cut
off on land, they, together with
the men of the Soviet Army, kept
the fascist hordes at bay for
Veteran dockers M. Rodubinsky and I. Vetrov tell their younger comrades
assembled in the dockers' club about the great Russian writer Maxim Gorky, a
stevedore in the Port of Odessa in the 'nineties
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P li / d VIII 1
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seventy days. Eighteen picked
Hitler divisions were demol-
ished at the walls of this hero-
city. Under constant enemy
fire the dockers. unloaded the
Soviet ships which arrived at the
port during those memorable
days.
On one of the quays in the port
there is a red two-story brick
building. On the wall facing the
sea is a memorial tablet with a
carved inscription relating that
on September 2, 1941, under
continuous enemy artillery fire
and air bombing, ",the dockers
of the port of Odessa unloaded
ahead of schedule the motor ship
Belostok which had brought'
an important cargo of military'
supplies
Odessa.'
for the defenders of
This was the last ship to arrive
in the besieged city.
The militant, revolutionary
career of the Odessa dockers has
now been crowned with all the
blessings of peace.
At a long table, dockers are
sitting in the open air, waiting
for the change of shift. Some of
them are playing dominoes,
others are reading newspapers,
still others are just basking in the
sun, smoking and watching the
loading of cargoes. Soviet ships
are lined up at the docks.'-
A 'foreign vessel is moored at
dock No. 1. It has come to get
Russian grain.' Soviet agricultural
2-602
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Repair shops mechanic Sergei Katkov
(left) and docker Alexei Nikaforov, like
many other workers at the port, spent
their vacation at a southern health re-
sort. Photo shows them en route to the
resort
machines, iron castings, pipes
and boilers, rolls of wire and
motor trucks are laid out on the
quay ready to be shipped to the
People's Democracies.
The Soviet steamship Vostok
is approaching the eastern en-
trance of the bay; it is returning
from Italy with a cargo of lem-
ons. On the dock everything is
ready to receive her. The portal
cranes have moved iup, the power
trucks are ready. Soon, loaded
by: cranes, these trucks will be
racing one after another to, the
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warehouse where the boxes will
be mechanically stacked. The
work is performed with rhyth-
mic precision and . does not re-
quire great physical effort. Ex-
actly twenty-nine hours later, the
time specified in, the schedule,
the ship is unloaded. The cap-
tain thanks the dockers and men-
tions in passing that in the Italian
port it took four days and nights
to load the ship..
In Soviet ports the trade of
stevedore, that is, of the man
who lugs cargoes on his back-
has been abolished. Soviet
dockers are skilled ' machine
operators trained at the expense
of the state.
Sports of every kind are popular among the dock workers.
Dockers V. Gumenko (deft) and M. Bychkov, both ex-servicemen,
prefer boxing and heavy athletics-it is the only kind of "heavy
work" they do
88,
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Young dock workers stroll after
? their shift down a boulevard
overlooking the pea
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r
This publication is a reprint of an
artir!e publi,hed in the magazine
Cover: Pyotr Bobrinsky, former dock labourer and now
a crane operator in the Port of Odessa. 96.5 per cent of
the loading and unloading in the port is mechanized
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A7 SOW IETI
9G~DN1~4
mia
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?-~'
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LABOUR PROTECTION
AT SOVIET INDUSTRIAL
ENTERPRISES
FOREIGN LANGUAGES PUBLISHING HOUSE
Moscow 1953
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., The present edition is a trans-
lation of the pamphlet published
by the A.U.C.C.T.U. Publishing
House "Profizdat" Moscow, 1953.
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CONTENTS
Page
INTRODUCTION 5
WORKING HOURS AND LEISURE . . . . . 8
TRADE UNION CONTROL OF LABOUR PROTECTION 11
THE ORGANIZATION OF SAFETY-FIRST MEASURES IN ?
THE FACTORIES . . . . . . . . . . 16
LABOUR PROTECTION ITEMS. IN COLLECTIVE AGREE-
MENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 20
SETTLEMENT OF LABOUR ISSUES . . . . . . . 25
HEALTHIER AND EASIER WORKING CONDITIONS . . 27
PROTECTION OF FEMALE LABOUR . . . . . 45
PROTECTION OF JUVENILE LABOUR . . . . . . 53
LABOUR PROTECTION STANDARDS OBLIGATORY IN-NEW
BUILDING 56
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH IN LABOUR PROTECTION
METHODS . . . . . 63
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Soviet labour legislation is based on the principles con-
tai ed in the Constitution of the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics, popularly called the Stalin Constitution.
The guiding principle olf Soviet labour legislation is
-solicitude for human beings. And it could not'be otherwise
in Soviet society where, as J. V. Stalin has said: "the' tnost
valuable and decisive capital is people, cadres."
Labour legislation in the U.S.S.R. is a system of rules
and standards- aimed at protecting the health of workers'by
hand and brain, and creating the most favourable working
conditions.
'Soviet law makes the executives of industrial plants,
offices and state farms strictly responsible for any violations
of the existing labour legislation and regulations.
-The effective implementation of labour legislation in all
industrial plants and offices is under the control of the trade
unions.
Soviet labour legislation strictly enforces the implemen-
tation of the right to work as established by the Soviet Con-
stitution-a right which implies that all Soviet citizens are
really enabled to secure work according to their abilities,
knowledge, experience, and qualifications.
Article 118 of the Constitution states:
"Citizens of the U.S.S.R. have the right to work,
that is, the-= right to guaranteed employment- and 'pay-
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ment for their work in accordance with its quantity and
quality.
"The right to work is ensured by the socialist organi-
zation of the national economy, the steady growth of the
productive forces of Soviet society, the elimination of the
possibility of economic crises, and the abolition of unemploy-
ment."
Soviet people have long forgotten what it is to be unem-
ployed. Unemployment was done away with for all time-
over twenty years ago.
Every Soviet citizen is entitled to secure employment,
and to receive payment in accordance with the principle of
equal pay for equal work.
The right to work is an essential condition of genuine
democracy. In this regard, Comrade Stalin, in the interview
he gave to Roy Howard, said the following' "It is difficult
for me to. imagine what `personal liberty' is enjoyed by an
unemployed person, who goes about hungry, and cannot
find employment. Real liberty can exist only where exploi-
tation has been abolished, where there is no oppression of
some by others, where there is no unemployment and pov=
erty, where a man is not haunted by the fear of being tomor-
row deprived of work, of home and of bread. Only in such
-a society is real, and not paper, personal and every other
liberty possible."
Young people, on graduating universities, technical col-
leges and specialized secondary schools, and young workers
who have completed a course of instruction at a factory train-
ing school or trade school, are guaranteed work in their
respective professions and trades.
? Soviet legislation not only protects the right of workers
by hand and brain to secure work, but also safeguards them
against unjustified dismissal or transfer.
Where a Soviet employee has been wrongly dismissed,
he is reinstated, and is compensated for his period of en-
.forced. idleness in the manner established by law.
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Legislation also exists in the U.S.S.R. safeguarding the
rights of workers who, while continuing to work at their jobs,
-perform their duties as members of factory, mill, mine,
building-site, and office trade union committees. Manage-
ments are not allowed to dismiss such officials except with
the sanction of the corresponding superior trade union
bodies.
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The U.S.S.R. Constitution guarantees all Soviet citizens
the right to rest and leisure. Article 119 of the Soviet Consti-
tution contains the following paragraph: "The right to rest
and leisure is ensured by the establishment of an eight-hour
day for factory and office workers, the reduction of the work-
ing day to seven or six hours for arduous trades and to four
hours in shops where conditions of work are particularly ar-
duous, by the institution o,f annual vacations with. full pay
for factory and office'workers, and by the provision of a wide
network of sanatoria, rest homes and clubs for the accom-
modation of the working people."
Where a reduced working day is in operation, this does
not involve a reduction in wages.
Overtime is banned in the Soviet Union, except in those
few cases where, for example, it is necessary in order to avert
natural calamities, to eliminate unforeseen obstacles to the
normal functioning of the electricity, water and other supply
services, and also where stoppage of work may, result in
damage to machinery and materials. But even in such cases
the managements are not allowed to introduce overtime with-
out securing permission from the appropriate trade union
bodies. Overtime is paid at the rate of time and a half for
the first two hours and double time for subsequent hours.
All employees 'receive annual vacations with full pay,
for periods ranging from two weeks to two months accord-
ing to nature of occupation.
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A view of the blooming mill department at the Krasny Oktyabr
Works in Stalingrad
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Those employed underground in the mines, or in the fer-
rous and nonferrous metals industries, in the various trans-
port services, and in the oil, chemical, printing, and other
industries are entitled to vacations for periods ranging from
18 to 48 working days.
Members of staffs of scientific research institutes are
entitled to vacations of 24, 36 or 48 working days. The pro-
fessorial and tutorial staffs of all educational institutions are
entitled to vacations of 48 working days.
Those employed in the lumber industry and the forest
service are entitled to an annual vacation of one month;
once every three years the vacation is of two months' dura-
tion.
Young workers attending school after working hours are
entitled, during the examination periods, to leave lasting
from 1.5 to 20 days, with full pay.
. All workers employed directly on the job in the basic
industries (metallurgical, coal and otre mining, oil, textiles,
the transport services, big building jobs, etc.) are entitled,
after two years' service, to an additional three days' vaca-
tion annually.
Where employees are in need of treatment at sanatoria or
health resorts, they are given leave of absence sufficient to
cover the full period of treatment and the journey there and
back. The period in excess of the vacation to which they are
entitled is paid for out of social insurance funds.
The Soviet Government does not stop at providing.va-
cations. To ensure that the working people make effective
use of them, a large network of sanatoria and health resorts
has been established throughout the Soviet Union.
In addition, employees and the members of their fami-
lies can spend their vacations enjoying the facilities provid-
ed for touring, mountain climbing, hunting, or fishing:
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TRADE UNION CONTROL
OF LABOUR PROTECTION
. The Soviet Government, concerned as it is for the health
of those who labour, entrusted the trade unions with the
task of seeing to the implementation of all legislation
pertaining to the protection of labour.
The fact that it is the trade unions, the organizations
embracing the widest masses of workers, that have been en-
trusted by the state with this task, is .one of numerous proofs
of the genuine democracy of the Soviet system. .
At the present time the state supervision over the ob-
servance of the labour protection laws by the managements
,and directors of plants, institutions and other enterprises is
.carried out by the trade union technical inspectorates, organ-
ized according to branches of industry, and 'attached to
all Central Committees of trade unions.
The inspectors possess considerable powers. They may
visit the factories and institutions under their supervision
at any time of the. day or night, without let or hindrance,
and register their conclusions as to the fitness of new plants
or shops to be opened.
Recommendations made by technical inspectors calling
for the elimination of violations of labour protection regu-
lations must be carried out without fail -by the -factory- di-
-rectors.
The technical inspectors may cause any factory, depart-
mental or shop manager to be prosecuted or to be penalized
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by his superiors for failing to observe the laws aimed at pro-
tecting the health of the workers.
The technical inspectors carry out their work with the
active assistance of the leading trade union workers in the
plants, and in their turn assist the trade union committees
in the factories in exercising control over the fulfilment of
labour protection measures.
This public control exercised by the trade unions over the
observance of the labour protection is effected through the
medium of what are known as public inspectors and commis-
sions. There are nearly 1,300,000 such trade union public
inspectors and members of labour protection commissions.
These-voluntary labour protection inspectors are elect-
ed at meetings of the trade union members in the various
departments, and directly supervise .the operation of the
labour legislation. in their particular spheres.
The public labour protection inspector examines the
work places to see how far safety precautions are observed,
and takes steps to secure the elimination of any defects dis-
covered.
To ensure the provision of the best working conditions
and to see to the observation of the labour protection, safety-
first and industrial hygiene regulations and standards'inthe
factories and plants, the various trade union committees set
up labour protection commissions. A member of the plant
trade union committee is appointed chairman of such a com-
mission, and at the same time occupies the post of senior
labour-protection inspector'in the plant concerned.
Such a-commission has from three to 21 members selected
from among the workers and those engineers and technicians
who, do not enjoy, administrative powers. They function after
endorsement by the plant trade union committee, which also
endorses the commission's plan of work.
The commission discusses reports made by departmental
and shop chiefs, or the chief engineer or plant manager, on
both particular labour protectioin'items (ventilation, ilium i=
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Repairs to ventilation equipment being inspected at a: department of
the Voroshilovgrad.Locomotiue Works by A. Zhukov, chairman of the
works labour protection commission, and by mechanic A. Gaidukov,
labour protection inspector.
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nation, machinery guards, etc.) or on the situation- as re-
gards safety precautions and industrial hygiene in .the; plant
as a -whole.
Decisions taken by the commission must be fulfilled with-
out fait. by the-'plant rnanageni'nt.
The commission chairman who, as we have said, is the
senior labour protection inspector, has the right to visit
all departments, and shops, -to 'acquaint himself with
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Assembling Z/M passenger cars at the Molotov Auto Plant in Gorky
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documents and materials relating to labour protection- mat
ters, and to enforce the elimination by the management
of defects disclosed.
The senior public inspector assists the public inspectors
functioning among the trade union members in the depart-
ments to solve any labour protection problems that may
confront them.
Here is how Fagan, secretary of the British workers'
delegation that visited the Soviet Union in May 1951, de-
scribes the work of these labour protection commissions and
public inspectors in the plants:
"The labour protection commission of the trade union
factory committee is one of the most powerful subcommittees
functioning in a factory.... Each voluntary inspector not
only checks that the administration is adhering to the pro-
tection regulations for the industry, but also on overtime;
The labour laws include a strong check on overtime, the
maximum amount of which is limited by law to 120 hours
per worker per year. Permission to work overtime can only
be granted in an emergency, and then only by the central
committee of the trade union involved.... The inspector
has 'wide powers, and the administration must grant him
every facility to carry out his inspection. If he is' not
satisfied with the. conditions in his section he can call in
the chairman of the factory (or shop, where there is a shop
committee) labour protection commission, who is the senior
inspector for the factory, and the T.U.-employed' technical
inspector. The latter has the right to enter any .factory or
works in his industry, at any time of the day or night, and
has the power to get fines imposed on members of the
administration responsible for any violations of the labour
laws that he may find."
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THE ORGANIZATION
OF SAFETY-FIRST MEASURES
IN THE FACTORIES
.The responsibility for seeing to the application of, safe-
ty measures in the plants and miscellaneous institutions
lies with the. managing directors, chief engineers, heads
of . departments, shops, , laboratories, etc. They see to it
that the rules and instructions relating' to safety measures
and industrial .hygiene are put into practice; they do all in
their power to ensure that the most favourable conditions are
created on the job for the elimination of danger and for
highly-productive labour. Particular attention is paid to
ensuring that the. work 'places are- properly organized.
At big and medium-sized factories and industrial plants,
special ventilation engineers are assigned, or ventilation
bureaus _ (or departments) set up, to see to the effective and
uninterrupted functioning of the ventilation systems and
appliances. Such ventilation, bureaus (,departments) have
their laboratories, where tests are regularly made of the
air in the ,various working premises.
It should be added that no ventilation unit-is allowed
to be used except after being subjected to- a thorough test
by a. special commission including representatives of the
trade union organization. Every ventilation appliance has
its "passport" containing the details of its construction,
etc., and instructions for its operation are ready at hand.
The establishment of ventilation departments renders
possible the most efficient use of the ventilation machinery,
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and so the creation of the most favourable working condi-
tions from the point o,f view of hygiene and sanitation
Daily inspection takes place to ensure that safety and
industrial hygiene standards and regulations are observed.
To achieve this, and also to assist the heads of works depart-
ments, shops and sections in solving the various problems
arising in this connection, safety-first departments-under
the direct charge of the corresponding plant chief engineer-
are set up, in which qualified engineers and technicians are
engaged.
The safety-first engineers are empowered to demand of
heads of departments the immediate elimination of any de-
fects in safety equipment.
Particular attention is paid to ensuring that employees
are made acquainted with, and make a study of, the appro-
priate safety measures. This is obligatory.
When accepted on the staff, the employee is given a
preliminary talk, usually by the safety-first engineer, who
makes extensive use of diagrams, placards, and illustrative
materials on the importance of discipline at work, on the
nature of the work being done at the plant, and on safety-
-first precautions in the department, at the lathe or machine,
and so forth.
At the majority of big plants, special- rooms are equipped
for the purpose of acquainting the workers with safety-first
and industrial hygiene regulations. Here are also to be
found models of the lathes and appliances most typical of
the plant concerned, and of safety-first instruments and
appliances; as well as placards and instructions on labour
protection.
Following these introductory talks, the workers must
undergo a course of instruction in safety precautions, right
where they work. Explanations are given by the appro-
priate department chief or foreman. The reason why they are
given this instruction right where they work is to thoroughly
acquaint them with the equipment they are to handle and
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the specific safety regulations that apply to themselves, and
to enable them to learn the safest ways and methods of
carrying on their work.
The engineers, technicians and foremen do not limit
themselves to these initial safety-first talks, but are con-
stantly on the alert to see that the regulations are adhered
to during the course of the work.
Particular attention is paid by departmental chiefs and
foremen to ensuring that workers doing particularly re-
sponsible and dangerous jobs (such as crane operators, dri-
vers, electricians, furnacemen, welders, train couplers,
woirkers operating mechanisms underground or engaged on
other mining operations, etc.) are made, aware of the safety
precautions to be taken. Only persons who have passed the
appropriate knowledge tests are allowed on such jobs.
Members of engineering and technical staffs have to be
especially well acquainted with safety-first and industrial-
hygiene regulations, as they are responsible by law for the
conditions in the departments and shops in this regard. They
possess this knowledge due to the fact that all students at-
tending university-level and secondary technical colleges,
apart from becoming acquainted with safety-first methods
as they study specifically technical subjects, have to take a
special course of safety-first methods.. They must pass an
examination in this subject, and in addition submit a treatise
concerned with some aspect of it.
Special chairs and laboratories dealing with safety
methods have been set up in the technical colleges.
Special refresher courses and classes dealing with safety
methods are arranged by various ministries and govern-
ment departments to keep engineers and technicians in
touch with the latest developments in this sphere.
When drawing up safety-first instructions for the differ-
ent categories of workers with whom they are concerned,
heads of factory departments, shops and laboratories are
guided by the regulations and standards operating in the
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industry as a whole, but take account of the specific condi-
tions existing in their respective plants. .
These instructions are prominently displayed in the de-.
partments and shops, and in the vicinity of such partic-
ularly dangerous and vital equipment and machines as
boilers, cranes, electrical installations, etc. In many plants
the safety regulations concerning the main types of jobs are
printed in booklet form and distributed among the workers.
A variety of means, including film displays, radio lec-.
tures, is employed to popularize safety methods and. prob-
lems of industrial hygiene among the workers and engi-
neering and technical personnel.
An important part in eliminating- accidents in the fac-
tories is played by placards. These are artistically-com-
posed pictures of equipment, lathes, parts, installations and
so forth, in which attention is drawn to the danger spots,
and brief instructions given as to what should be done to
avoid accidents.
? The great amount of work done at Soviet plants in the
field of labour protection and safety-first methods, has led
to a considerable decline in industrial accidents and disease.
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LABOUR PROTECTION ITEMS
IN COLLECTIVE AGREEMENTS
The Soviet Government annually assigns special funds
for the improvement of working conditions. These funds
are used for the extensive introduction into industry of the
.latest achievements in industrial ventilation and illumina-
tion, and also other labour protection measures.
At the beginning of each new economic year the manage-
ment of every plant, working in cooperation with the ap-
propriate trade union committee, draws up a list of labour
protection measures to be implemented during the current
year, which is embodied in the collective agreement.
All engagements undertaken by factory managements
,concerning the further mechanization of laborious working
processes, the effective maintenance of ventilation installa-
tions, shower baths, cloakrooms and other such amenities,
the training of the workers in proper working. methods, and
the popularization of safety-first measures and industrial
hygiene, are also embodied in the collective agreements.
At Soviet industrial plants all workers occupied on
harmful, dangerous or dirty jobs, and also on jobs done
under high or low temperatures, are entitled to working
clothes and boots free of charge. The management is also
responsible for storing, washing, drying, cleaning and re-
pairing working clothes without charge.
Workers employed on unhealthy jobs receive a daily
allowance of milk at the expense of the management. Work-
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ers and office employees in the zinc and lead industries are
entitled to free breakfasts and dinners of high calorie con-
tent, the menus being drawn up in accordance with sugges-
tions from the Food Research Institute.
Factory trade union committees check up once every
three months-in the departments and workshops-on how
the measures provided for in the collective agreements have
been carried into effect. In the respective plants, sittings of
labour protection commissions and factory trade union
committees are convened to hear reports from the man-
agements as to measures taken to further improve working
conditions.
With the fulfilment of the plans for improving safety-
first measures and sanitary arrangements, working condi-
tions are being steadily ameliorated.
As an illustration of what is being done in this sphere,
we quote from the collective agreement for 1952 of the Kras-
ny Proletary Plant "which, in the section headed "Labour
Protection," contains the following engagements undertaken
by the management and the plant trade union committee:
? 37. The management undertakes to carry out in full the
measures for improving working conditions provided for in the agree-
ment with the plant trade union committee.
? 38. The management undertakes furthermore:
a) to complete, by October 1, all the work involved in preparing
the departments for the winter of 1952/53, to repair the heating
and ventilation equipment, to felt-line doors, and repair and seal
windows;
b) to ensure normal temperature in the workshops, in accordance
with the standards adopted by the chief Sanitary Inspector of the
U.S.S.R.;
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c) to improve the natural and artificial light in the shops;
d) to provide the workers with an adequate supply of boiled and
of aerated water;
e) to ensure that the shower. baths and other hygienic and welfare
facilities function properly, and to provide soap and hot water;
f) to ensure that the personal hygiene chamber for women func-
tions regularly.
? 39. The management undertakes to supply the workers in good
time with working clothes and boots, and with protective appliances
of the proper quality, in 'the established quantities. It also undertakes
to see to the regular washing and mending of working.clothes and
boot repairs.
? 40. The management undertakes not to permit any worker,
whether newly engaged, or transferred from another job, to begin work
without giving him or her preliminary instruction in safety-first meas-
ures directly in the shop, and also to see that the instructions are
,repeated to all the workers every six months;
? 41. The management undertakes:
to ensure that a sufficient number of safety-first placards are posted
in all the departments, and to arrange for members of the engineering
and technical staff to conduct talks among, and advise, the workers
on problems of labour protection, safety measures, and industrial
hygiene;
to organize safety-first and industrial hygiene classes to be attended
by 50 members of the engineering and technical staff and 120 workers.
? 42. The management undertakes to provide all the plant and
office workers and members of the engineering and technical staff with
their current, and where so entitled with extra, vacations in accordance
with a timetable to be drawn up in conjunction with the plant trade
union committee.
The management further undertakes to inform each employee of
the date of his forthcoming vacation not less than 15 days, and, to
complete all the appropriate formalities and furnish the holiday pay
not later than three days before the leave begins.
Employees attending young workers' schools or the plant's tech-
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Miners of the Chistyakov Coal Trust, the Donbas, take "inhalation
treatment .
nical school are to be given their vacations during the summer months
without fail.
O k The 'management undertakes:'
a) -to arrange the periodic medical examination of all juveniles
employed at- the plant, and. of employees doing heavy work or, w'oik
'liable adversely to affect their health;
b) to effect the repairs, planned for 1952, to the plant's premises
assigned for medicinal and prophylactic purposes;
c) to keep the first-aid stations in all" the shops and departments
regularly supplied with medicaments;.
23
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d) to plant still more verdure in the factory grounds.
? 44. With a view to ensuring improved working conditions and
rest facilities for the workers, engineering and technical staff and
office personnel, the plant trade union committee undertakes:
a) to effect systematic control over the operation of the labour
legislation relating to working hours and rest periods, the provision of
current and extra vacations for all the employees, according to the
timetab'.e adopted, and with the provision of the rebates and privileges
established for juveniles, pregnant women and nursing mothers;
b) to keep a systematic check on the working conditions in the
shops and departments, and on the fulfilment of the agreement for
ameliorating working conditions and of the factory regulations;
c) to keep a systematic check to ensure that the workers are sup-
plied in good time with good quality working clothes, boots and soap,
and also milk and butter in the standard quantities;
d) to engage in systematic explanatory work among the employees
aimed at averting accidents and sickness, periodically to discuss prob-
lems concerning the protection of labour, safety-first measures and
industrial hygiene at meetings of shop committees, and of labour pro-
tection commissions, and at meetings of the plant trade union
committee;
e) to send 460 employees to holiday homes or sanatoria
during 1952;
f) to arrange for not less than 600 employees to attend the night
sanatorium during the year; the management undertakes to ensure the
timely repair of the sanatorium premises, the provision of equipment,
of lighting, heating, and transport facilities, and also to see to the clean-
liness and security of the buildings;
g) to allocate the sum of 60,000 rubies to enable workers and mem-
bers of the engineering and technical staff to secure special diets at
reduced rates;
h) to arrange systematic assistance for employees lying ill at home.
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SETTLEMENT OF LABOUR ISSUES
Capitalist society is torn by irreconcilable class contra-
dictions, so that there labour conflicts assume the form of
strikes. In Soviet plants,. on the contrary, the possibility of
labour disputes assuming this form is ruled out, because
of the absence of the exploitation of man by man, the steady
improvement in the living standards of the working people,
and the knowledge they have that they are working not for
capitalists, but for themselves, for the people.
This does not mean that no disputes on labour issues
can arise between individual employees and managements.
They can, but their cause will be the violation of the
labour laws by individual executives or by workers them-
selves.
The figures of such labour disputes in the U.S.S.R. show
a steady decline from year to year.
A great part in regulating and settling them is played
by the Soviet trade unions. -
The main bodies for examining labour disputes between
workers and managements are the Wages and Disputes
Commissions which are set up in plants and institutions. -
Representatives of the management and of the trade
union body olf the plant or institution concerned sit on such
a commission on a parity basis.
The commission settles disputed issues on the basis
of full agreement between the parties concerned. *Where
agreement cannot be reached, the issue is handed over
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to the local people's court for settlement, the worker incur-
ring no expense.
The people's courts must examine claims within five or
seven days following the date of receipt.
The Wages and Disputes Commission functions in the
plant or institution concerned. This makes it possible for
disputed points to be rapidly examined and settled.
No formalities whatsoever are involved where approach
is made to the commission, and no rules of procedure exist
to complicate the process of reviewing the claim.
The Wages and Disputes Commission settles such issues
as, for example, those concerned with dismissal, job trans-
fer, wages, payment for spoilage and idle time, compensa-
tion of all kinds, overtime, and so forth.
When a disputed issue is under review, the employee
who has lodged a claim appears before the commission in
order to state his case and answer any questions that may
arise. Witnesses and experts are called, where necessary.
Decisions taken by the commission, with the agreement
of the parties, are obligatory. Where the management de-
clines of its own accord to carry out the decision, the Cen-
tral Committee of the trade union concerned intervenes to
see that it is put into effect.
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HEALTHIER
AND EASIER WORKING CONDITIONS
Labour protection is an inviolable principle of the or-
ganization of labour and production in the Soviet Union.
The prime purpose of the new equipment being intro-
duced into Soviet plants is to lighten the labour of the
worker, to make it safe and more productive.
This is achieved by the mechanization and the automa-
tization df heavy and labour-absorbing jobs being exten-
sively introduced in all branches of the Soviet national
economy.
Nowhere are machines used. so willingly as in the
U.S.S.R., because they economize the labour of society and
lighten the labour of the workers, and, as there is no unem-
ployment in the U.S.S.R., the workers use machines in the
national economy. with the greatest eagerness.
In- the U.S.S.R. the working class is vitally interested
in technical progress. Not only scientists and engineers but
also millions of Stakhanovites are actively participating in
the development of techniques in industry and transport.
The hard and exhausting labour that was once the lot
of the miner has become a thing of the past, due to the
steady perfection of the technique. of coal cutting and the
introduction into the 'coal mines of considerable numbers
of machines and mechanisms.'
The technical re-equipment of the mining industry ef-
fected during recent years has made it possible completely
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Stalin!'Prize winner S. Makarov-watches"the work of the coal combine
he designed
to; mechanize such laborious and, Tabour-absorbing jobs as
coal cutting `and stripping and also-the underground haul-
'age and 'the loading of .the coal -into railway wagons:,.
During -the?first postwar five-year :plan over a hundred
new types of.Soviet-made mining machines and mechanisms.'
.have been built.
Of tremendous importance ,are the loading machines and
.-coal combines, for they free the miner. from his. hardest job;
-that of loading..Thanks .to the introduction -of -the coal .com-
.bine., in' 1952 nearly 25 per cent-of all loading had been
mechanized; whereas only: four years earlier.it-had been
'.done exclusively by hand.. In. the Kuznetsk and Karaganda
coal .basins;. 50 per 'cent' of. the loading has- now been
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mechanized. Whereas before the war there were no loading
machines, today several thousand of them are in operation.
They have already made for 40 per cent mechanization of
the loading of coal and rock. Considerable lightening of
the miner's labour is .also effected by the mechanized prop-
ping methods that have been devised. Wide-scale introduc-
tion of these methods will complete the work of mechaniz-
ing all the processes of coal mining.
The employment of powerful coal-cutting machines and
coal combines has -brought about the steady perfection of
loading mechanisms and conveyers, and also of the under-
ground haulage system.
V. Molchanov and his assistant, A. Karaman, operate a coal-cutting
and loading machine in the Zapadnaya Kapitalnaya Mine, the Donbas
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The mines are. now being equipped with powerful elec-
tric locomotives, coal- and earth-loading machines, scraper
transporters and other machines and mechanisms of Soviet
design and manufacture.
A further considerable achievement is the automatization
and distance control of mining mechanisms. About 1,500
combines and coal-cutting. machines, 1,350 conveyer lines,
1,150 winches and pushing machines, and a large number of
electrical drilling machines are now distance controlled.
Over 1,000 pumps now work automatically, while work-
ings cowering a total of nearly 1,300 kilometres are now
electrically lit. In sloping and horizontal workings totalling
nearly 450 kilometres special trains are provided for the
miners.
Here is an impression of conditions in the Soviet mines
by a delegation of . Scottish miners following a visit to
the Donbas coal field. In their report entitled "Scottish
Miners' Delegation in the Soviet Union," and signed by
Hugh Geddes, John McLean, Thomas Fowler, Alexander
Moffat, William Pearson and Robert McCutcheon, we
read:
"On the basis of our examinations of the pits, we declare
that they are the most highly mechanized collieries we have
ever seen and that the type of mechanization in use has ta-
ken the hard work out of mining. Even in the steep work-
ings, the drawing of trucks by young miners and the use
of the hand pick at the face have been eliminated. All face-
men work with pneumatic picks, and the coal is filled direct
into two-ton trucks which are pulled away with electric
motors."
While new, powerful machines and mechanisms are being
introduced into the mines, steps are being taken to still
further improve working conditions. Ta lessen the dust in
the atmosphere, the sections broken by cutting machines
and coal combines, and also coal and earth loading points,
are regularly sprinkled.
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Coke being unloaded into a furnace bunker at the Kuznetsk Iron and
Steel Plant. Mechanization of heavy and labour-consuming jobs has
effected a thorough change in the working conditions of Soviet steelmen
The conditions under which the miners once used to
work have long been forgotten. The younger generation of
miners listen with amazement to the stories told them by
the veterans who worked in the mines in the days of the
tsar, when coal was hewed with the most primitive of
instruments, and was removed in man-hauled sledges or
horse-driven tubs.
Much work has also been done to mechanize heavy and
labour-absorbing jobs. formerly done by hand in the metal-
lurgical and engineering industries.
Such dangerous and heavy jobs as the delivery and load-
ing of materials into blast and open-hearth furnaces, the
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pouring of molten iron, the delivery of red-hot metal to the
rolling mills, and so forth, formerly constant sources of
accidents and sickness, have now been completely mech-
anized.
The opening and sealing of furnace tapholes has been
completely mechanized, thus effecting a radical change in
the working conditions of furnacemen.
Formerly these were hard and difficult operations, but
now the furnaceman performs them without any physical
effort, making use of electric borers and electric notch
guns-designed and produced at Soviet plants-manipulat-
ed from a specially equipped chamber.
In the foundry departments of agricultural machinery
works, hand labour, involving the carrying of from six to sev-
en tons of earth per shift, used to be employed in the casting
of big parts. Now roller beds, transporters and earth-prepar-
ing machines are used, while the delivery of earth to the
moulding and casting boxes has been mechanized.
In the electrical industry-at the Electrosila Plant, for
example-special winding machines have been installed
which completely mechanize the once hard and dangerous
hand-performed jobs.
In the engineering industry the majority of load-raising
and transfer operations have been mechanized. Automatic
machine lines with automatic transport appliances have
been installed in the departments and shops. All the work
on the lines, including the clamping and loosening of parts,
fixing and transfer from point to point, is done automati-
cally. The automatic machine lines have lightened the work-
er's job and are eliminating the sources of industrial acci-
dents and disease.
A view of the department at the automatic automobile piston plant,
where all processes are mechanized, from the loading of the foundries
to the packing of the finished parts
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Producing thin steel plate at the Zaporozhie Iron and Steel Works.
P.. Gritsai operates the levers
Automatic plants have been built in the Soviet Union..
There is, for example, an automobile piston plant where all
processes, from the loading of the foundries to the packing
of the finished parts, have been automatized.
In the abrasion industry, 'there has been a wide intro-
duction of the new system employed at the Chelyabinsk Ab-
rasion Plant, where for the first time in history, damp treat-
ment has been substituted for the former dry methods which
used to spread quartz dust in the workshops.
A building site, where huge cranes effect horizontal and vertical
delivery of materials-a typical picture in the Soviet Union. The heavy
backbreaking work of the operative is a thing of the past, most of
the building processes now being done by machinery
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anized.
In house building, for example, bulldozers and excava-
tors (multishovel and single-shovel) are used. So also are
turret cranes which- render possible the vertical and, hori-
zontal transfer of materials, so that, for example, loads can
be raised directly from waiting motor trucks to .the opera-
tives on the job.
During the recent construction of multistory buildings
in Moscow, use was made, for the first time. in building
history, of the so-called creeping or self-raising crane. The
In building, operations have been industrialized and
mechanized to a very high degree. This has com-
pletely changed the appearance of building sites, where
the main and ..laborious jobs have been completely mech
Automatic concrete plant with. an output of thousands of cubic
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A suction dredge that does the work of thousands of labourers. Such
dredges; wholly eliminating hand labour, remove enormous quantities
of earth. They are being widely employed in the construction of the
new canals and power stations
crane can swing round the full circle and move loads ver-
tically, lengthwise, and circularly.
New mechanisms and the most up-to-date equipment
are also used in preparing and transporting the solutions
needed for concrete and plastering work.
The huge canals and hydroelectric power. stations now
under construction on the Volga, Dnieper, and Don rivers,
and in the' Ukraine, the Crimea, and Turkmenia involve the
employment of millions of cubic metres of concrete. To cope
with this demand, automatic, high-capacity concrete plants
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have been built with an output of as much as 4,000 cu.m.
each per day.
The staff of such a plant consists of only eight persons.
No labourers are employed, all operations being mech-
anized, from the unloading of trainloads of crushed stone,
gravel and cement, to the placing of the finished concrete
in the body of the dam.
Particular attention.has been devoted in the Soviet Union
during the postwar years to the mechanization of earth
work. Powerful digging machines, were employed on the
construction site of the V. I. Lenin Volga-Don Canal now in
operation. The most up-to-date machines are now widely
used in constructing the Main Turkmen, South-Ukrainian and
North Crimea canals and also the Kuibyshev, Stalingrad,
An' excavator produced by the Urals Heavy-Machinery Works in action
at the ?Kuibyshev Power Development. In the background, left, can be
seer? the walking excavator E-SH I
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The Platoo. tracklayer at work: Highly efficient Soviet mdchines'
are? now widely employed: in railway, construction and ,repairs .
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Kakhovka and other electric power stations. We shall cite
as an example huge walking excavators, each capable of
digging out more than 10,000 cu.m. of earth per day,
and replacing thousands of labourers. The size of these
machines may be gathered from the fact that 48 elec-
tric motors with a total capacity of 7,000 kwts. are used
to operate one such excavator, the shovel of which scoops
up 14 cu.m. of earth, while the boom is 65 m. long. What
would have meant backbreaking work for tens of thousands
of workers is now being done by the walking excavators,
which cut the canals to their full width and depth, inciden-
tally removing one of the main causes of the accidents
among labourers due to earthfalls.
The heavy and little-productive work involved in the
removal by hand of millions of cubic metres of earth over
considerable distances-one of the problems connected with
the building of the canals and power stations-has also been
almost completely eliminated by the employment of super-
powerful suction dredges. So also has the heavy work in-
volved in breaking up the ground at these construction sites
been completely done away with by the use of huge tractor-
driven scrapers.
The extent to which digging operations have been
mechanized may be judged from the fact that at the Tsim-
lyanskaya Power Development, which has been recently
-commissioned, 98 per cent of all the earth work was done
by machines.
On the railways, too, great attention is paid to the prob-
lem of easing working conditions. In recent years more
than 20 new types of machines and mechanisms, including
ballasting machines, tracklaying machines, track graders,
automatic dumping wagons, ballast cleaners, etc., have
begun to be employed in the building and repair of railroads.
The laborious job of unloading ballast is now all done
by automatic dumping wagons of the latest home-produced
type. The job of removing old tracks and putting down new
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ones has been mechanized by the employment of the Platov
tracklayer. Extensive use is also made of electric sleeper
fixers, rail-cutting and rail-welding machines, electric
wrenches and so forth.
Railway traffic is being made safer by equipping loco-
motives with the automatic stopping gear invented by Stalin
Prize winner Tantsiur. Where the engine driver fails to bring
the train to a halt in time, this appliance automatically
brings an airbrake into action and the train stops.
The working conditions of leather, shoe and fur opera-
tives have changed considerably. In days gone by, their
work involved exceptionally hard physical labour; there was
neither ventilation nor the most elementary sanitary facili-
ties where they worked. Now, however, all the main jobs
..connected with the loading and unloading of leather from
vats and drums have been mechanized, while highly effec-
tive ventilation appliances, which prevent dust and vapour
clouds forming, have been installed in the majority of
leather, footwear, and fur factories.
The lumber industry in the Soviet Union is also well
developed and highly mechanized, extensive use being made
of electric saws, electric branch-cutting machines, cranes,
powerful skidding tractors, and also special winches for
removing pendant trees.
As a result of the wide employment of the direct-flow
method of timber felling and production, accidents have dis-
appeared among the workers.
To lessen the weight of electric saws and to make the
job absolutely safe, high-frequency electric motors are now
used.
In designing and constructing new machines and mech-
anisms, Soviet technicians take account of all safety-first
requirements, so as to safeguard the future operators against
the possibility of accidents.
Soviet law makes it obligatory for plants production
machines, lathes and other implements to supply them
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with- all the appliances provided for by the safety regular
tions:
The `trade union bodies functioning in such plants see
to it that the requirements of the law are fulfilled. The trade
union organizations direct. and coordinate the work of tens
of thousands of worker inventors and innovators, and do all
in their power to help them produce. more up-to-date ma-
chines, mechanisms- and appliances that lighten the work=
ers' labour.
The position as regards` labour protection and mechaniza-
tion in Soviet plants was touched on in a radio talk by En-,
ri'co -Sturloni; of the Italian General Confederation of La-
bour delegation that visited the Soviet Union in May 1951.
Among other things, he said
42'
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"Factory managements and trade union committees pay
considerable attention to protecting labour against acci-
dents. Placards are to be seen on the walls in the shops,
showing the best ways of handling the machines and so
eliminating the danger of accidents. All safety measures
are carefully scrutinized by both the management and the
trade union committee. Hundreds of thousands of rubles are
spent on safety arrangements. Thanks to these measures
and the great and constant attention paid to safety problems,
accidents, even insignificant ones, are a very rare occurrence.
At the iron and steel mill in Zaporozhie we saw a unit of
rolling machines that stretched over a length of 1,200 metres.
Due to the fact that the entire working process is mecha-
nized, the workers there do their jobs without fear of acci-
dents. What is more, all the transport facilities, down to the
tiniest details, are mechanized. I saw this punctiliousness,
which even seemed superfluous to me, in all plants. This
is only one of the elements of the harmonious and smooth
organization of, labour at Soviet plants."
The new machinery and the rational use to which it is
put, open up wide possibilities in the Soviet Union for mak-
ing work healthier and easier, and for doing away with the
causes. of industrial accidents and disease.
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PROTECTION OF FEMALE LABOUR
.The Great October Socialist Revolution, which abolished.
the system of capitalist exploitation in Russia, emancipated
women from social, economic and spiritual enslavement.:
The very first decrees issued by the Soviet Government
put an end, once and for all, to all the bourgeois laws and
restrictions that had turned women into slaves, and had
kept them in bondage, deprived of rights, in a state of
ignorance and backwardness.
The Stalin Constitution-the Fundamental Law of the
Soviet State-gave women equal rights with men, as we see
from Article 122, which reads:
- "Women in the U.S.S.R. are accorded equal rights with
men in all spheres of economic, government, cultural, po-
litical and other public activity.
"The possibility of exercising these rights is ensured by
women being accorded an equal right with men to work,
payment for work, rest and leisure, social insurance and edu-
cation, and by state protection of the interests of mother
and child, state aid to mothers of large families and unmar-
ried mothers, maternity leave with full pay, and the provi-
sion of a wide network of maternity homes, nurseries and
kindergartens."
Thb creative initiative of Soviet women, their heroism
and their talents are displayed in all branches and in all
spheres of the economic life of the Land of Socialism.
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Yevgenia Zaichenko operates the levers of a rolling mill at the Azovstal
Plant. Formerly, to work in a rolling department meant to Se on a
hard job. Now, thanks to mechanization, two or three operatives can
run a huge unit like this one
The technical reconstruction of all branches of the nation-
al economy, and the extensive mechanization and automat-
ization of production processes have made work far less
laborious, while the system of free occupational training-
including study courses and factory training schools-has
rendered it possible to eliminate the bounds between "male"
and "female" trades.
The conditions prevailing in the socialist factories and
industrial plants have enabled women rapidly to master
the skilled trades and to manage the most complicated ma-
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chinery. Millions of Soviet women are employed in industry,
the transport services, and on the new construction jobs; they
are becoming increasingly skilled, learning to handle the
most complex machinery, and mastering the most advanced
working methods.
Over 380,000 women are to be found among the engi-
neering and technical personnel of Soviet plants, whereas
tsarist Russia could boast of no more than 600 women en-
gineers and technicians.
Women are employed as managing directors of industrial
Nursing mothers during an interval at the Kharkov Tractor Plant
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A moment at the kindergarten for oil workers' children
at Mardakyani on the Apsheron Peninsula
-plants, as departmental chiefs, or in other responsible posts.
In the. textile industry alone, in the year 1951, over 2,000'
Soviet women held the posts of managing directors, chief en-
gineers, departmental chiefs or forewomen.
Nearly .40,000 college-trained women hold posts in the
railway and subsidiary services. These include 9,000 techni-
cal engineers, '12,000 doctors, 11,000 teachers, and -so on.
.Women are in the forefront among.. the- innovators.. in.
socialist industry, among the initiators of the movement for
high labour productivity.
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A scene at the Kharkov Tractor Plant nursery
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. To mark the services rendered by women in the field
of peaceful creative labour, the Soviet Government has to
date conferred the title of Hero of Socialist Labour on 2,170
women, and awarded various Orders and Medals to more
than 730,000 women.
In its concern for the health of women, the Soviet state
has placed a legal ban on the employment of women on jobs
that place an excessive strain on them or that are otherwise
dangerous for the female organism.
Female labour is prohibited on jobs involving the lifting
of heavy weights.
Particular solicitude is displayed in, the Soviet Union
towards mothers.
Pregnant women are transferred to lighter jobs and are
paid the average of their previous earnings.
Expectant mothers, in addition to enjoying their annual
vacation, are given extra leave-at the expense of social
insurance funds-covering a period of 35 days before, and
42 to 56 days after, confinement.
Nursing mothers are entitled during the working day
to rest intervals over and above the dinner interval. These
rest intervals for infant feeding-each of not less than a
half-hour's duration-take place every three and a half hours
at least, and are paid for by the factory management.
According to Soviet labour legislation, officials refusing
to employ women, or reducing women's wages on account
,of pregnancy, are prosecuted.
Nunseries, kindergartens, special rooms for infant feed-
ing, and for hygienic service, are -organized without
fail at all factories, offices or other working establish-
ments. A mother may leave 'her child in the care of a nurs-
ery or kindergarten, depending on the child's age. There it
will be properly looked after, fed, and under medical ob-
servation,.
Soviet law requires that when plans are being drawn up
for the construction of new industrial plants, definite provi-
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sion be made. for the building of sufficient child institu'`-=
tions-nurseries, kindergartens, and mother-and-child rest
rooms-to cover all the employees' children requiring such
amenities.
In addition to the child institutions that exist under
the auspices of industrial plants and other working establish-
ments, there is an extensive network of nurseries, kinder-
gartens and mother-and-child consultation centres organ-
ized by the local Soviets for such other children as may
require these services.
This system of child institutions helps Soviet women to
rear healthy children and enables them to participate in in-'
dustry and in the public and political life of the country.
The Soviet-organized network alone of nurseries, kinder-
gartens and children's homes caters for nearly 2,000,000
children. In 1951 millions of children and juveniles enjoyed
summer holidays at country villas, children's sanatoria, or
tourist hostels, while the inmates of children's homes, and
those attending kindergartens and nurseries, were trans-
ferred for the entire summer to the countryside. In all a
total of over five million children and juveniles were ac-
commodated.
The enormous aid rendered by the state to Soviet wom-
en may be judged from the following:
By the end of 1951 there were in the U.S.S.R.. 8,500
mother-and-child consultation centres directed by the public
health authorities. The corresponding figure in tsarist Rus-
sia was no more than nine.
Before the Revolution, 98 per cent of the women in Rus-
sia gave birth without any medical assistance whatsoever.
Today the services of doctors and midwives are employed at
childbirth by nearly 90 per cent of Soviet women.
Here in the Soviet Union motherhood is held in uni-
versal honour, as may be gathered from the following facts:
Over 35,000 Soviet women wear the gold star awarded
to those who hold the title of "Mother Heroine," conferred
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on, mothers who have brought up ten children. More than
3,500,000 women have been awarded the Order of Maternal
Glory or the Maternity Medal.
The great concern displayed for mother and child wel
far.e.in the socialist state is also reflected in the material .aid
rendered to mothers of large families and to unmarried
mothers, allowances totalling 6,000 million rubles having
been paid out to them and to newly-confined mothers during
the. year .1951- alone.
Soviet socialist democracy enables women to play a great
part in the administration of the state. More than 517,000
women were elected to the local Soviets of Working Peo-
ple's Deputies in December 1950, constituting almost 35 per
cent of the .total elected. Among the Deputies to the Supreme
Soviet of the U.S.S.R., 280 are women.
The part being played by Soviet women in all branches
of culture, science and technique is increasing with every
passing day. The majority of the university, or university-
level, trained personnel in the Soviet Union are women.
Women, play an active part in developing science and
culture in the Soviet Union. 'Over two and a half million
women are employed in scientific, educational and cultural
institutions: Tens of thousands are on the staff of scientific-
research institutes and universities, and other higher educa-
tional institutions, and are enriching Soviet science with new
researches and discoveries.
More than a million women teachers are engaged in.
bringing tip the younger generation. Over a -million women
are occupied in hospitals, polyclinics, sanatoria and other
public health institutions.
The part played by women in the Land of Socialism,
where they enjoy the solicitude and attention of society and
the -state, :is' a- 'great and honoured one.
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PROTECTION OF JUVENILE LABOUR
Juveniles under 18 years of age are only given employ-
ment.after medical examination. Thereafter young workers
undergo regular medical examination.
Soviet law forbids the employment of juveniles under
18 years of age on jobs which entail too great 'a physical
strain, or are otherwise injurious to their health, and also
on night work.
Juveniles are entitled to vacations lasting, one calendar
month, usually taken in the summer. Those who spend their
vacations at rest homes or sanatoria do so at reduced rates,
and enjoy other advantages.
Factories and industrial plants run general educational
classes and technical schools for young employees of
both sexes after working hours. All in all this constitutes
an extensive educational network which enables young
workers to get a complete general or specialized educa-
tion.
. Vocational schools with a two-year course of instruction
were established to train skilled workers. for the iron and
steel, mining, oil, and chemical industries, to train electri-
cians, telephone mechanics, etc., and personnel for river and
sea craft. Special schools- were opened to train skilled per-
sonnel for the railways. In addition, industrial training,
schools with a six-month course of instruction were est.ab-'
lished to train personnel for the lesser skilled trades., par
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The workshop of Industrial School No. 1 of the Stalin
Auto Plant, Moscow
ticularly those connected with the coal and ore mining,
metallurgical, building, and transport industries.
A number of special trade schools have also been organ-
ized, for the new building now being undertaken-'in the
Soviet Union, and the rehabilitation of the towns and works
of architecture wrecked by the fascist barbarians, in=
volve a considerable amount of ornamental and decorative
work. To cope with this, special artistic-trades schools
with a three-year course of instruction have been estab-
lished.
The program of instruction is so arranged"as to give,the
young worker not only a specifically industrial - and tech-
nical training, but also the groundwork of a general educa-
tion, and thus to make it- possible for him to continue his
education.
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The expenses involved in training all these young peo-
ple are covered in their entirety by the Soviet Government.
The boys and girls who are admitted to the vocational and
industrial schools receive instruction free of charge and are
supplied with food, uniform, dormitory accommodation and
textbooks gratis. Work performed by apprentices during the
course of their studies is paid, for according to the principle
of the rate for the job.
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LABOUR PROTECTION.
STANDARDS OBLIGATORY
.IN NEW BUILDING
When the plans are being drawn up for the building of
factories, mills, mines, etc., the bodies concerned must see
to it that they are based on the hygienic standards which
are required by the Soviet Government, and in the drawing
up of which the trade unions play a direct part. No depar-
tures whatsoever are allowed in this regard.
In choosing the site for the new factory or plant, and
in arranging the distribution of the different departments,
account is taken not only of the needs of production, but
also of the requirements of hygiene and sanitation, the neces-
sity for good natural illumination and fresh air.
To eliminate the injurious influence on the nearby popu-
lation of such concomitants of industrial activity as gas and
dust, measures are taken to ensure that gases are inter-
cepted, dust does not spread and that pipings and other
equipment are hermetically sealed.
In addition, when new undertakings are planned, pro-
vision is made for the establishment of special zones-vary-
ing from 100 m. to 1 km. in width, depending on how in-
jurious the given branch of industry is-between them and
inhabited areas. No dwelling houses or industrial premises
may be built within these zones. They must be planted with
trees and other verdure, and so also must the factory
grounds.
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This-:beautifying, of: factory:grounds, by pl"aiit'ing`trees,
flowers, grass plots and so forth, enables the workerto' get
a-proper'rest during the dinner hour. There-are Iquite&a rium-
..ber ?of' industrial' plants, in' the ground's of -which tennis,
basketball*,'and volleyball courts and- other-'. sports l fa?ili'ties
are to be found.
Much of the. credit for bringing this about-goes :fog the
trade unions:
,- Every Soviet industrial establishment"provides the.work=
ers.with.such"amenities as wash -and shower, baths; cloak-
rooms=in which each worker. "has his locker where- he: can
leave his everyday apparel of working- clothes, as required=
and.. installations for drying, cleaning' and disinfecting
working clothes. " - w
In the-factory grounds. Employees,of the Losin.oostrovskaya..Electro-
technical'Works, Moscbza; Region; take it easy during the-dinner initeroal
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The space assigned for such amenities is regulated
by law.
There are mines whose welfare facilities include special
premises where the miner, after emerging from the pit.
and taking a shower bath, is given quartz-light treat-
ment.
All industrial, office, canteen and other premises are
ventilated by natural, mechanical or combined means. In
departments injurious to the health, not only are special
ventilation arrangements made, but the working processes
are mechanized and automatized and the equipment isolated
to a maximum degree.
In injurious departments and shops, the ventilation ar-
rangements are so planned as to ensure that the percentage
,,of injurious gases, steam or dust is not in excess of the
standards allowed by the sanitary authorities.
New ventilation equipment may be used only. after be-
ing tested and accepted by a special commission which in-
cludes a representative of the trade union.
To give the reader an idea of the scale on which ven-
tilation equipment is being installed, and the capacity
achieved, in Soviet plants, we cite the following examples:
at the Stalin Auto. Plant in Moscow, the electricity consumed
by the ventilation system alone, is generated by motors with
a total capacity of 91.600. kwts.,, equivalent to that of 'a small
power station; at the Urals. Heavy-Machinery, Works the
number of new ventilation devices installed, during the
course of one year was 176, with a total capacity of 2,800,000
cu. m. of air per hour.
On the occasion of the visit to the Soviet Union of French.
metal workers in September-October 1951,, Louis Picaud.,
one of the delegates, said that he was amazed to find how
excellent are the working conditions in the forge shop of
the Moscow Low-Power Automobile Plant. Here, he said,
all the furnaces are electrically operated, and the ventilation
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x ._
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Ventilation equipment in a department of the Moscow Lamp Factory
' arrangements are splendid. After visiting Soviet plants, the.
members of the delegation were unanimous in their opinion
that, in the Soviet Union, unlike France, speed-up methods
are not employed in the factories and plants, that working
conditions are .normal, and that safety arrangements are
on a high level throughout the country.
Particular attention is paid at Soviet plants to safe-
guarding workers employed in hot- departments. All sources
of high temperatures are isolated, and special appliances
and arrangements, such as protective shields, damp screens
and curtains of water, are installed to prevent the heat rays
penetrating to the work places. The worker observing the
production process through -a damp screen can do so without
fear of burns or. other mishaps.
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- To eliminate the harmful effect of heat rays in the vi-
cinity of open-hearth furnaces and rolling mills, forge ham-
mers and glass furnaces, air currents of the proper velocity
are arranged which result in the temperature being normal
at the place of work. All these different methods are the
fruits of the work done by Soviet labour protection research
institutes; they lighten the labour of those engaged in the
hot trades and at the same time result in increased labour
productivity.
On representations from the trade unions, it has been
made obligatory by law for air currents to be installed in all
cases where the intensity of heat rays at the place of work
exceeds one calorie per square centimetre per minute.
Great attention is paid at Soviet factories to ensuring
that there is a good supply of drinking water. Those em-
ployed in the hot departments are supplied with aerated
water free of charge. A certain amount of special table salt
is. added to the aerated water to make up for the salts lost
by the worker during the course of his job.
Considerable measures are taken in the Soviet Union
to safeguard the workers against electric shock.
Regulations are in force which require the effective ar-
rangement of protective grounding. All metal objects which
may be touched by the worker while doing his job, and
which, due to some chance defect in the generator or other
electrical appliance, may become charged with electricity,
are reliably grounded.
To avert accidents due to electric shock, illumination is
.provided by bulbs of low voltage (12 to 36 volts), which are
brought right close to the work place.
The introduction of proper ventilation equipment, the
steps taken to eliminate danger from the employment of
electricity (grounding, blocking protective installations, and
.the rational arrangement of lighting) and the many other
.measures adopted for protecting the labour and health of
the workers entail considerable expenditure, but the Soviet
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with ventilation appliances and a special dust-proof .aperture
Government willingly assigns all the necessary funds for
this purpose.
Here Js the view of Hillard Ellis-,. member of- the Amer-
ican trade union -delegation that visited:the Soviet Union
in June-July 1951:
"The working conditions of the Soviet workers are ideal
compared to conditions of workers in plants that I am?per-
sonally familiar: with.: The factories that I _ visited in the.
principal cities of the Soviet Union were clean, with good
ventilation, with every type of safety and -health.precau-.
tion -imaginable.
"I. have seen with my own eyes, witnessed and talked
with"hundreds of workers', in Leningrad. Stalingrad, Moscow,
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Zaporotihie,.. and nowhere have I found this `slave, ilab.our.'
In_ f`act, the workers work with a devotion, which shows
they are, the, real owners of the plants. I have not. once seen
'the' `speed-up' as we know it in America."
A strict. check is kept to ensure the fulfilment, o4 all the
industrial hygiene and safety measures called for iii the ap-
propriate regulations and standards:
All plans for the construction of new plants must be
approved by the State Sanitary Inspectorate.
.New plants begin operations only after the industrial-
hygi~ene: inspection authorities and the technical inspector
of the. appropriate trade union have given their consent.
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SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
IN LABOUR PROTECTION METHODS
Thousands of highly-qualified scientific workers, em-
ployed in research institutions throughout the country, are
engaged in solving labour protection problems arising in the
plants.
The trade unions themselves which, as representing the
state and the public, keep a check on the fulfilment of the
labour laws, control research institutes situated in the big-
gest industrial centres. These institutes of the All-Union
Central Council of Trade Unions possess the most up-to-
date laboratory equipment, and are staffed by highly-quali-
fied experts in various aspects of labour protection.
They are of considerable assistance in helping to estab-
lish new and more up-to-date industrial ventilation
methods.
For example, these institutes, for the first time in en-
gineering history, in dealing with the problem of ventilating
the so-called "damp shops," abandoned the system of air
tunnels and suggested an absolutely new and simple method
of ventilation by concentrating the air supply.
A new method of ventilation, surprisingly simple and
exceedingly effective, is the one devised by them for the
textile industry. It consists of arranging an active air supply
which permeates the shop by way of influent ventilation
through special nozzles placed between the machines along
the length of the gangways.
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The institutes have also provided effective solutions of
problems of natural ventilation (aeration) in the big hot
departments (foundry, forge, open-hearth, rolling) of the
iron-and-steel and engineering industries. Extensive use is
now made in various branches of industry of new ventilation
installations they have invented for eliminating steam,
gases and dust, and also various types of dust eliminators
(chambers, filters, cyclones, etc.).
The problems connected with the further betterment of
working conditions can only be solved by improving tech-
nological processes, and so the institutes carry on their work
in close collaboration with the technological institutes of the
various directing bodies of industry.
The labour protection institutes have also solved quite
a number of safety problems in collaboration with Stakhan-
ovites. These include special guards for vertical milling
machines, which make possible the now widely employed
high-speed processing of metal in perfect safety.
By utilizing the wealth of experience accumulated in the
factories, the institutes have produced all sorts of protec-
tive and safety installations and devices, and have also
established the main safety requirements to be observed in
designing new equipment.
The great importance of high-quality working clothes
as a means of protecting the worker against the possibility
of burns from flying drops of molten metal, acids and al-
kalis, and against the injurious effects of damp, radiant
heat, dust, steam and gases, is well appreciated by the insti-
tutes; they are doing much to create such types of special-
quality cloth for working clothes as meet the requirements
of hygiene, and protect the workers against accidents and
industrial disease.
There are also specialized institutes of the Ministry of
Public Health and other government departments which
carry on a considerable amount of research in safety meth-
ods and industrial hygiene.
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Safely appliances are compulsory at Soviet plants.' They make high-:
speed metal-processing a safe -job
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One such research body is the Makeyevka Institute of
Research in Safety Technique in the Mining Industry.
Operating in the Donbas, it is a big research centre spe-
cializing, as its name implies, in :labour protection problems
in the mines..Its staff is made up of highly-qualified experts,
who have considerable facilities for experiment. The latest
equipment, instruments, and apparatus are at their disposal,
including a 50-metre stand for testing safety catches, a huge
ballistic pendulum for testing explosives, experimental drifts
and adits and chambers for testing the resistance of coal-
cutting machines.
The grounds of the MakeyeVka :Institute contain an ex-
perimental pit possessing all the equipment necessary ,for
large-scale experiments under regular working conditions.
Great achievements -can be recorded in the Soviet Union
as a result of the socialist reconstruction of the national
economy, the large expenditures on labour protection meas-
ures, the increased skill of the workers, the highly efficient`
methods employed in industry, and the systematic work done
by executives and trade union 'bodies to improve working
conditions. All this has led to a sharp decline in industrial'
accidents, and to the disappearance of numerous types of
industrial diseases.
At the present time, executives and trade union organiza-
tions are making great strides towards the total elimina-
tion of the causes of industrial accidents and diseases.
The five-year plan for the development of the U.S.S.R.
in 1951-55 provides for a further improvement in labour'
protection system. The work of mechanizing laborious and
labour-absorbing processes in industry and building will
be in the main completed during this period. This will en-
sure higher productivity of labour and still better working
conditions.
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Work in the Soviet Union has become a truly creative
.matter, a source of joy, a thing of honour and glory, of val-
our and heroism.
On one occasion, when speaking of the technical prog-
ress that would take place under socialism, V. I. Lenin,
the great founder of the Soviet state, said that this progress
"will make the conditions of labour more hygienic, will re-
lieve millions of workers of smoke, dust and dirt, and ac-
celerate the transformation of dirty, repulsive workshops
into clean and well-lit laboratories worthy of human
beings."
These words are coming to pass.
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Printed in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
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r
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ftedtk Rt5
RN TIME U.S.S.R.
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TRADE UNION
HEALTH RESORTS
IN .THE U.S.S.R..
FOREIGN LANGUAGES PUBLISHING HOUSE
Moscow 1953
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE
.The present edition is a translation of
the pamphlet published by the A.U.C.C.T.U.
Publishing House "Profizdat" Moscow, 1953.
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CONTENTS
Page
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
SOVIET HEALTH AND HOLIDAY RESORTS BELONG
TO WORKING PEOPLE . . . . . . . . 9
LOCAL RESORTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
REST HOMES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
ON THE BLACK SEASHORE . . . . . . . 24
REST AND LEISURE OF WORKING PEOPLE . . . 28
COMMENTS OF FOREIGN GUESTS ON THE TRADE
UNION HEALTH AND HOLIDAY RESORTS . . . 31
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The Soviet Union is immense. Stretching from the Baltic
Sea to the Pacific and from the Arctic Ocean to the lofty Pa-
mirs, it covers one-sixth of the land surface of the globe.
No other country in the world has such a variety of phys-
ical and climatic features as the U.S.S.R.: plains and moun-
tains, forests and rivers, the warm South and the icebound
North. There is a multitude of beautiful spots with an excel-
lent climate and mineral springs, where hundreds of health
and holiday resorts are located. These resorts are very popular
among the people of our country.
Article 119 of the Constitution of the U.S.S.R., the
Stalin Constitution, guarantees all citizens the right to rest
and leisure. This right has been secured by the institution
of annual vacations with full pay for workers and office
employees, and by the provision of a wide network of
sanatoriums and rest homes.
Millions of Soviet citizens have the opportunity of spend-
ing their annual holiday under excellent conditions for rest
and treatment.
In the U.S.S.R. there is a 'large network of sanatoriums,
maintained by the trade unions or by the Ministry of Public
Health and other state organizations.
The Soviet state spends thousands of millions of rubles
on the upkeep, construction and improvement of the health
and holiday resorts.
These appropriations increase from year to year. For
example, from 975 million rubles in 1949 to 1,112 million
rubles in 1950, 1,270 million. rubles in 1951 and 1,310 million
rubles in 1952. In the fifth five-year plan period more
than 2 billion rubles are to be spent on the construction,
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Sanatorium No. 3 of the Central Council of Trade Unions in
Kislovodsk. The sanatorium is situated at a height of 900 metres
above sea level and has up-to-date equipment for all types of
treatment. More than 3,000 persons took cures here In. 1951
extension and equipment of the trade union health and holi-
day resorts.
Trade union sanatoriums and rest.homes are managed
by- the Central Health and Holiday _Resort Administration
of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions and by
branch administrations in the various regions And, republics.
The central committees of the different trade unions 'also
have health and holiday resort administrations.
The. overwhelming majority of the health and holiday
resorts: in the Soviet Union function the year round: '
The Soviet Union is exceptionally rich- in natural facilf--
ties .for.-the creation of sanatoriums and holiday homes. Be-
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tween the Arctic and the subtropical districts of the U.S.S.R.
approximately 4,000 places having medical springs, curative
muds or a particularly salubrious climate have been surveyed
and studied:
Scientific- study of natural health resources. and methods
of applying them is conducted on a wide scale in the U.S.S:R:.
The main research body in this field is the Central Health
Resort Institute of the Ministry of. Public . Health of the
U.S.S.R. This institute, which has its headquarters in.Moscow
studies the-country's health resort possibilities; plans the fur-
ther development of resorts, evolves .new methods of treat=
ment, and. establishes the indications for treatment at the
various resorts. It has worked out a method of synthesizing
The main, building of -the Chelyuskinets Sanatorium at Gagra,?
a picturesque spot on the Black Sea. This sanatorium, built in
1935 by the Central Council of Trade Unions, annually accom-
modates thousands of workers
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Taking the Narzari drinking cure at Kislovodsk, the biggest of
the Caucasian spas. Every year more than 200,000 persons are
accommodated at the Caucasian spas -
mineral waters analogous to natural waters, as well as
methods of mineral water and mud bath therapy for sanato-
riums in localities which do not have medicinal springs or
deposits of curative muds.
There are also 14 local health resort institutes. Situated
in the Crimea, at Sochi, the Caucasian spas, Odessa, Georgia,
Azerbaijan, the Ukraine and elsewhere, they carry out a
large program of research.
Research is likewise conducted by the medical staffs
of many sanatoriums. All this work is aimed at providing
the working people with the best possible conditions for rest
and cures.
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SOVIET HEALTH AND HOLIDAY RESORTS
BELONG TO WORKING PEOPLE
In prerevolutionary Russia the health resorts were pri-
vately owned and were totally beyond the reach of the work-
ing people. They catered exclusively to the privileged classes:
members of the nobility, landlords, merchants, bankers, high-
ranking officials, and the higher clergy.
The finest resorts in the Crimea-Livadia, Alupka, Mis-
khor, Massandra, Gurzuf and others-were owned by the tsar,
grand princes, members of the court aristocracy, or big finan-
ciers and businessmen..
The same was true of the resorts along the Caucasian
coast of the Black Sea. Gagra; for example, was owned by
Prince Oldenburg. At Sochi, which has splendid sul-
phur springs; there were only two establishments of the sana-
torium type: a privately-owned hotel and a home belonging
to a school for daughters of the nobility. All the other man-
sions and villas were owned by the aristocracy. For wealthy
visitors a group of financiers built the fashionable Caucasian
Riviera Hotel. Sochi.itself was a squalid town surrounded by
marshland; it had no water main or sewer system and no
asphalted streets. In a word; it was not a health resort but
an out-of-the-way seaboard town.
The health resorts of prerevolutionary Russia developed
slowly. The only thing their. owners were interested in was
making money.
Workers, peasants and the rank-and-file intelligentsia
could not afford to visit health- resorts. For them a stay at
a Caucasian or Crimean seaside resort was a fantastic dream.
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- at Zheleznovodsk,,a welt-known=Soviet spa '? ?:- .
.The Great' October"Socialist- Revolution made the health'
sand holiday resorts the'* .property 'of the'peop.le an-d- accessible
to the people.
.,In 191.9, the, most 'difficult :period for the, Iourig Soviet-
Republic, Vladimir Il.yich ' Lenin' -signed " a - decree "On.
Health Resorts.of Country-Wide Importance." This' decree
stated:.- "Health resorts,: no matter in what' part- of the,
R. S.F.S.R._'they:;are situated, or?to ;whom they,belong. .'. are."
declared 'the' property of the' Republic,'- together' 3 with all
their ' structures' and-equipment, and, are-td be utilized` for
medical treatment."
The following, year, ? 1920, "after the-. Whiteguards were'
expelled. from the Crimea, the Council of"People's Commis'-
sars published a decree,which said: ',Thanks, to the libera-
tion of the Crimea from the rule ofWrangel and the' White--
-guards by the Red.Army;"it has; become possible to' employ:-
t1 e curative facilities of the Crimean coast for treatment
10
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The dining hall of a sanatorium maintained in the Crimea by
the trade union of workers of the ore-mining industry
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and restoration of the work capacity of workers, peasants
and all the working people of all the Soviet Republics."
After the establishment of Soviet power, the palaces,
villas, mansions and hotels at the Crimean and Caucasian
resorts and elsewhere were turned over to the trade unions,
the Ministry of Public Health and other organizations as
sanatoriums.
Besides, the trade unions have built and are continuing
to build a large number of health resorts.
What is the Soviet sanatorium? It is an establishment
which gives rest, cures and medical treatment, using natural
curative agents such as mineral waters, muds and climate,
in combination with medical preparations and physiother-
apeutic appliances; it provides special diets, physical culture
treatment and a proper regimen.
Persons whose health has to be built up are sent to
sanatoriums. As a rule sanatorium periods range from 24 to
90 days, depending upon the type of ailment.
The Soviet sanatoriums are housed in splendid build-
ings with an abundance of light and air. The sleeping rooms
are well furnished. There are comfortable recreation rooms,
dining rooms and clubrooms. The sanatoriums have all the
necessary facilities for diagnosis and treatment. Concerts
and recitals, as well as cinema shows, are often arranged for
the guests. All sanatoriums are provided with libraries.
The medical and auxiliary personnel give the guests the
best of service. Scientists and doctors have worked out the
principles of diet, rest and exercise which, taken together,
ensure effective individual treatment.
In the Soviet Union there was a big expansion of health
resort facilities. As the national economy made rapid strides
forward, more sanatoriums and rest homes were built;
special health and holiday resorts for children as well as
resorts of local importance underwent intensive develop-
ment; medical service was improved; the resorts were
modernized and made more beautiful.
. During the Second World War part of the health resorts,
sanatoriums and rest homes (in the Crimea, the North Cauca-
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The facade of a sanatorium built in 1951 in Yalta, the Crimea,
for workers, engineers and other employees of ' electric power
stat ions -
sus, Odessa and elsewhere). were destroyed by the Hit?lerite
invaders. They plundered and wrecked 313 trade union
sanatoriums-and rest homes,-causing damage that ran into
more than 800 million rubles.
The state has spent large'-sums on rebuilding the health
resorts. Restoration of the Caucasian spas and the Crimean
resorts was begun while the Soviet Army was still waging
its heroic battles. During the postwar five-year plan period
this work was carried, to completion, side' by side with the
unprecedentedly rapid rehabilitation of the national -econ-
omy,.as a whole.
The fundamental principle of" Lenin's decree-the plac-
ing of. the health resorts at' the service of. the people-has
thus been put into practice. In' the Soviet Union millions
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of ordinary men and.women rest or take cures at first-class
resorts.
All the prerequisites have been created in the U.S.S.R.
for further development of the health and holiday resorts,
which are fully at the service of the Soviet man.
Among the many places built by the Central Council
is the Dolossy Sanatorium, near Yalta. One of the finest
on the Crimean coast, it has two large buildings accom-
modating 300 persons. Here patients sleep on the verandas
in all seasons of the year, breathing the wonderful sea air.
Many trade unions have sanatoriums in the Crimea,
among them the coal miners, railwaymen, chemical workers,
ore miners, medical workers, communications workers, etc.
New sanatoriums have been built there by the timber
and engineering unions. -
. More than 100,000 people rest or take cures at the Cri-
mean resorts every year.
At the Caucasian spas (Pyatigorsk, Essentuki, Kislo-
vodsk and Zheleznovodsk) the trade unions have 30 sanato-
riums. In Kislovodsk, for example, the Central Council of
Trade Unions has- built the Kirov Sanatorium with a
four-story building and its own Narzan baths, a clinical
sanatorium with hydropathic and mud therapy departments,
and also, at the end of 1950, a sanatorium of Mount Piket.
Construction of a sanatorium for.members of the auto and
tractor union was completed in 1952.
Approximately 200,000 rest or take cures at the Caucasian
spas every year.
. The largest sanatoriums at the health resorts in the Geor-
gian Republic have all been built in the Soviet years and are
owned by the trade unions. Among these health resorts are
the famous watering places of Borzhomi (for gastrointesti-
nal ailments) and Tskhaltubo (with radioactive springs
effective in the treatment of rheumatism, gout, neuralgia
and cardiovascular ailments).
The trade unions have built sanatoriums at Gagra, near
Batumi, in Sochi and at other lovely spots along the Cauca-
sian coast of the Black Sea.
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How the health resorts have been changed beyond recog-
nition since prerevolutionary times can be seen from the
example of the Sochi-Matsesta spa. The town of Sochi
has been turned into a first-class resort with 67 sanato-
riums and rest homes functioning the year round. A fine
motor road has been built along the shore of the Black Sea.
Splendid bath buildings have been erected at Staraya
Matsesta. The town has_ a handsome theatre where perfor-
mances are given regularly by companies from Moscow and
Leningrad and other big cities.
There are many trade union sanatoriums in Sochi, a
spa that makes an unforgettable impression. Those who have
rested or taken cures there give a glowing opinion of it.
In 1951 the health and holiday resorts of the U.S.S.R.
accommodated over 4,400,000 persons. More than 2,700,000
of these were guests at trade union sanatoriums or rest
homes.
The Fifth Five-Year Plan of the development of the
U.S.S.R. in 1951-1955 provides for a further growth of capital
investments in the construction, improvement and equipment
of sanatoriums and rest homes. By the end of 1955 accom-
modation in sanatoriums must increase approximately
by 15 per cent, as compared with 1950, in rest homes-by 30
per cent.
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Now that health and holiday resorts have been developed
in all parts of the country, the inhabitants of the Far East,
Siberia, the Urals, Kazakhstan and other outlying areas can
obtain just as effective sanatorium treatment !locally as in
the Crimea or the Caucasus.
All sanatoriums have ba'lneotherapy departments, X-ray
facilities and laboratories; they are equipped with the latest
medical apparatus. Those that are situated near cities call
in prominent medical specialists for consultation.
An example of a local sanatorium is the one for gastroin-
testinal ailments which is situated on the outskirts of Lenin-
grad. Founded a little over a quarter of a century ago, it
has built up an excellent reputation . among the people of
Leningrad. Treatment is conducted in collaboration with
professors from Leningrad clinics and medical institutes.
A considerable number of the local resorts are under the
jurisdiction of the trade unions.
CA-case in point is the Sadgorod (Garden City) trade
union health resort situated on the shore of Amur Bay not
far from Vladivostok. Among the curative agents here are
baths of sea silt and ;sea water. The resort is surrounded
by parkland and has a fine beach. It functions the year round
and is visited by workers from all parts of the Soviet Far
East including Kamchatka and Sakhalin
Another trade union resort in the?Far East is Kuldur
Springs spa. Situated in a picturesque wooded mountain
valley in Khabarovsk Territory, it is noted for its medicinal
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parts of the country, the inhabitants of the. Far East, Siberia, the
- Urals, Central -Asia and other outlying areas can obtain effective
4hnatorium,treatment.locall.y
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hot springs. The Kuldur water emerges to the surface
having a temperature of +70.7?C. and requires cooling
before it is piped to the baths. It has a variety of chemical
components very active in their effect on the organism.
Also to be found at this spa is a mineral water used for
drinking cures in gastrointestinal ailments. Ailments of the
motor and digestive organs, as well as vascular, nervous
and skin ailments are treated effectively at Kuldur Springs.
In Chita Region, Eastern Siberia, the trade unions have
a iealth resort called the "Siberian Kislovodsk" because of
its carbonaceous mineral springs similar to the Narzan wa-
ters in the Caucasus. This is the Darasun spa, located in
a thickly-wooded mountain district with as many sunny
days in the year as the Crimea. Its sanatoriums accommo-
date-600 persons.
C'Iud baths an salt-water baths are the medicinal fea-
tures at Karachi, a trade union health resort in Novosibirsk
Region, Western Siberia. Karachi is situated near a salt
lake and has accommodation for 600. Karachi is visited by
inhabitants of Western Siberia, chiefly miners, iron and steel
workers, railwaymen and engineering workers.
There are similar resorts in Sverdlo
vsl~'~ChelYabinsk,
Molotov, Tula Novgorod and I\regions, and in the Kazakh,
Azerbaijan, Estonian, Lithuanian and other republics.
The Central Committee of the River Transport Trade
Union has set up a floating sanatorium on a riverboat, the
Gorkovskaya Kommuna. The boat has comfortably furnished
cabins, a cinema hall, and a broad range of medical facil-
ities. It cruises from Moscow down the Oka and Volga rivers
to Astrakhan and back, with stops for sightseeing at all the
big Volga towns-Gorky, Kazan, Ulyanovsk, Kuibyshev,
Saratov, Stalingrad and Astrakhan. Thus, recreation is here
combined with interesting excursions and cinema shows.
Similar floating sanatoriums are cruising along other
rivers. When the V. I. Lenin Volga-Don Shipping Canal was
put into operation and Moscow became a port of five seas,
the number of routes, along which the floating sanatoriums
cruise, considerably increased.
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Quartz lamp treatment in the night. sanatorium at the Calibre Plant
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A popular institution in the Soviet Union are the night
sanatoriums. Maintained on social insurance funds, they
function the year round at numerous 'large factories, mills
and mines. Their purpose is to build up the health of work-
ers. Coming to the night sanatorium at the end of his shift,
the worker takes a bath or shower, has dinner and then
follows the treatment prescribed by his doctor.
The night sanatoriums are equipped with all the neces-
sary physiotherapeutic an;d other medical apparatus. Before
going to bed he can visit the night sanatorium's library,
reading room, or chess and checkers room. In the morning
he has a good breakfast and then he goes to work.
At the night sanatorium the worker is provided with
every facility for rest and medical treatment. He spends
the time in quiet, restful surroundings, and, what is impor-
tant, strictly follows the doctor's orders.
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In 1921 the Council of People's Commissars passed a
decree on rest homes which stated: "Rest homes shall be
established by the Regional Trade Union Councils to enable
workers and office employees to build up their strength and
energies under the most favourable and healthful conditions
during their annual holidays. Rest homes are to be estab-
lished first and foremost in country villas and the mansions
of former landlords...."
In the early Soviet years villas and mansions were adapt-
ed as rest homes. Then large-scale construction of new build-
ings was launched in picturesque localities having a good
climate. Today, too, many new rest homes are being built.
There is not a single district in the Soviet Union without its .
rest homes. They are to be found in the environs of the.
Siberian cities of Vladivostok, Chita, Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk
and Novosibirsk; near the Ural cities of Sverdlovsk, Chelya-
binsk and Molotov; in the Central Asian Republics, through-
out Central Russia, in the Transcaucasus, the Ukraine,
Moldavia, Byelorussia and the Baltic Republics. Every
year hundreds of thousands of workers and office employees
spend their holidays at these homes in the most favourable
and healthy conditions.
The trade unions have special rest homes which accom=
modate expectant mothers during their prematernity leave
(under the Soviet labour laws all working women are given
a fully-paid leave of 35 days before childbirth and 42 days
after). Here the women enjoy the benefits of a correct-regi-
men, proper diet and medical observation and instructions.
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There are also trade union convalescent homes for mothers
and their newborn infants after they leave the maternity
hospital. These homes have a specially-trained staff of doc-
tors, nurses and attendants.
Another special type of rest home is that for mothers
accompanied by older children, from six to eight years of
age. As a rule such rest homes are"established'in the vicinity
of light-industry centres where.the majority of the workers.
are women (textile mills, shoe and clothing factories, etc.)..
There is a staff . of attendants for the children and separate.
children's bedrooms; where nurses are on duty all, night.
Good conditions for rest are provided both mother and child.
Extremely popular are the Young,Pioneer summer camps,.
for school children between the ages of seven and sixteen.
The camps are situated in forests, at the shores of. lakes
and rivers, or at the seaside, and are excellent health-
builders. Usually more than half of the cost`of the child's.
A veranda. at the 10th Anniversary of October_ Sanatorium, Sochi
22
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At a Leningrad sanatorium for expectant - mothers. The trade
unions maintain-special sanatoriums and rest homes which ac-
commodate working women during their premate'rnity leave
stay in a summer camp is ' borne .by the trade union, factory.
or institution which runs. the camp.
The trade unions also operate one-day rest homes in
country spots or in big parks on the outskirts of cities. Work-
ers and office employees and members of their families come
to thes:e homes early Sunday.. morning and stay there the
whole day. They are provided with a wide choice of facilities
for recreation and sport. -
Tourism has become extremely widespread in the So-
viet Union. Soviet trade'unions run tourist centres in many
parts of the :country. In 1951 alone.. about 2 million trade
union members and their dependents' took part'in tourist
excursions.
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ON THE BLACK SEASHORE
Here is an example of how Soviet working men spend
their, holidays. Here is what Danii-l Sergeyev, a smelter,
had to tell us about the way he spent his vacation.
"I decided to spend my annual leave on the shore of
the Black Sea. My trade union organization gave me a pass
to the A.U.C.C.T.U. sanatorium in Zeleny Mys, near Ba-
tumi. I had to cover quite a distance to get there, living,
as I do, in the Extreme North. I flew by plane to Moscow
where I boarded the Moscow-Batumi Express. In that sunny
Ajarian sanatorium they gave me a warm welcome. I was
put up in a cosy bright room with a view that took your breath
away. Out of the window I could see the mountain peaks
in a bluish haze, the vine-.smothered terraces, orchards and
tea and citrus fruit plantations rolling down to the sea.
"There's nothing like a Black Sea spring, with the roses
and magnolias blooming, and the sun shining for all it's
worth, so that sun-tanned people have to sit under those
big umbrellas. I kept .marvelling at, the swift change from
the snowdrifts and Northern lights of my home in the Ex-
treme North to the. blue, blue sky, the sun-flooded beach
and the flowering gardens. It gave me an idea of how truly
vast our Soviet country is!
"Early in the morning I would wake to the strains of
radio music. We would all jump out of our beds, wash and
turn out for our morning exercises in the sports grounds.
Then we would have a hearty breakfast, followed by a walk
on the premises. After that each of us would take the pre-
scribed treatment.
24
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At the Artek children's camp on the Crimean coast of the Black
Sea. -Millions of Soviet boys and girls spend their school holidays
at Young Pioneer summer camps or health resorts or go on
organized tours and: walking trips. In the summer of 1951 more
than 5,000,000 youngsters were accommodated at Young Pioneer
camps, children's sanatoriums, tourist camps, etc.
"The sanatorium personnel, from chief physician Pyotr
?Ioseliani to: the nurses, di,d everything to .'make our stay:
pleasant:
"I chummed up -With some people who were spending,
;their leave there. There was Lepeshkina, an old textile worker
from Moscow Region, Semislova,. a working woman from
Kramatorsk, turner Martirosov, a Tbilisi resident, Varta-
nyan-a researcher from Erevan, and-Maisuradze, school-
teacher from South Ossetia. They were fine people and-
splendid- companions.
29
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In the evenings we used to gather in a-recreation room,
they've named after Shot'ha Rust'hveli. Everything in that
'room speaks of that great Georgian poet: Wall paintings from
his Knight in-a Tiger's Skin,by two Georgian artists, Kapita-,
shvi.li and Tsurumishvili, pretty `little lanterns, the work of
skilled Georgian handicraftsmen: Soft divans' stand around,
a beautifully carved table. One evening. we -devoted to the
'poet's memory. Shalva Kartsevadze, an actor from the Ku-
taisi State Theatre, recited, a passage from the immortal
Knight. He was a great success.
."There was always something ,to, do in the' evenings.
There were daily showings of entertainment films as well
as popular science.reels, and we ourselves staged amateur
performances. The evening in honour, of 'friendship be-
twee.n the peoples was quite an affair. I liked the Georgian
and Ukrainian dances and the national ,songs of many of,
our-peoples.
At the Young Tourist camp in Repino (Karelian Isthmus
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"We never tired of sightseeing, down South. We visited
the Batumi Botanical Gardens, the country's largest, the
tea and citrus plantations and the picturesque environs of.
Zeleny Mys.
"The month I spent there was soon over. I had a very
nice rest and had put on weight and stored up strength. On
the day I said good-bye to the sanatorium I joined a group
of workers, who were also leaving, in making this entry in
the Visitors' Book:
"Thank you, our Country, for all you have given us:
joyful work, wonderful rest and a happy life. We return to
our machines, shops, plants and factories full of the desire
to work for the glory of our Country in the name of Peace."
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REST AND LEISURE OF WORKING PEOPLE
Leafing through the Visitors' Books at the health resorts
we find entry after entry expressing heartfelt appreciation
and gratitude. A group of guests at the Gorky Rest Home in
Voronezh Region wrote:
"We cannot thank you enough. During our holiday at
the Gorky Rest Home we-a group of collective farmers,
workers at machine and tractor stations and state farms,
factory workers and office employees-were daily aware
of the warm solicitude shown the common man by our Gov-
ernment and our great leader Comrade Stalin, the Soviet
people's father and friend. Only in the Socialist State, where
work has become a matter of honour; valour, glory and
heroism, are wholesome and rational rest and recreation
available to all the people. We have had a splendid rest and
feel strong and healthy. We shall express our thanks to our
beloved Government by working better than ever before.
"Vereshchagin, mechanic at a factory in Kantemirovka;
Radevich, truck driver; Ponomaryov, carpenter; Kalmy-
kova, worker at a state farm; Zhuravlyova, worker at a
sugar refinery, and others."
Here is an entry from the Visitors' Book of the sanato-
rium for expectant mothers at Sokolniki, in the outskirts of
Moscow:
"From our very first day at the sanatorium we were
shown every mark of attention by the staff. The work of the
entire staff is characterized by constant and attentive care
of the guests, varied medical. treatment, and readiness to
meet every request of the expectant mothers.
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We received tasty and varied meals; the cooking was;
excellent. Our rooms were comfortably and cosily furnished.
At a sewing circle led by an instructor we made clothes for'
our future babies.
"We are deeply grateful to the Government and to Com-.
rode Stalin for the concern and attention shown us here.
"Bykova, worker at the Mikoyan plant; Karpova, oper-
ator at the Sverdlov factory; Melyukina, bookkeeper at the,
Krasny Oktyabr Confectionery Factory, and others."
A group of miners who spent their holiday at a sana-'i,
torium owned by the Central Committee of the Coal Mining
Trade Union write:
"We, Donbas mine workers, would like. to share some_im-.
pressions of our rest and cure at the sanatorium of the
Central Committee of our trade union.
"During our 28 days at the sanatorium we had a real rest
and built up our health. This is how the Soviet miners
exercise their right to rest, guaranteed to the working people.
by the Stalin Constitution.
"This well-equipped sanatorium is a perfect health-
builder. The meals are excellent. Every member of the staff,
from the doctors to the charwomen, is attentive to the guests
and puts his whole heart into his work, doing everything he
can to make them feel well.".
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COMMENTS OF FOREIGN GUESTS
ON THE TRADE UNION HEALTH AND HOLIDAY
RESORTS
As a rule the dozens of workers' and trade union delega-
tions from abroad that visit the Soviet Union every year ac-
quaint themselves with the sanatoriums and rest . homes
maintained by the trade unions. Their comments on the
concern shown for the health of the people in the Land of
Socialism speak for themselves.
Scottish miners who visited the U.S.S.R. in August. 1949
write the following about the trade union rest homes:
"We dived in two of these rest homes, and can honestly
say they are ideal places to spend a holiday. They are built
in beautiful surroundings, the living quarters are in lovely
buildings, people there are well fed, and they have concerts
and dancing every. night. Various games are organized dur-
ing the day, or you could spend the day roaming through the
picturesque woods and grounds. A very happy atmosphere
exists in the rest homes....
"While the father and mother are at the rest home, their
kid-dies can go to the Pioneer Camp if they care."
After a visit to health resorts in the Georgian Republic
in September and October 1950 a group of Swedish railway-
men noted:
"At the sanatoriums in Sukhumi and Gagra we saw
the tremendous opportunities for rest and health-building
which are enjoyed by the workers. The sanatoriums we visit-
ed were luxurious."
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Vacationers at the Black Sea health and holiday resort of Sochi
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A Canadian workers' delegation visits a sanatorium maintained
at the Black Sea health resort of Sochi by the central committee
of the railwaymen's union. Every year 3,500 railwaymen spend
their holiday at this sanatorium. Sochi is often visited by foreign
guests
A Canadian trade union delegation which visited the
Soviet Union in September and-October 1951 stated the
following in a report issued upon its return:
"They are building and are largely concerned with pro-
viding a better life for themselves. In case anyone is
scepti- cal, we just wish we could take them for a trip, along the
shores of the Black Sea to see for themselves the number and
beauty of the new sanatoria and rest homes that are being
constructed for the .workers. Or let them sit among the min-
ers,. textile and garment workers or the railwaymen at their
luxurious sanatoria on the Black Sea as we did. Let them
tell you of the plans, for the extension of their buildings and
33
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grounds. Even the most sceptical cannot but be impressed.
Incidentally, these sanatoria are the most elaborate places
we have ever seen."
Similar comments are to be found in the reports made
by any of.. the delegations that have visited the Soviet Union.
Thetrade unions do their utmost to provide the men and
women of the U.S.S.R., who are engaged in peaceful con-
structive labour, with the best possible conditions for rest
and cure: .In this work they are guided by the wise words of
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, the great leader of the Soviet
people, who`said that "of all the valuable capital the world
possesses, the most valuable-and the most .decisive is people."
Printed in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
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CONSTITUT
ION
OF THE TRADE UNIONS
OF THE U.S.S.R.
FOREIGN LANGUAGES PUBLISHING HOUSE
MOSCOW
1949
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I -qN
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CONSTITUTION
OF THE. TRADE UNIONS
OF THE U.S.S.R.
Adopted
by the Tenth Congress
of the Trade Unions
of the U.S.S.R.
(April 19-27, 1949)
1949
FOREIGN LANGUAGES PUBLISHING HOUSE
MOSCOW
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. The Soviet people, led by the .Communist
Party of the Soviet. Union (Bolsheviks), have
built a socialist society and are successfully
fulfilling the historic task of gradual'transi-
tion from Socialism to Communism. In the.
Soviet Union, exploiting classes have been
completely -eliminated, the exploitation of
man by man has been ended for all time,
unemployment has 'been done away with
in the towns and destitution in . the rural
areas, and the material and cultural standards
of the working people have risen substantially,
From the painful burden that it is . under
capitalism, labour has in our land become
a matter of honour, of glory, of valour and
heroism.: "People in our country do not: work
for exploiters, for the enrichment-of .parasites,
but for themselves, for their own class, .for
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CIA-RDP80SO1540R004100050004-3 f the working
class." (Stalin.)
The world historic gains of. the working'
people of the Soviet Union have been given
legislative" enactment in the Constitution
of the U.S.S.R.
The Constitution guarantees all citizens
of the Soviet Union the right to work, the
right to. rest and leisure, the right to educa-
tion, the right to maintenance in old age-and
in case of sickness or disability. Women in
the U.S.S.R. are accorded equal rights with
men in all spheres of economic, government;
cultural, political and other public. activity.
In conformity with the interests of the
working people and in order to strengthen the
socialist system, citizens of the U.S.S.R. are
guaranteed by law freedom of speech, free'
dom of the press, freedom of assembly and
also the right to unite in public organizations.
In the Soviet trade unions, which are a
mass non-party public organization, workers
and other employees of all occupations are
.united on a voluntary basis without. distinc-
tion of race, nationality, sex or religious
beliefs.
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CIA-RDP80SO154OR004100050004-3 all their
activities under the guidance of the. Commu-
nist Party, the organizing and directing force
of Soviet society. The trade unions of the
U.S.S.R. rally the masses of workers around
the Party of Lenin and. Stalin.
The trade unions wage a struggle to strength-
en to the utmost the socialist social and
state system, the moral and political unity
of the Soviet people, and fraternal coopera-
tion and friendship among the peoples of
the Soviet Union; they participate actively
in the elections to the organs of state power;
they organize the workers and other employees
to strive for constant advancement. of the
national economy; they work _for further
improvement of the material well-being of
the working people and for all-round satis
faction of their cultural.. wants.
The trade unions instil" in their member-
ship the spirit of Soviet patriotism and 'a
Communist' attitude. to work and to public,
socialist property; they engage in the Commu-
nist training of the working people. and in
advancing the cultural and professional stand-
ards of the workers to those of engineering
personnel; they imbue their members with
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CIA-RDP80SO154OR004100050004-3 .ionalism and
fight for the unity of the international work.
ing-class movement . and for, lasting. peace
and democracy throughout the world; The
trade unions "are an educational organiza--
tion, an organization for enlisting and train=
ing forces, they are a school, a school of ad-
ministration,, a school of management, a
school of Communism." (Lenin.)
Under the Soviet, socialist system, the
state stands guard over the rights of the work-
ing people and in its laws gives expression
to the people's interests. The trade unions
share actively in the drafting of 'legislation
concerned with production, labour,. condi-.
tions of life, and cultural development and
fight for 'undeviating . observance of ? these
laws.
The trade unions:
organize the socialist emulation movement
of workers and other 'employees;for fulfilling
and exceeding state plans, raising labour
productivity, improving quality and reduc-
ing production costs;
take part in planning and regulating wages.
and in Training systems of pay in: accordance-
with, the socialist: principle of payment -?by-
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FIULUVLc .,,,~ ~.ogressive
output standards and see that correct records
are made of work done and that the piece-
ate and progressive bonus system of payment,
is. correctly 'operated;
help workers and other employees to improve
their proficiency, publicize the methods of
the -foremost, the innovators in -production
and -science, arid. 'assist in introducing, ad-
vanced -technology in,. industry;
conclude collective agreements with plant
managements;.
supervise the labour-protection' arrangements
and safety precautions at places of work;
participate in the settlement of labour dia-
putes; conclude -agreements with the manage-
ments on the ;use to be made of . the funds
allocated for safety precautions and labour
protection;
operate the system of state social'. insurance,
assign and issue benefits to workers and other
employees in cages of temporary disability;
strive for improved medical service for the
working people and protection of the health
of ? women and children, establish-- sanatoria
and rest homes,. form mutual aid societies,
7
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CIA-RDP80SO154OR004100050004-3 f living quar-
ters in nouses neionging to places of work; or-
ganize supervision by the masses over fulfil-
ment of the plans for housing construction
and development of amenities and cultural
facilities and over the functioning of can-
teens, shops, public services and city trans-
port;
help union members to raise their level
of ideological and political understanding
and general education; disseminate political
and scientific knowledge and extensively pop-
ularize improved production methods; estab-
lish clubs, Houses and Palaces of Culture,
recreation rooms (Red Corners) and libraries,
and arrange mass amateur art, physical cul-
ture, sport and tourist activities among the
workers and other employees;
promote the widespread participation of
women in the work of government,..in produc-
tion and in public affairs and help workers
and other employees in the communist train-
ing of the growing generation;
make representations to government and
public bodies on behalf of the workers and
other. employees in matters concerned -with
labour, welfare and culture.
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THEIR RIGHTS AND DUTIES
1. Membership in the trade unions is open
to all citizens of the U.S.S.R.' employed in
industrial establishments, or offices, or study-
ing at institutions of higher learning or tech-
nical or occupational schools.
2. The trade union.' member has. the right:
a) to attend' general meetings of members
of the union;
b) to elect and be elected to all union.bodies
and. to= trade ..union conferences . and con-
gresses;
c) to bring .before trade union bodies issues
and suggestions relating..-to-the improvement
of union 'activities;
d) to criticize at trade union : meetirigs~
conferences, congresses- and in the press . the
activities of the local or higher union 'Bodies
and their officials, and to file enquiries, state-
ments or complaints with -6.11 leading trade
union , bodies;.. . :.
e) to appeal to the trade union, to protect
and =uphold his Tights where the management
is ".guilty : of '.infringing . the,- collective _ agree-
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CIA-RDP80SO154OR004100050004-3 ce and provi-
sion of cultural and welfare services;
f) to demand his presence in person in all
cases when 'trade union bodies pass opinion
on. his activities or conduct.
3. The trade union member is in duty bound:
a) scrupulously to observe civic and labour
discipline;
h) to safeguard and fortify public, socialist
property as the- sacred and inviolable founda-
tion of the Soviet-system, the source of the
wealth and might of the country, the source
of a life of prosperity and culture for allthe
working people;
c) to improve his proficiency, to master
his calling thoroughly;
d) to observe the constitution of his trade
union and pay membership dues. Punctually.
4. The. trade union member enjoys the
following 'privileges:
a) he receives benefits out of the state social
insurance funds in a larger amount than non-
trade-unionists, in conformity with the legis-
lation on the subject;
'b) he receives priority in the distribution
of passes to -rest homes, sanatoria and health
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resorts, acid ' also in placing his children . in
-creches, kindergartens and Young Pioneer
=camps;
c) he receives, when necessary, grants out
of trade union funds;
d) he receives legal assistance from trade
union bodies free of charge; -
e) he and his family have the use of the
trade union's cultural and sports facilities
on terms specified by the trade union bodies;
f) he is entitled to membership in the mutual
aid society of his trade union organization.
5. Admission to trade union membership
is" by personal application from the prospec-
tive member. The application for member-
ship is considered by a meeting of the .trade
union group, and admission endorsed by the
shop committee of the union, and where
there are no shop committees, by the factory
,or establishment committee. In trade union
organizations, not subdivided into 'groups,
members are admitted by a general meeting
-of the union members.
6. The record of union membership dates
from the time when the application for mem-
bership is granted by the -meeting of the trade
onion group or the union organization of
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CIA-RDP80SO154OR004100050004-3 newly-ad niit-
ted union members by the factory or establish-
-ment committee of the union. -
7. If a union member goes to work in a
factory or establishment whose trade union
branch is part of another trade union, he is
transferred to that. union - without payment
of: the 'entrance fee and his record of. trade
union membership is maintained.
8..The time- spent by union-members in
the-armed forces of -the U;S.S:R. is included
.-in their trade union record.
- 9. Trade union members who discontinue
-work and receive pensions on grounds. --of
health or old 'age. retain the right of =union
membership.
10. Seasonal employees retain their record
of trade union membership. if they resume
.work the following season. Members of pro-
ducers' cooperatives are not eligible for trade
union membership. If they were union "mem-
bers prior to joining the producers' coopera-
tive, their oU'record 'of trade union member-
ship'is credited to them when they leave-the
-cooperative . to- take up employment.
11.:For: infringing the -:constitution of ::his
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trade. -union', for `failing to pay membership
dues for more than three months,. or.for lack
of discipline,. a union member may, by deci-
sion of the trade union bodies, be cautioned,
publicly reprimanded, censured, and as the
extreme 'measure; expelled : from the. union.
The decision of the shop meeting. or trade
union . group to -expel a ..member. comes. into
effect after being endorsed by the factory or
establishment committee of.the union.. The
decision of the primary trade' union organiza-.
lion to penalize a member must be passed in
the presence of the member concerned...
II.
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
OF THE TRADE UNIONS
The. trade unions are built up.'on the
principles of democratic centralism,. ' which.
means that:
a) all trade union bodies from the bottom
up are elected by. the membership.: and account-
able to them;
. b) trade union. organizations. decide all
issues of union: -activity in: conformity, with
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the constitution of the trade union and. the
decisions . of higher union bodies;
? c).-trade union organizations . pass their
decisions by a majority vote of the member-
ship;
d) lower. trade union bodies are subordinate
to higher ones.
13..The trade unions are.. organized on the
industrial. principle: all persons employed
in the same factory or establishment belong
to the same'union; each trade union covers
the employees of one branch of.the national
economy.
14. To coordinate the activities of trade
union organizations, regional, territorial and
republican trade union councils are formed
in the regions, territories and republics.
15. The highest directing body of a trade
union organization is the general meeting
(for primary -'organizations), the conference
(for district, city, regional,. territorial and
republican organizations), the congress (for.
the'tra`de 'union'_as a whole).
. The general meeting,- conference or congress
elects an appropriate committee-the .shop,
factory, local,..district city,. regional, territo-
rial,-republican or' Central Committee=which
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is its executive body and -directs all the cur-
rent activities of the organization.
16. All trade union .directing bodies, and
also delegates to trade union conferences and
congresses, are elected by secret ballot.
When trade union bodies are being elected,
the union membership have the right to nomi-
nate candidates and to challenge or criticize
any of them.
The elected trade union bodies choose from
their midst, by open vote, a chairman, secre-
tary and members of the presidium.
17. New elections to any trade union-body
may be held before the expiration of - the
appointed term at the demand of at -least
one-third of. the union members represented
by that body, and also by decision of a higher
trade union body.
18. General meetings of trade union mem-
bers, union conferences and congresses, and
also meetings of trade union committees
and councils of -trade unions shall be con-
sidered competent if attended by not less than
two-thirds of the union members; delegates,
or committee members. -
19. Trade union bodies must scrupulously
observe trade union democracy: call-general
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ineetings_ and, conferences of union .members;
report on their work and arrange? elections;
provide' the conditions for the development
of criticism and self-criticism in the trade
union organizations, enlist the membership
extensively in trade -union activities, and.ar-
range meetings, of active trade union workers.
20. -Shop, factory, establishment, district,
city, regional. and territorial trade union
committees and councils of trade unions form
commissions' to deal with particular as-
pects of trade union activity. In the All-
Union 'Central Council of Trade Unions
(A.U.C.C.T.U:) and in the . Central Com-
mittees of trade unions, and also in large
republican, territorial and . regional- trade
union councils and committees, departments
and sectors are formed for this purpose.
HIGHEST TRADE UNION BODIES
21. The supreme trade union body ?of the.
U.S.S.R. is the U.S.S.R. Congress of Trade
Unions.
The U:S.S.R. Congress of Trade Unions:
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A.U.I:.I:.i-.U. ana . the iuu1 1ng Commis-
sion; - - ' -
h) adopts the ' _ constitution of ~ the trade
unions of the U.S.S.R.;
t c) specifies the current tasks of the trade
r-f unions, hears reports by the central economic
authorities and maps out measures for trade
union participation in the struggle to fulfil
and exceed the national economic plans and
to raise the material and cultural-political
standards of the workers and other employees;
d) specifies the tasks of the trade unions
of the U.S.S.R. in the international trade
union movement;
e)'elects the All-Union Central Council
of Trade Unions and the Auditing Com-
mission:-
'22..-The U.S.S.R. Congress of.Trade Unions
is convened not less than once in four years.
Notice of it is given -at least. two months
before the date of the congress.
2.3. In the interim between _ U.S.S.R. con-
gresses, all trade union activities are direct-
ed by the A.U.C.C.T.U.
24. The All-Union Central Council of Trade
Unions:
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unions generally, ana also in particular, fields
of trade union activity;
b) participates in the drafting of the nation.
al-economic plans;
c) directs the socialist emulation movement;
d) hears reports by committees of the trade
unions, "and communications by Ministries
and government departments, on matters
relating to production and to cultural and
welfare facilities for the workers and other
employees;
e) prepares and submits to the Government
draft legislation on wages, labour protection,
social insurance, welfare and cultural services
for the working people; issues instructions,
regulations and elucidations as to the op-
eration of the. existing labour laws;
f) directs the operation of the state social
insurance system;
g). arranges nation-wide cultural, sports'and
other mass undertakings; -
h) establishes trade union schools and study
courses;
i) approves the budget of the trade unions;
. J) represents the . Soviet -trade unions :in
the international trade union movement, and
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trade union associations;
k) has its press organ-the newspaper
Trud-and the Profizdat publishing house;
issues trade union magazines, bulletins, etc.
25. The A.U.C.C.T.U. elects a presidi-
um and a secretariat. Plenary sessions of
the "A:U.C.C.T.U.. are held at regular inter-
vials.
26. The highest directing body of each
trade union is the congress of the union. The
congress of the trade union is held once in
two years. Congress delegates are -elected
by the union membership at meetings and
conferences. according to a representation
rate :$xed by the Central Committee of the
union. Notice of the congress is given bythe'
Central Committee of the union at least
one month before its date.
-..Members and alternate members of the
union's Central. Committee and Auditing
Commission who are - not elected delegates
.ca-
to the congress - attend it in an -advisory.
pacity..
The, congress of the trade union: hears re-
ports on the-activities of the union's Central.
Committee and `Auditing Commission,. spec--'
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CIA-RDP80SO154OR004100050004-3 union; adopts
the constitution of the union, hears reports
by economic bodies on the progress of the
fulfilment .Of state plans, discusses matters
pertaining to the provision Hof cultural and
welfare facilities for the working people and
problems of the international trade union
movement, and elects the Central Committee
of the union, the Auditing Commission and
the delegates to the U.S.S.R.' Congress of
Trade Unions.
. `A special congress may be convened by
decision of the A.U.C.C.T.U. or of the Central
Committee of the trade union. .
27..In the interim between congresses, all
the activities of a.-trade union are directed-
-by-its Central 'Committee.
. ? The Central Committee and. the - Auditing.
Commission of a :trade :union are elected for.
a terns of two years; the number. of their mem-
_
ber's ' is fixed by the congress.
28. The Central Committee of a trade. union:
? organizes socialist emulation, together with
the appropriate economic authorities reviews
the results of'thenation-wide socialist emula?
tion contest,` hears. reports ' by ' these author
ities on . the position of affairs In production
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CIA-RDP80SO154OR004100050004-3 he conclu-
sion of collective 'agreements and. labour
protection agreements, takes action to im-
prove the. work of factories and other
establishments and of trade union . organ-
izations in the organization of labour and
system. of payment, in the promotion of so-
cialis't emulation, in the field- of social insur-
-ante . and in providing material- amenities
and cultural facilities for the workers and
other employees;
' approves the-budget of the trade union and
the state social insurance budget,, and endorses
the reports on their. fulfilment;
registers the collective agreements conclud-
ed by local trade union organizations with
managements;
establishes - safety standards and regulations
compulsory for the industry in question;
organizes the ideological and political edu-
cation and training of trade - union forces;
publishes the trade.union's printed matter
(newspapers, magazines, reports; etc.); .
nominates active trade unionists to posi-
tions in the State administration, in the So-
viets;:.and-iri econoinie-and._p Lblicbodies;
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ment of its departmental -heads;
maintains and develops contact, through
the A.U.C.C.T.U., with trade unions of for-
eign countries.
Plenary sessions of the Central Committee
of a trade union ae held at regular' intervals.
Tod direct the day-to-day. activities of the
union, the Central Committee elects a Presid-
ium consisting of a. chairman, secretary and
members.
The Central Coniniittee of a- trade union is
responsible for ,its activities to the congress
of the union and to the A.U.C.C.T.U.
IV
REPUBLICAN, TERRITORIAL, REGIONAL,
CITY AND DISTRICT TRADE UNION -BODIES
29. Regional; territorial and republican trade
union councils %nd'auditing commissions are
elected at the appropriate intet-union confer-
ences for a term of two years.:
Delegates to inter-union conferences are
elected by meetings of 'the union members
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CIA-RDP80SO1540 R004100050004-3 ;t jurisdic-
tion of the. Central Committees of their unions
and by the city, district, regional, territorial
or republican conferences of the individual
unions.
30. Regional, territorial and republican trade
union councils:
carry out inter-union undertakings;
coordinate joint actions by the trade union
organizations of the region, territory or re-
public aimed at promoting the socialist emu-
lation ' movement for fulfilment and over-
fulfilment of state plans by industrial plants
and at further improving the material con-
ditions and cultural facilities of workers and
other employees;
summarize and popularize the most effective
examples of trade union activity;
direct inter-union cultural and sports es-
tablishments.
Plenary sessions of the trade' union councils
are' held at regular intervals.
31. Republican, territorial, regional, rail-
way line, water transport basin, city and
district committees and auditing commissions
of trade unions are elected at conferences'-of
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The conference hears reports by the com-
mittee and the auditing commissio.n,. discuss-
es problems of trade union activities, of
production, of the organization of labour,
and of cultural and welfare services for the
workers and other employees,: and elects the
trade union- directing bodies: and the dele-
gates- to the. congress of the trade- union and
to- the inter-union conference.
32. The-committees direct the organizations
of their trade unions"in" the republic, territory,
region,. city, district, railway line or basin;
organize fulfilment by the trade union "organ-
izations of 'the - decisions taken by the
A.U.C.C.T.U. and the Central Committee of
the union; approve the financial estimates. of
the primary trade union- organizations and
arrange meetings of active trade union.work-
ers. Plenary sessions of the committees are
held -at regular intervals. In all their activ-
ities the committees are accountable - to the
appropriate republican, territorial, regional,
city or district conferences of union .:members
and to the.Central -Committees' of-their- trade
unions;. and ,-as.: regards .inter-union -under-
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gions, they are also accountable to the trade
union councils.
33. The trade union councils and committees
elect from their midst a chairman, secretary
and members of the presidium.
V
PRIMARY TRADE UNION ORGANIZATIONS
34. The basic unit of the trade union is the
primary trade union - organization. The pri-
mary trade union organization is. made up
of the trade union members employed 'at 'the
same place of work. The highest body in the
primary trade union organization is the gen-
eral meeting of union members.
In factories or other establishments where
general meetings cannot be called because
people work different shifts or because the
shops or departments are territorially dis-
. persed, shift meetings or 'conferences of trade
union members are held instead.
..35. The duties of the primary trade union
organization are:
a) to rouse the entire personnel of the estab-
25
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CIA-RDP80SO1540R004100050004-3 ;he production
plan;, to reinio rce ianour aiscipline and. pro-
mote socialist emulation;
b) ? to draw all employees into the trade
union. and conduct political educational activ-
ities among them;
c) to discharge the obligations assumed under
the collective agreement;
d) to devise practical measures for raising
labour productivity, improving _quality, -put-
ting every shop and work-team on a cost-
accounting ,-basis, reducing production ,costs
and increasing returns; to hold production
conferences. and supervise the fulfilment of
their decisions; to assist in securing the adop-
tion of rationalization suggestions;
e) to. establish Stakhanovite schools and
arrange for _assistance ?to . novices by 'experi'
enced workers, engineers, -and technicians; ?to
arrange talks and lectures on efficient methods
of work, and help , the personnel in other ways
to: fulfil and' exceed their output quotas and
improve their skill;
f) to work day by day to improve working
coriditions and welfare facilities for the per-
sonnel;
g)-to, satisfy, the cultural wants -of the. work-
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sive mass cultural ana sports activities. in
the factory or establishment;
h) to put into effect the decisions of higher
trade union bodies and the resolutions- adopted
at. general meetings.
36. To conduct current activities, primary
trade union organizations numbering 25. or
more members elect a factory-or establishment
committee and an auditing commission., and
organizations numbering less than 25 members
elect a-.trade union organizer,.' for . a term of
one year.
The number of- members on the factory or.
establishment :committee and the auditing
commission is fixed by the general meeting
or conference of union members.
The factory or establishment' committee
concludes a collective agreement with the-
mahagement and organizes supervision by the
masses as'to its fulfilment; it directs. the work
of the production conferences; fosters. a wide-_
spread inventions and. rationalization more
ment; works` to provide cultural and welfare
services for the: employees; approves the com
position .'of its- commissions. and of`,tbe:
social insurance council; calls general meetings
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decisions of higher trade union bodies;
enlists trade union members in active "social
work.
37. Shop 'committees are set up in factory
shops by decision of the factory committee,
and trade union bureaus in the departments
and divisions of offices by decision of the
establishment committee; they are elected for.
a term of one year.
The shop committees and trade union
bureaus organize all trade union activities
in their shops or departments, ensure fulfil-
ment of the decisions of the factory or es-
tablishment committee and of higher 'trade
union bodies, arrange meetings 'of the work-
ers and other employees, form trade union
groups and direct the work of the group trade
union organizers.
38. With a view to meeting more fully .the
wants of trade union members working in the
same team, section, unit, assembly, etc., trade
union groups are formed.
A group trade union organizer is elected by
open vote for a term of one year at a general
meeting of the group. To assist the group
organizer, thetrade union group elects from
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CIA-RDP80SO154OR004100050004-3 otection.
The group trade union organizer draws all
employees into the trade union, collects mem-
bership dues from union-members, organizes
socialist emulation , and helps the factory,
establishment or .shop' committee in provid-
ing.cultural and welfare services for employees.
VI
TRADE UNION FUNDS
39. Trade union funds are made up of en=
trance fees, monthly membership dues, pro-
ceeds from cultural, educational and sports
institutions, auxiliary establishments, build-
ings and structures, and other incoming sums.
40. The monthly membership dues are
fixed at one per cent of the actual monthly
earnings, and for students; at one per ? cent
of their .monthly student stipends. For non-
working ? pensioners and students receiving
no stipends, the membership dues shall be
one ruble a month. -
41. The entrance fee charged at the time of
joining the trade union is fixed at one per
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F_ ...~, . ..... ..u, ~... .,.pt of a stipend;
it is ?one ruble.
42. The funds of the A.U.C.C.T.U are
made up of contributions from the Central
Committees of the various trade unions out
of the dues collected from their membership,
the amount of the= contribution being fixed
by the A.U.C.C.T.U., and of other incoming
sums.
43. The republican, territorial and regional
trade union councils are maintained out of
A.U.C.C.T.U. funds in accordance with duly
approved estimates.
44. Trade union funds are used for cultural
services to union members, for material assist-
ance to them; and for the organizational
and administrative expenses of trade union
bodies. The allocation of funds is determined
annually by the Central Committees when ap-
proving the- budgets, and by the A.U.C.C.T.U.
when approving the joint budget of the trade
unions.-
Trade union bodies expend their funds in
accordance with estimates approved by higher
trade union bodies.
` The A.U.C.C.T.U. and the central, .repub-.
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anti --.-L
publish their fi
mation of uni
i
h
T
004100050004-3 -,"'Y
m
itt
~ ,.~ ,. .. A. co
m
ees
nancial-accounts for the infor-
on members.
t of disposal over trade union
he r
g
t. 45.
funds, and, property. is vested in the elected
trade union bodies, which are responsible for
timely collection of the funds and security
of the property and. for their proper utiliza-
tion.
Redistribution of property within a trade
union.is made by decision of the central'coni-
mittee of the union, and between different
trade. unions, by decision of the.A.U.C.C.T.U.
46. The auditing commissions of trade
union bodies elect a chairman and secretary
from their midst. The auditing commissions
check on the fulfilment of the -trade.'union
budget and the state social insurance budget,
on whether funds are expended and trade union
property utilized in a proper and expedient
manner and on the system of registration and
accounting.
The auditing commissions report on their
activities to congresses, conferences and gen-
eral meetings simultaneously with the trade
union-bodies.
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CIA-RDP80SO154OR004100050004-3 BODIES
AS JURIDICAL .PERSONS
47. Factory, establishment, city, district,
railway, basin, regional, territorial, repub-
lican and Central Committees of trade unions,
and also the A.U.C.C.T.U. and republican,
territorial and regional, trade union councils
constitute juridical persons. They have a
stamp and seal of a pattern approved by the
Central Committee -of the trade union in ques-
tion and by the A.U.C.C.T.U.
48. Each trade union has its constitution,
which takes into account the distinctive fea-
tures of that union.and conforms to the con-
stitution of the trade unions of the U.S.S.R.
The constitution of each trade union shall
be registered with the A.U.C.C.T.U.
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3
-
-
b
ENSUR
RM Ir ucooc-~)Mo
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SOCIAL INSURANCE
IN THE U.S.S.R.
FOREIGN LANGUAGES PUBLISHING HOUSE
Moscow 1953
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The present edition is a translation of
the pamphlet published by the A.U.C.C.T.U.
Publishing House "Profizdat" Moscow, 1953.
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Page
INTRODUCTION . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 5
PENSIONS AND BENEFITS . . . . . . . . . . 8
HOW THE WORKERS REST . . . . . . . . . . . 16
PUBLIC HEALTH IN THE SOVIET UNION . . . . 29
MOTHER AND 'CHILD CARE . . . . . . . . . . 38
HAPPY CHILDHOOD . . . . . . . . . 45
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The system of social insurance in the U.S.S.R. is one of
the most important achievements of the Great October So-
cialist Revolution. Not only does it ensure the right of citi-
zens to material security in case of disability, but it is a
powerful factor in raising the material and cultural stand-
ard of the people.
In the U.S.S.R. the system of social insurance is based
on the principles of socialist democracy. The management
of the entire. system of social insurance, as well as the ad-
ministration of social insurance funds, is in the hands of
the trade unions.
Social insurance benefits are paid to all wage and
salaried workers irrespective of occupation. The workers
have to make no contribution whatever to the social insur-
ance fund; the contributions are paid entirely by the factory
or office managements. Soviet workers are entitled to social
insurance benefit from the first day of employment; there is
no waiting period.
Social insurance benefits are paid in case of temporary
disablement due to sickness or accident; working women
are entitled to maternity benefit for a definite period before
and after childbirth and also to a nursing allowance. The
social insurance fund pays permanent disablement pensions,
old-age pensions, long-service pensions, and pensions to
families which have lost their breadwinner. Benefit. on a
par with sick benefit is paid in cases where circumstances
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require that a worker should stay away from work to look
after a sick member of the family.
The social insurance fund also pays for places for work-
ers at sanatoriums and rest homes, for the organization of
summer camps and sanatoriums for workers' children, and
for special food in those cases when such is prescribed for
medical purposes.
The population receive, at the expense of the state, allow-
ances and grants from the social insurance fund to wage
and salaried workers; pensions from the social main-
tenance fund; accommodation in sanatoriums, rest homes
and child institutions free of charge or at reduced rates; al-
lowances to mothers of large families and unmarried moth-
ers; free medical aid; free education and professional and
trade instruction; students' stipends, and a number of other
payments and privileges. These payments and privileges
received by the population at the expense of the state
amounted to 125,000,000,000 rubles in 1951.
Thus, in the U.S.S.R., the social insurance fund is, to-
gether with other grants and privileges, a substantial addi-
tion to the wages of the workers and other employees.
In 1927, in the interview he gave to the first American
workers' delegation to the U.S.S.R., J. V. Stalin pointed out:
"It will not be superfluous to add also that our workers in
all branches of industry, in addition to their ordinary money
wages, receive benefits equal to about one-third of their
earnings in the form of social insurance, improvement of
living conditions, cultural services, and so on."
Along with the successful development of the Soviet
Union's national economy, the steady increase in the num-
ber of wage and salaried workers and the increase in their
earnings, there is a corresponding annual increase in the
social insurance fund.
During the first five-year plan period, social insurance
expenditures amounted to 10,400,000,000 rubles. In the sec-
ond five-year plan period they increased to 32,500,000,000
rubles. In the first postwar five-year plan period (1946-50),
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the social insurance fund exceeded 80,000,000,000 rubles, not
counting expenditure on medical service for wage and sal-
aried workers and their families.
In 1952, the social insurance fund amounted to
21,400,000,000 rubles.
The five-year plan of. the development of the U.S.S.R.
in 1951-55 provides for a further increase in state expend-
iture on the social insurance of workers and other em-
ployees, which will grow by 30 per cent as against 1950.
Social insurance outlays are to increase in the field of
sanatorium and health-resort services for the working peo-
ple; a much greater number of children will be sent to
Young Pioneer summer camps.
The five-year plan also provides for the extension of the
network of hospitals, dispensaries, maternity homes, sana-
toriums, holiday homes, children's nurseries and kinder-
gartens. Accommodation capacity in hospitals will increase
by not less than 20 per cent, in sanatoriums by 15 per cent,
in holiday homes by 30 per cent, in nurseries by 20 per
cent, in kindergartens by 40 per cent." The number of doc-
tors in the country will grow by not less than 25 per cent
under the five-year plan. Supply of medical equipment to
medical establishments will be improved. Production of
medicines, medical instruments and equipment will increase
by not less than 150 per cent as compared with the
year 1950.
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- Soviet social insurance covers all cases of disablement,
temporary and permanent. Every wage and salaried worker
knows that if he or she falls sick, they will receive a money
allowance from the social insurance fund for the whole pe-
riod of sickness.
For example: in February 1951, M. Serov, a miner at
the Kadala Pit, controlled by the Trans-Baikal State Coal
Trust, fell sick and was absent from work for fourteen days.
For this period he received from the social insurance fund.
the sum of 1,162 rubles 84 kopeks, which was equal to 100%
of his average fortnightly earnings. Sick benefit to the
amount of 100% of average earnings is paid to miners and
to workers in the metallurgical, chemical and certain other
important industries, if they have worked continuously at
the given enterprise for not less than one year. To those
working less than one year, 60% of average earnings
is paid.
Wage and salaried workers in other branches of the na-
tional economy are entitled to sick benefit ranging from
50 to 100% of earnings according to length of employment
at the given plant or office. If the period of employment is
less than three years they are entitled to 50% of earnings.
If the period is three to five years, the rate of sick benefit
rises to 60%; from five to eight years the rate is 80%; if the
period of continuous employment is over eight years,. the
rate of sick benefit is 100% of average earnings.
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Ex-steel mar- Alexander Chaslov and his old friend and
colleague Dmitrir Zhukov are now on pension
r _ r
If a- working* woman's child up to two years.of age falls
sick, the mother is released -from work irrespective. 'of
whether or not some. other member of the'family could'1ook
after the sick child.IWorkers may also be released from work..,
to look after a sick' member of the family if.circumstances
require it; In all.such cases the worker receives;:sick benefit
from the social insurance fund.
Sick benefit is' paid as from the first day of disablement
until complete recovery. If sickness, is . prolonged (4 - to
6 months), full benefit is.paid until a medical commission .
certifies the patient' as incurable. From -that moment he re-
ceives a permaneiit disablement pension:
The wide scale on which, pensions are paid in -the
U.S.S.R. is striking evidence -of the care the Soviet state.,
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displays for the welfare of the people. Every year larger
and larger sums are paid out in pensions.
The Soviet citizen has no fear of being left unprovided for
in old age, permanent disablement, or loss of breadwinner.
-Soviet social insurance provides the workers with pen-'
sions. in case -of, permanent disablement, old age, long serv-
ice, and loss. of breadwinner.
Let us .examine these pensions in greater detail. and .see .
how they are paid out.
All wage and ;salaried workers without exception are
entitled to pensions in case of.. permanent disablement due
to accident at work, occupational disease,, or to any- ordi-
Wage and salaried workers 'permanently disabled as a
result of- accident at work or occupational disease are en-
Pensioner . Vasili Tishkin and his wife Pelageya, on a holiday
at Trade Union Sanatorium No. 22 in Essentuki, have a chat
with school children
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titled to pension irrespective of length of employment, and
this pension is higher than that paid in case of permanent
disablement due to ordinary disease. The amount of the
pension depends upon the.cause of disablement, degree of
disablement (group), branch of the national economy in
which the pensioner was employed, and average earnings
before disablement.
Cause and group of disablement are determined by a
commission consisting of medical experts and representa-
tives of the trade union.
The rules at present in operation divide disabled per-
sons into the following groups:
Group I-those who are completely disabled and need
care.
Group II-those unable to follow their former occupa-
tion or engage in a different occupation.
Group III-those unable to follow their former occupa-
tion-regularly, but able to engage in adifferent occupation.
Those disabled as a result of accident at work or of
occupational disease receive pensions at the following rates
irrespective of branch of national economy in.which they
were employed:
Group I-100% of earnings.
Group II- 75%
Group III 50%
Those disabled as a result of ordinary,{ disease receive
pensions at the following rates according to: branch of na-
tional economy (per cent of earnings):
Group I . . . .
Group II . . .
Group III . . . .
68
48
34
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The 1st category includes wage and salaried workers
engaged in underground work and in other harmful
occupations. The 2nd category includes wage and salaried
workers in the metallurgical, machine-building, electrical
engineering, coal, ore and oil, chemical and rubber
industries, railway and water transport, and industrial
enterprises that produce telegraph, telephone and radio
apparatus. The 3rd category includes all other wage and
salaried workers.
The rate of pensions for permanent disablement due to
ordinary disease for wage and salaried workers over twenty
.years of age is determined by the number of years the pen-
sioner had been at work. The rate for those under twenty is
fixed irrespective of the number of years the pensioner had
been at work.
All wage and salaried workers are entitled to old-age
pensions on reaching a certain age and after having worked
a certain number of years, irrespective of their fitness for
work or state of health. Men are entitled to old-age pen-
sions on reaching the age of 60 and after having worked
twenty-five years. Women are entitled to such pensions on
reaching the age of 55 and after having worked twenty
years.
Workers, engineers and technicians in the coal, metal-
lurgical and chemical industries, and in a number of other
branches of the national economy, are entitled to old-age
pension on reaching the age of fifty, and having worked for
twenty years.
Wage and salaried workers in the' coal, metallurgical
and oil industries, the transport and communications serv-
ices and other major industries are granted old-age pen-
sions at the rate of 50 to 60% of their pay.
Old-age pensioners who continue to work receive their
pensions irrespective of their earnings.
When a wage or salaried worker dies, his dependents
are entitled to a pension. The amount of the pension is
based on the number of members of the family - who are
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In a home. for aged. persons at'the Orekhovb Textile Mill.
Here are old textilejworkers, pensioners,-Anna Azhkova (left)
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eligible for such pension, and varies from 50 to 125% of the
pension which the breadwinner would have received had
he been a Group II invalid.
Continuous employment pensions are paid to persons
employed in the educational system, doctors, pharmacists,
zootechnicians and veterinary surgeons, and several other
categories of persons, upon completion of 25 to 30 years of
work in their particular field. For instance, teachers are
paid continuous employment pensions amounting to 40%
of their salary; zootechnicians and veterinary surgeons re-
ceive continuous employment pensions amounting to 50%
of their salary. As in the case of old-age pensions, continu-
ous employment pensions are paid out irrespective of the
earnings of those who go on working.
When a person belonging to these categories dies, part
of the pension is paid to the not able-bodied or aged mem-
bers of the family. The widow or widower receives one half
of the full amount of the pension, while each of the other
members of the family receives one quarter of the full
amount of the pension.
In addition to paying pensions, the state takes measures
to provide pensioners with employment commensurate with
their state of health and also with cultural and other serv-
ices. Pensioners also enjoy other privileges. There are
homes, maintained entirely by the state, for disabled and
aged persons who have nobody to care for them.
The following, for example, is related by F. Kalugina,
an old-age pensioner, 78 years old, formerly employed at the
Pyotr Alexeyev Textile Mill in Moscow, and now living in the
home of aged working women organized at that enterprise:
"I am an old textile worker. Under the tsar I lived in
dire poverty and degradation. Since the millowners and
landlords were overthrown my life has been a happy one,
and in my old age I am free from care and worry.
"We old folks here are quite a happy family, living in
cleanliness and comfort. We cannot be grateful enough to
our Soviet Government and to Comrade Stalin for all this
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-the good food and- clothing, the bright, clean; warm
rooms, with comfortable furniture-couches, wardrobes,
sideboards, carpets, flowers-everything one could wish for."
In former Russia things were entirely different.
Anna Maximovna Pavelyeva, a veteran worker at the
Krasny Bogatyr Plant, relates the following:
"Happily, our children and grandchildren are not ex-
periencing' the burdens and privation that we old workers
had to put up with in the old days before the Revolution.
If any of us fell sick we dragged ourselves to work just the
same. What else could we do? We got no assistance when
we were sick, and if we stayed away from work for more
than a couple of days we lost our jobs. The old people had
a particularly hard time. If a worker became too old to
work there was nothing left for him to do but go begging.
Nobody helped him,, neither the state nor the factory owner
for whom he had sacrificed his strength."
These words, spoken from the heart, vividly reflect the
inhuman and unbearable conditions of the working people
of tsarist Russia.
This life of torment and suffering was swept away
forever in October 1917. The Great October Socialist Rev-
olution, which established the Soviet regime in Russia, gave
the working people not only freedom, but also material
benefits, the possibility of leading a prosperous and cul-
tured life.
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The Constitution of the U.S.S.R. guarantees the work-
ing people not only the right to work, but. also the right
to rest and leisure.
The right to rest and leisure is ensured by the establish-
ment of an eight-hour working day, and for certain occu-
pations a seven-, six- and four-hour day, by annual vaca-
tions with full pay for factory and office workers, and by
the provision for the working people of a wide network-of
sanatoriums, rest homes, palaces of culture, recreation clubs
and parks, stadiums, etc.
Annual vacations last from 12 to 48 working days, ac-
cording to nature of occupation.
Certain categories of workers engaged in underground
jobs in the mining industry, as well as' persons employed
in the iron and steel and nonferrous metals industries, the
transport services, and the oil, chemical, printing and cer-
tain other industries, are granted vacations lasting from.
18 to 48 working days.
Scientific workers at research institutes receive an an-
nual vacation of 24, 36 or 48 working days.
Members of the teaching staff at elementary, secondary
and higher schools receive an annual vacation of 48 work-
ing days.
All workers directly engaged in production in the basic
industries (metallurgical, coal and ore mining, oil, textile,
the transport services, large construction jobs, etc.) are
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entitled to an additional three days' annual vacation after
two years of work at one enterprise.
Persons in need of sanatorium treatment receive an ad-
ditional vacation for the period necessary for their stay at
the sanatorium and the trip there and back. This vacation
is paid out of the social insurance fund.
Out of the social insurance fund the Soviet trade unions
provide working people with places at sanatoriums or rest
homes either free of charge or at a reduced fee not exceed-
ing 30% of the normal price of places at such resorts. For
example, if a fortnight's stay at a rest home costs 240 rubles,
the workers and office employees pay only 72 rubles; the
rest is paid by the trade union committee at the given en-
terprise or office.
In the Soviet Union sanatoriums and rest homes are
within the reach of every wage or salaried worker. A visit
to a health resort is a common event in the life of every
Soviet family. Four-fifths of all sanatorium accommodation
which are acquired by the trade unions with money from
the social insurance fund are provided to wage and salaried
workers at 30% of the cost, and one-fifth is provided free of
charge. Of the places at rest homes, 90% are provided at
30% of cost and 10% free of charge.
. Every year, millions of Soviet people rest and recuper-
ate at numerous sanatoriums and rest homes and return
to their creative, constructive work with fresh vigour.
The Soviet Union is exceptionally rich in natural facil-
ities for the creation of mountain, seaside and other health
and holiday resorts. Numerous sanatoriums and rest homes
are situated in the most picturesque parts of the country-
on the Black Sea and Baltic coasts, on the plains of the
Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, in the Caucasian
mineral water region, in the Urals, and on the banks and
shores of rivers and lakes in the Moscow Region.
A big health resort centre is Sochi, with its sanatoriums
and rest homes stretching along the Black Sea coast for
a distance of more than 25 kilometres. Annually they
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accommodate some 100,000 working people. Hydrogen sul-
phide springs and a number of balneological establishments
are situated in the valley of the Matsesta River, eleven
kilometres from the town of Sochi. These springs are effec-
tive in the treatment of chronic ailments of the locomotive
organs, cardiovascular diseases, diseases of the peripheral
nervous system, gynecological, skin and metabolism ail-
ments, and other diseases. The mild sea climate, helio-
therapy, sea-water baths and sea bathing are also valu-
able curative agents at this resort.
Kislovodsk is one of the major watering places in the
Caucasian spa group. Its chief curative agent is the Narzan
carbon-dioxide waters, which are employed both for balneo-
therapeutics and for drinking cures. Cardiovascular and
nervous ailments are effectively treated at this resort.
Another Caucasian resort is Zheleznovodsk, with 20
mineral springs effective in the treatment of diseases of the
digestive organs. Medicinal muds are also employed for
treatment here.
In addition to the numerous health resorts of national
importance in the Caucasus and on the Black Sea and Bal-
tic coasts, there is in the Soviet Union a wide network of
local health and holiday resorts, and their number is stead-
ily growing.
For example, there is Tskhaltubo, the Georgian resort
famous for its radioactive springs which are employed in
the treatment of ailments of the locomotive organs, the peri-
pheral nervous system, cardiovascular diseases, and gyne-
cological and skin diseases. New sanatoriums were built
here in 1951-for the miners, railwaymen and oil men.
Darasun. away in the east, is rich in carbon-dioxide
springs, and is a second Kislovodsk. In the Kazakh S.S.R.,
26 kilometres from Alma Ata, the capital of the republic,
there is a mountain health resort, Alma Arosan, where there
are numerous hot springs. ,
The health resort Ust-Kachka, near the city of Molotov
in the Urals, is justly called the "Urals Matsesta." The
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At a seaside rest home .near Riga
Siberian. and Far-Eastern health resorts have also become'
famous.
There are health resorts run by the trade unions around
Moscow and in a number of central districts. Besides -those
belonging, to the ;trade unions there is a Wide network of
sanatoriums and holiday homes run by the Union and re
publican: health protection ministries of the U.S.S.R. Other
.ministries and institutions have their own health resorts.
Many sanatoriums and holiday homes belong to' the larger
enterprises.
Last year' new health resorts were opened in the Ka-
zakh, Uzbek and Latvian Soviet 'Socialist Republics and
in- the -Krasnoyarsk Territory. The beautiful Bilgya Rest.
Home has been erected on the.shore,of, the. Caspian Sea.
The trade unions. aree-,mak'ing.,co,nsiderabl'e extensions to
4-135 21
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their existing network of health and holiday resorts _for the
working people..
A striking. example of health resort development is pro-
vided by the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic.
Georgia has. long been famous for her health resorts,
but planned health resort development was started only
after the Soviet regime was established. In .1913 there were
only 5 sanatoriums in. Georgia; in 1952, there were. 102.
In Tbilisi, the capital of the republic, a public-bath has
been built in the sulphur hot springs district. Extensive
work has been carried out to develop the rich hydrore-
sources of the health resorts at Ukhneti, Kojori, Manglisi,-
Kiketi, Borzhomi, Abastumani, Gagra and Kobuleti..
The Soviet sanatoriums are equipped with the latest
medical apparatus, -X-ray, physiotherapeutic- and medical,
physical culture departments and diagnosis laboratories,
Coal miners'. House of Culture in Kras>iy Luch
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In the' night sanktoriu,n of 'the Calibre Works, Moscow
Diverse bath and mud treatments, medicinal dieting.-'and
vitamin therapeutics are extensively employed.
As part of its constant. concern for the people's health
and rest, the Soviet Government devotes much attention to
building specialized -sanatoriums not only din the Caucasus
and the Crimea, but also in many industrial sections of the
country. These sanatoriums are built to provide the work-
ers and other employees with various treatment facilities.
For .example, it has established the Barnaul general therapy
sanatorium, which conducts mud treatment, a sanatorium
in Voronezh Region for patients suffering, from digestive
ailments; in Gorky,"Region, a sanatorium providing.; bath
and mud cures for diseases of the peripheral and central
nervous systems; a general therapy sanatorium in Ivanovb,
Region,'- and. so on -and so- forth. The curative methods and
equipment of these specialized sanatoriums, which-'a're to
23
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be found in almost every region are on a par with those at
the Caucasian resorts.
Take, for example, the sanatorium at Monino, near Mos-'
cow, one of the numerous sanatoriums situated in the cen-'
tral region of our country. This sanatorium provides treat-
ment for heart and nerve complaints.
It is equipped with all the necessary apparatus for
making quick and exact diagnosis. It has a staff of phy-
sicians and visiting consultants who have at their disposal,
an excellently, equipped clinical and biochemical laboratory,
an X-ray department with the most up-to-date apparatus,
and a functional diagnostics department. Improved meth-
ods of X-ray examination-kyniography and orthodiography
-are-employed, making possible a more exact diagnosis of
- heart complaints, so that a thorough examination of the
patient can be completed within two days after his arrival.
If the doctor prescribes it, the patient can take a course of
radioactive, hydrosulphide or carbon-dioxide baths, or of
.medical shower baths. Peat, paraffin and ozocerite treat-
ment is widely used. There is a special veranda for aero-
therapy. The medical staff conducts extensive research
work.
Every year 2,775 patients visit the Monino sanatorium.
We shall mention another of the numerous trade union
sanatoriums, the Zeleny Mys (Green Cape), situated on the
Caucasian coast of the Black sea, near Batumi.
This sanatorium, which is open all the year round, is
.a regular "health factory," equipped with all the resources
of modern medical science. The dormitories are roomy and
comfortable, sunny and abound with fresh sea air.
The working people who visit these rest homes and san-
atoriums are loud in their appreciation of the benefit and
pleasure they derive from them.
For example, in the summer of 1951, 'Maria Zhuravlyo-
,va, a weaver at the Tryokhgornaya Textile Mill, stayed,at a
sanatorium in Sochi. In a letter from there to her friends
she wrote:
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On the grounds of a Moscozm one-day rest home
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"Greetings from Sochi, dear fellow workers. I am rest-
ing at a sanatorium in Sochi. The sanatorium is right on
the seashore. All of us here receive the best of care from
the medical staff. The food is excellent and all the better for
its variety. The place is surrounded with palm, oleander
and cypress trees, there are flowers everywhere. And there
is the wonderful blue sea!
"I have put on plenty of weight. When I return to the
factory, I'm sure you won't recognize me."
Thousands of other letters of a similar kind are received
from workers and office employees who have stayed at sana-
toriums and rest homes.
No less appreciative are the opinions about Sochi ex-
pressed by foreign delegations that have visited the Soviet
Union.
For example, the Marseilles docker Andreani, a member
of the delegation of the French General Confederation of
Labour, said over the radio in November 1951:
"We visited the Sochi health resort in the Caucasus. If
only you could see this place with your own eyes, com-
rades! There are magnificent palaces, in which Soviet work-
ing people rest. We visited the sanatorium for our Soviet
friends, the miners. They have everything that is needed
for rest and recreation-sports grounds, a library, a cinema,
and so forth."
A British delegation that visited the Soviet Union in
May 1951 said in a statement issued for the press:
"Whilst in Sochi, we stayed at the Red Moscow Sana-
torium which belongs to the All-Union Central Council of
Trade Unions who were our hosts in the Soviet Union. We
inspected the sanatorium for textile workers as well as the
mine workers' sanatorium and we were very impressed with
all three. The food was superb and the people looked happy,
well-fed and rested. Sochi is a workers' paradise."
Four hundred of the largest mills and factories in the
country have what we call night sanatoriums. These are
provided for workers, men and women, who show symp-
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toms of.incipient disease which can be prevented by timely
treatment, or who suffer from a chronic ailment. Patients
stay at these sanatoriums for a month, after working hours.
Here they receive all the medical treatment they need, as
well as excellent meals. Board, lodging and medical treat-
ment are provided either free, of charge or for a nomi-
nal sum.
In all the Union Republics, regions and territories, there
is, in addition to sanatoriums, a wide network of rest homes
run by the trade unions.
Rest homes are provided for healthy people who are not
in need of the special treatments given at health resorts and
sanatoriums. The purpose of these homes is implied in their
name-they are holiday resorts, which' provide workers in
factory or office with healthy and cultured rest and re-
creation.
The rest homes are furnished with recreation rooms,
libraries, boating stations, sports. grounds, grounds for
mass games and dancing and cinemas. Excursions and lec-
tures are arranged, and concerts in which the visitors them-
selves also take part.
A typical rest home is the one near the ancient city of
Kashira, in the Moscow Region. It is a beautiful two-story
house situated on the picturesque bank of the Oka. The rest
home has been functioning for thirty years, and during this
period over 115,000 working people from Moscow have spent
their vacations here.
An excellent means of spending a vacation is provided
by the "floating" sanatoriums and rest homes arranged
on riverboats that run on the Volga, Oka, and other
rivers.
There is, for example, the Gorkovskaya Kommuna, a
boat that runs from Moscow to Astrakhan, on the Volga.
The journey there and back takes twenty-four days. The
boat is furnished with apparatus for physiotherapeutic and
hydro-treatments, a library, recreation rooms, cinema and
so forth. The boat stops at Gorky, Ulyanovsk, Saratov,
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Kuibyshev and Stalingrad, where the passengers cain get off
and see the sights of these cities.
In the suburbs of many of the big industrial centres
there are week-end rest homes, where workers can stay
from Saturday afternoon until Monday morning.
In addition to the ordinary rest homes, there are in the
Soviet Union special rest homes for expectant and nursing
mothers. There are also family rest homes, where a worker
can spend his vacation together with his wife and children.
. The extent to which working people avail themselves of
the facilities provided by the trade union sanatoriums and
rest homes may be seen from the following figures.
In 1946, the number of people visiting sanatoriums and
rest homes at the expense of the social insurance fund was
1,360,000.
In 1950, the number was 2,500,000.
In -1951, the number was 2,700,000.
Hundreds of thousands of workers and students spend
their annual vacations in hiking tours through various
parts of the country. Many thousands of them go mountain
climbing. In districts like the Crimea, the Caucasus, the
-Black Sea coast and the Volga, the trade unions organize
hiking and mountaineering camps for the service of those
who spend their vacations in this way. These camps are
also maintained out of the social insurance fund.
The working people,of the Soviet Union are justly proud
of their sanatoriums and rest homes, which are available
for the broad masses.
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PUBLIC HEALTH
IN THE SOVIET UNION
Illustrative of the Soviet Government's constant con-
cern for the health of the population is the broad and steadi-
ly increasing network of medical establishments-hospi-
tals, clinics, polyclinics and first-aid stations--as well as
medical research institutes, laboratories, and medical
colleges.
In 1951 the U.S.S.R. had more than twice as many doc-
tors as before the war.
The entire population of the Soviet Union enjoys free
medical aid. Various medical aid at the patient's home and
;at clinics and polyclinics, hospital treatment, medical aid
'during childbirth, all types of examinations and tests, as
well as every other form of medical assistance, are accorded
all citizens free of charge, at state expense.
Take the case of N. A. Tyaplina, a woman worker:at the
Moscow Tool Plant. Feeling unwell, she telephoned the dis-
trict polyclinic. Shortly afterwards a car drove up to the
house where Tyaplina lives bringing the ward doctor. 'The
doctor examined the patient, prescribed treatment arid medi-
cine and made out a "certificate of temporary disablement,"
or "bulletin" as it is called. The bulletin entitles the patient
to be released from work until the doctor certifies that
she is fit for work again. It also entitles her to sick,benefit
from the social insurance fund during the, period. of they
illness:
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At the first-aid station of the llyich Colliery in the Donbas
The ward doctor can be called home for any member of
the worker's family. The doctor's visits are free of charge.
Each doctor is attached to a particular ward in the district
so that he becomes familiar with its inhabitants, can watch
their health, and often give timely advice which helps to
avert or check incipient ailments.
In addition to the district polyclinics, the health of
the workers is cared for by the medical staffs that are
30
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Quartz-lamp. treatment at the Orekhovo Textile Mill
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employed in all large Soviet enterprises. These doctors
study the conditions of life and work of the workers and
also the technological processes of the work carried on at
the given plant; they also see to it that the sanitary and
hygienic conditions in the shops are kept up to the proper
standard.
In large plants there are medical-sanitary departments
which coordinate the activities of the factory hospital, the
factory polyclinic, the shop medical centres, the night sana-
torium and the special diet dining room.
As a rule, the factory polyclinics are divided into a
therapeutical and surgical department and provide medical
advice and treatment for all complaints; they are furnished
with X-ray apparatus, clinical-diagnostical laboratories,
physio-therapeutic apparatus and a dental department. The
medical staffs of these polyclinics also serve the inhabitants
of the adjacent workers' settlements.
The staff of the shop medical centre serves the workers
in the given shop. All workers in harmful occupations,
young persons, men who were wounded in the war, expect-
ant mothers, and certain other categories of workers under-
go compulsory periodical medical examination.
The aim of the public health service in the Soviet Union
is not only to heal sickness, but also to prevent it, to create
conditions that will preclude the possibility of sickness. As
a result of the improvement in the standard of living of the
people and of the exemplary organization of the public
health service there is a steady decline of sickness in the
U.S.S.R.
State assignments for the protection of public health
increase year after year. In 1946, the sum of 14,800,000,000
rubles was assigned in the State Budget for this purpose;
the sum assigned in 1952 for health protection and physical
culture is 22,800,000,000 rubles.
The Great October Socialist Revolution brought about
a radical improvement of the health services, in all the non-
Russian republics of the U.S.S.R.
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[ L :'L" 'job
Elena Dronova, crane, operator, at the Kharkov Tracto l Plant;t
is taking a course of treatment-in' the i~iatei and M I bath
clinic built recently at the plant
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In the region that is now the Azerbaijan Soviet Social-
ist Republic, for example, there was no skilled medical
service at all in the rural districts before 1917. At the pres-
ent time there are over 6,000 village doctors and numerous
country hospitals.
In 1917, in Turkmenistan there was hospital accommo-
dation for only 66 persons, 7 dispensaries and 16 doctors
to serve a population of 415,000. In the capital, Ashkhabad,
at that time, there was hospital accommodation for 26 per-
sons and only one bed was set aside for inhabitants of the
Ashkhabad rural district.
Since the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic was estab-
lished a large number of medical centres have been set up,
both urban and rural. At the present time there are 1,500
certified doctors in the republic, over 6,000 doctors' assist-
ants and nurses, 95 professors and 100 medical research
workers.
Medical aid of every kind, including the most high-
ly specialized, is provided. Since 1940, hospital accommoda-
tion has increased nearly 50%.
There is a Medical Institute in the republic for training
medical personnel, chiefly from among the Turkmen people.
In the vast territory that is now the Kirghiz Soviet So-
cialist Republic there was, before the October Revolution,
hospital accommodation for only 100 persons, and there
were only 16 doctors and several assistants. The sum spent
by the tsarist government on the medical service in this
region amounted to 30 kopeks per head of the population
per annum.
The work of organizing a real public health service was
started in the very first days after the Soviet regime was
established in Kirghizia. Hospitals were built in the rural
districts as well as in the towns, and the first mother and
-infant welfare centres were set up in the towns. At the pres-
ent time there are hundreds of hospitals and thousands of
doctors and trained nurses in the republic. The Medical In-
stitute founded in the city of Frunze not so long ago already
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The polyclinic at the Hammer and Sickle Mill in Kharkov has
outfitted a sun-lamp' department
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has 1,700 graduates. In every region there are-now skilled
specialists in the various branches of medicine.
The inhabitant of any remote mountain district of the
republic, wherever he may be, in his village or in the pas!!
tures, can receive skilled medical assistance whenever
he requires it. Doctors as well as medical consultants,
professors and docents, from the capital often make flights
to remote districts in planes of the aviation medical
service.
Of immense assistance in the solution of the problems
that face the Soviet public health authorities are the scien,
tific research institutes that have been set up everywhere. In
the Georgian S.S.R., for example, there are fourteen insti-
tutes of this kind, in which members and corresponding'
members of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the
U.S.S.R., 83 professors and over 600 docents, assistants and
Candidates of Medical Science are engaged.
An active part in the development of the Soviet public
health service is played by the trade unions. They promote
the extension of factory polyclinics, dispensaries, hospitals
and medical centres and systematically supervise the work
of these institutions in order to keep the medical service for
the workers at a constantly high level. This supervision is
exercised through active members of the trade unions, so-
cial insurance councils, and insurance delegates.
We quote- below the opinion about the medical service
provided for Soviet workers expressed by a Canadian trade
union delegation that visited the Soviet Union in Septem-
ber-October 1951. In the report on its visit to the Soviet
Union the delegation stated:
"The most striking thing in the factories, however, is
the degree of service and attention given workers, and their
families in the way of medical attention. This attention
covers all industrial accidents and sickness. It is entirely
free for every worker. Every factory, mine; or mill has a
clinic that is equipped for any emergency.These clinics
are staffed with, doctors, nurses..and all the equipment that
36
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you would find in a fair-sized hospital in Canada. Not only
has the worker free access to this, but also anyone of his
family. Of course, the members of the worker's family can
receive free medical service at their district polyclinic and
hospital.... If a Soviet worker is run down and needs a
rest, he can receive a place at a sanatorium or rest home.
These sanatoriums are in no way inferior, and most of
them, as regards equipment and in other respects, are
superior to the majority of our health resorts. This great
attention to the health of the worker is not confined to a
few plants. You even find such facilities in the outlying
lumber camps and on the collective farms."
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MOTHER AND CHILD CARE
In the Soviet Union, women, for the first time in the
history of human society, enjoy equal rights with men.
. The Constitution of the U.S.S.R. not only accords wom-
en equal rights .with men in all spheres of economic, gov-
ernment, cultural and political life, but ensures them real
possibilities of exercising these rights.
The Soviet Constitution says:
"Women in the U.S.S.R. are accorded equal rights with
men in all spheres of economic, government, cultural, po-
litical and other public activity.
"The possibility of exercising these rights is ensured by
women being accorded an equal right with men to work,
payment for work, rest and leisure, social insurance and
education, and by state protection of the interests of mother
and child, state aid to mothers of large families and unmar-
ried mothers, maternity leave with full pay, and the provi-
sion of a wide network of maternity homes, nurseries and
kindergartens."
Women in the U.S.S.R. play an extremely important
role in the national economy. Millions of women are work-
ing devotedly in field, factory and office, improving their
skill in handling up-to-date machines and appliances and
mastering advanced methods of production. Soviet women
have every opportunity to learn any trade or profession
they please. Over a million women are studying in higher
educational establishments and technical schools.
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Moscow, at the bedside of a young mother
Women in the U.S.S.R:=take an active` part,in. promoting
the-development of Soviet science-and culture;,over two and
a half million women are working-in the various scientific,
educational and cultural institutions-'in the Soviet Union.
-Tens,'.-of -thousands are.working in.universities, and scien-
tific, research institutes, enriching Soviet science with new
researches and discoveries.
. There. are over a million women; sch6oltea chers in the-. ?
Soviet,Union, and an equal number of "women are engaged
in' the._public' health.;' service. Since 1940,,.the number of
women-doctors more than doubled. - ,
Soviet -women, ar`eable_.?to take.such'an active part. in'.
the4nat-ional economy and;, in ? promoting'the development
of science and culture because conditions have been created
in the Soviet Union which ease women's "task 'in' caring,
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Working and professional women are able to put their
children in day nurseries or kindergartens which, as a rule,
are situated near their place of work. They have to pay only
a small part of the cost of the maintenance of their chil-
dren at these institutions, the bulk of the cost being borne
by the state. In the nurseries and kindergartens the chil-
dren are well looked after and receive nourishing food and
medical attention.
The network of children's institutions, such as nurseries,
kindergartens and pioneer camps in the Soviet Union is
expanding year after year. The nurseries, kindergartens and
children's homes wholly maintained by.the state cater for
about two million children. The law lays it down that fac-
fory managements must provide day nurseries with -accom-
modation for twelve infants and kindergartens with accom-
modation for fifteen children.for every hundred women em-
ployed in the given factory. When dwelling houses are
erected, no less than 5% of the total floor space is set aside
for day nurseries and kindergartens.
In the summer children's homes, kindergartens and
nurseries move out into the country, and children's
sanatoriums, pioneer camps and tourist camps are or-
ganized for school children during the summer vacation.
In 1951, over 5,000,000 children spent the summer in the
country.
Expectant mothers receive special service during preg-
nancy and childbirth in addition to all other forms of medi-
cal service. In the U.S.S.R. there is a wide network of mater-
nity homes and medical consulting rooms for mothers and
children.
The Soviet state glorifies motherhood and bestows on
mothers public honour.
Three and a half million women have been awarded the
Motherhood Glory Order and the Motherhood Medal. Over
35,000 women proudly wear the Gold Star of the -Mother
Heroine that is awarded to mothers who have reared ten
and more children.
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In the kindergarten at the Kochegarka Colliery in Gorlovka,
Stalino Region
The care-the Soviet state devotes to mothers and chil-
dren is also demonstrated by the special grants and allow-
ances that are paid to mothers of large families and to. un-
married mothers.
The payment of grants to mothers of large families was
first introduced in the U.S.S.R. in 1936. 'On July 8, 1944,
the Supreme Soviet of the U.S.S.R. passed an act provid-
ing for "an increase in state assistance to expectant moth-
ers, mothers of large families and unmarried mothers, for.
increasing mother and child care services, for the institu-
tion. of' the honourable title 'of Mother Heroine, and for
awarding -the Motherhood Glory Order and the Motherhood
Medal." The grants and allowances paid to mothers of large
families and to unmarried mothers run into large sums
every year.' Since the time the above-mentioned act was
passed -the total sum paid for this purpose has amounted
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to over 20,000,000,000 rubles; in "1951 alone it amounted to
6,000,000,000 rubles.
Until 1944, mothers of large families received grants,
which were paid only on the birth of the seventh, eighth,
ninth, etc., child. Now the grants are paid on the birth of
the third and every additional child, which, of course, great-
ly increases the number of mothers entitled to these grants.
Besides, by its Act of July 8, 1944, the Supreme Soviet of
the U.S.S.R. provided for the payment of monthly allow-
ances to mothers of large families in addition to the mater-
nity grant which had been paid hitherto.
These monthly allowances. are paid until the child
reaches the age of five. On the birth of the next child the
mother receives a grant and a monthly allowance for it,
while continuing to receive the monthly allowance for the
previous child until it reaches the age of five.
Take Mother Heroine Ludmila Timonkina of Moscow:
in the course of five years she received a total sum of 63,000
rubles. Mother Heroine Anna Krupnik, a worker at a ma-
chine-building plant in Moscow, received over 42,000 ru-
bles. Elizaveta Ivanovskaya, a schoolteacher in Zamostoch,
Minsk Region, has eleven children; since 1945 she has re-
ceived a total of 40,000 rubles from the state and continues
to receive an allowance of 400 rubles per month. Matrena
Loshchinova, of the city of Frunze, a mother of ten chil-
dren, has during the past three years received a total of
40,000 rubles. Mother Heroine Maria Mikhalikova, a worker
at the Charvodar State Farm in the Tajik S.S.R., who has
reared twelve children, has received grants and allowances
amounting to 80,000 rubles.
If the mother of a large family who gives birth to an-
other child is a factory or office worker, or the wife of a
factory or office worker, she receives in addition to the
state maternity grant, an extra grant from the social insur-
ance fund of 120 rubles for purchasing the nursery require-
ments for her newborn child and also a nursing grant of
180 rubles.
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A nursery for children of employees of the Moscow
underground railway
The Soviet laws ensure the protection of female labour,
of the rights of the working mother, and of motherhood and
infancy.
The law makes it obligatory for factory or office manage-
ments to put women employees expecting to become mothers
on lighter and more convenient work if necessary, and their
pay must remain the same as they received before.
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In general, the Soviet labour laws prohibit the em-
ployment of women on heavy work or work dangerous to
health. There is a special list of occupations in which the
employment of female labour is prohibited, and the weights
women are allowed to lift and carry in the course of their
work are strictly limited.
In the gravest period in the history of the Soviet Union
the Soviet Government- found it possible to- improve the
conditions of working mothers. The above-mentioned act
passed on July 8, 1944, in the most intense period of the war,
provided for an increase in the maternity leave for factory
and office women workers from 63 to 77 calendar days,..
namely, 35 days before and 42 days after childbirth, with
full pay for the whole period to be paid out of the social
insurance fund. In cases of abnormal childbirth, or of
the birth of twins, postnatal leave is extended to 56 calen-
dar days.
Where a nursing mother, on returning to work after her
maternity leave is unable to perform her former duties in
factory or office, she must be put on other work in the same
factory or' office, and irrespective of the grade of the new
work she is put on, she receives her former pay during
the whole period she nurses her child (approximately for
one year).
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HAPPY CHILDHOOD
Children in the Soviet Union are the objects of universal
care and affection. The road of life, the road to a bright and
joyous future lies open before them. Before them lies the
prospect of free creative labour for the benefit of their coun-
try and of the whole of mankind.
The Soviet state stints no resources for the upbringing
of the younger generation. In 1951 alone, the state spent
59,000,000,000 rubles on education.
Universal seven-year education is now the rule all over
the country. During the first postwar five-year plan period
a large number of new elementary, seven-year, and middle
schools as well as technical schools of all kinds have been
built. The number of children attending school increased by
8,000,000 during this period, and in 1950, reached 37, 000,000.
The fifth five-year plan for the development of the U.S.S.R.
in 1951-55 provides for an increase in the building of
schools of 70 per cent.over the preceding five years. By the
end of the period covered by the plan universal seven-year
education will be supplanted by universal secondary (ten-
year) education in the large cities and the conditions will
be prepared for its country-wide implementation in the fol-
lowing five-year plan period. Besides, in order further to
enhance the socialist educational merits of the general
school and to provide secondary school graduates with the
opportunity of freely choosing among the professions, poly-
technical schooling will be introduced in the ten-year
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schools and the ground will be laid for the transition to uni-
versal polytechnical education.
There has been an extensive development in the Soviet
Union of preschool education. As we have already stated,
about 2,000,000 children attend day nurseries and kinder-
gartens during the time their mothers are at work.
The Soviet state takes paternal care of orphans. Orphan
children are maintained in children's homes. When they are
old enough they attend school and later apprenticeship or
technical schools. They are kept on full maintenance by the
state until they can independently earn their livelihood.
Every year the Soviet state spends several billions of
rubles on the maintenance of children's institutions.
What are the kindergartens like?
They are organized in clean, bright, well-furnished prem-
ises, supplied with all that is needed for the children's
entertainment and instruction. The children are under the
constant care of trained teachers and nurses and receive
medical attention. They receive nourishing food. They play
games, go for walks in neighbouring parks, learn to sing,
to draw and to dance. In the summer, they move out into
the country.
We have also mentioned the sanatoriums and pioneer
camps organized for school children during the summer
vacation. In these camps the pleasures of country life are
combined with useful instruction.
Take, for example, the pioneer camp organized near
Moscow by the Krasnoye Znamya Textile Mill for the chil-
dren of their workers. It is situated in the grounds of an
ancient mansion. Large, bright dormitories, the dining
room and recreation rooms for rainy days are provided in a
two-story building. All the time the children are at the camp
they are under the supervision of experienced teachers
and doctors, and their activities are arranged to suit their
age groups. They spend most of their time in the grounds
or in the surrounding countryside. They go bathing in the
nearby river, take sun and air baths, roam in the woods,
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District.children's' doctor L. Smirnova visits one of her
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play football, volleyball, and other games; they organize
chess tournaments, dramatic, choir and art circles, natural-
ists' and anglers' circles, photography and radio circles;
they make mineral collections and herbariums, which they
bring to school when they return home. The children get
four nourishing meals a day. There are concert perform-
ances, amateur talent evenings, film shows, sports contests
and hikes and excursions. Altogether, they have a merry
and instructive time.
The parents pay less than a third of the cost of main-
tenance per child. The rest is paid by the trade union out
of the social insurance fund. One-tenth of the places in the
camp are provided free of charge for children whose fathers
were killed in the Patriotic War and also for children of
disabled war veterans and for children of large families.
The camp opens at the beginning of June and closes at
the end of August. The children come in two batches, each
staying 40 days. In 1951, eight hundred children spent a
holiday at the camp.
In 1925, the Artek Pioneer Camp was founded, a splen-
did children's health resort at the foot of Mount Ayu-Dag,
on the Crimean coast. Every year 12,000 boys and girls
from all parts of the Soviet Union spend a holiday at this
summer camp.
Pioneer country homes have achieved well-deserved pop-
ularity in the Soviet Union as a splendid means of educat-
ing children and strengthening their health during the sum-
mer vacation.
These country homes are organized by the trade union
committees in conjunction with the management of the
given factory or office. Since the war the trade unions
throughout the country have sent over 13,500,000 children
to such camps, meeting the cost out of the social insur-
ance fund.
In 1951 the trade unions spent 700,000,000 rubles out
of the social insurance fund for the maintenance, improve-
ment and equipment of pioneer camps. Besides, large sums
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In. the kindergarten at an iron and steel mill in. Krivoi Rog
are spent from the social insurance fund for the organiza-
tion of extra-school activities for children.
In the Soviet Union wide opportunities exist for the de-
velopment of children's talent and for the satisfaction of
their diverse requirements and interests.
Extra-school activities are conducted by more than 1,000
Pioneer Palaces and Pioneer Halls, 400 young technicians'.
centres, 230 young naturalists' centres, and 140 children's
and puppet theatres. There is also a ramified network of
children's music, art and sports schools.
These institutions give Soviet children the opportunity
to supplement the knowledge they obtain at school and to
develop their capabilities and talent to the utmost. -
The trade unions show deep concern for children, plac-
ing at their disposal, for extra-school activities, the net-
work of cultural establishments, stadiums and athletic fields
which they maintain.
h
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In recent years the trade union cultural clubs and
Houses and Palaces of Culture have set up some 1,500
children's departments and juvenile science and mechanics
centres. Four hundred thousand boys and girls attend var-
ious art, technical and other 'circles at trade union clubs.
More than 1,000 children's libraries and children's depart-
ments at libraries for adults have been opened. The trade
union libraries number among their steady readers more
than 1,200,000 children.
Many clubs have established close contacts with schools
and parents and teachers. On Sundays and holidays they
arrange concerts, plays and film shows, literary eve-
nings, discussions of books, and meetings with promi-
nent men and women of the land. During the winter school
vacations clubs hold New Year parties for children, as well
as excursions, ski outings and sports competitions. The
spring school vacations are marked by a Juvenile Liter-
ature Week, with literary get-togethers with writers and
artists. In 1951 more than 81,000,000 children took part in
these various activities.
Here, for example, is a brief account of the extra-school
activities arranged by the Metallurgical Workers' Palace of
Culture in the city of Magnitogorsk, in the Urals. This
palace is highly popular among both adults and children.
There is a children's library, Sunday lectures are arranged
for children, there is a Young Historians' Club, there are
16 art-training circles and 35 technical, sports and other
circles attended by 1,500 children. These circles are con-
ducted by the best instructors in Magnitogorsk. About 700
children attend the 33 young technicians' circles. There are
radio-technicians' circles, shipbuilding, electrical engineer-
ing, photography, thermal engineering, bookbinding, phys-
ics, chemistry, naturalists' and carpenters' circles. There
are an electrical engineering laboratory, photographer's
dark room, and aircraft-model, mechanic's and carpenter's
workshops.
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Thousandsr of boys and girls spend their summer vacation in-the
Crimea, on the Black Sea. Photo shows a group of children in
a Crimean sanatorium
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The workshops are furnished with wood-turning and
metal-turning lathes, drills, electric saws (strip and cir-
cular), electric grinding and polishing lathes, carpen-
ters' benches, a mechanic's vice and all kinds of tools.
There is a permanent exhibition of models made by the
children.
The trade unions show constant concern for the upbring-
ing of a healthy, strong and happy young generation. Such
a happy childhood can be obtained only in a country where
the people rule.
In the U.S.S.R., social insurance is built on a genuinely
democratic basis. The entire social insurance scheme is man-
aged by the trade unions, by the working people themselves.
The social insurance fund is, as we have said, made up
of contributions paid by factory and office managements.
The contributions paid by the factory and office manage-
ments are passed on to the central committees of the respec-
tive trade unions, and the latter endorse the social insur-
ance expenditure estimates of the factory or office trade
union committees.
The expenditure of social insurance funds in the Soviet
Union is under the constant public supervision of the work-
ing people. Over 1,500,000 active trade unionists, 50% of
whom are women, conduct social insurance activities at
their place of work. They are not paid for this work, done
in off hours. Their active participation ensures the proper
expenditure of social insurance funds for the greatest bene-
fit of the working people.
At all factories and offices the workers elect by open
vote social insurance councils, which determine the extent
of sick and other benefits, see that workers receive proper
medical attention, issue certificates for medical dieting, and
distribute places in rest homes and sanatoriums among the
workers and in pioneer camps for their children.
The social insurance councils work under the direction
52
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of the factory or office trade union committees and they
give account of their activities to general meetings of the
workers.
Reports on expenditure of social insurance funds are
periodically published in the factory or office newspapers
and posted up in the various shops for the' information of
all the .workers.
To illustrate how the social insurance councils operate
we shall quote the example of the Ordjonikidze Machine-
Building Plant in the Urals. An important place in its ac-
tivities is occupied by the question of preventing 'disease.
This:.is natural; for the prevention of sickness is one of the
principal functions of the social insurance council at every
factory. and office.
At the Urals Machine-Building Plant, for example, the
doctors not only receive patients at the polyclinic, but watch
the health of every worker in the shop. The workers under-
go periodical medical examination, and.if necessary a course
of treatment is prescribed or accommodation at a sanatorium
is provided.
The. conditions of labour of the. Soviet workers are under
constant medical supervision. The doctor reports his find-
ings to the social insurance council which sees to it that the
necessary. measures are taken to prevent sickness or ac-
cidents.
In the autumn of 1951, the social insurance council at
the Urals Machine-Building Plant heard the report of the
manager of the steel-rolling shop on the measures he
had taken to -reduce. sickness in his shop. Reports had
shown that there-had lately.been a.slight increase:.in colds
in.section four of this shop..The social. insurance.council -had
appointed a subcommittee to'investigate the.causes of this
and.-now had its report before it.: Basing itself on the find-
ings of the: subcommittee; the "social insurance council. in-
structed the shop manager and the plant manager to take
immediate measures to remove the causes indicated in-the
report.
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It is easier to prevent illness than to cure it. Working to
this principle, the social insurance council at the Urals
Machine-Building Plant draws up a yearly plan of health-
promoting and sanitary measures and sees to it that this
plan is carried out.
The social insurance council arranges regular lectures
and talks in the shops on the prevention of sickness and
accidents. Every shop doctor delivers at least three or four
lectures or talks per month, explaining in popular language
the measures to be taken to prevent this or that illness.
An important part in the work of the social insurance
council is played by the insurance delegates who are elect-
ed by open vote at a general trade union meeting in each
shop. The insurance delegates visit sick workers and see to
it that they get whatever assistance they need.
In all the shops and departments of enterprises and in-
stitutions having their trade union committees, social insur-
ance commissions are set up, which number from 3 to 9 per-
sons from among the members of the committee and in-
surance delegates. In accordance with existing legislation
these commissions grant and determine the extent of allow-
ances to the temporarily disabled workers and employees
of their shop, work to reduce sickness and accidents, and
supervise the activities of the insurance delegates. The shop
commissions send the workers and employees to sanato-
riums and holiday homes and their children to children's
institutions and Young Pioneer summer camps, and help
applicants for pensions to receive what is due to them.
. There are many insurance delegates who perform their
duties so well that they are re-elected year after year. Such
a one is Praskovya Ikonnikova, a worker at the Teykov Cot-
ton Mill in the Ivanovo Region, who about twenty years
ago was elected as an insurance delegate. From the very
outset she was conscious of the importance of her duty to
care for the health of her fellow workers and to help them
to recover as quickly as possible when they fell sick. Love
and care for the working people and the urge to help them
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when in need fills a great part of her life. Every woman in
her shop knows that if she falls sick, Ikonnikova will be
sure to visit her and have a chat about the doings at the
mill and about things generally, and bring her every assist-
ance she requires.
It is a great happiness to live and work in the Soviet
Union where the state is concerned for the welfare of every
citizen, and where everything is done to promote the. growth
of the prosperity of the people and the development of their
culture.
The working people who create all wealth are the actual
masters in the Land of Socialism. All things are accessible
to them: work in freedom, science and art. The road to any
occupation they choose is open to them. Every Soviet citi-
zen feels that he is master of his own destiny, a creator of
the future, a participant in great works that are enhancing
the might and glory of the socialist state. Day after day
the Soviet people are becoming more prosperous. Every
worker in the Soviet Union is paid according to the quan-
tity and quality of his work. Wages and real wages of work-
ers and other employees are steadily increasing. Improve-
ment in the material conditions and social services of the
workers by hand and brain is the law in socialist society.
The Soviet social insurance system strikingly illustrates
the concern of the state for raising the living and cultural
standard of the people.
The workers and office employees in the U.S.S.R. are
confident of tomorrow, for the Soviet system has liberated
them forever from the curse of unemployment and poverty,
and assures them security in case of illness or disablement
and on reaching old age.
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Printed in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
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K-E
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A:MERIcAN
YORKERS
LOOK AT
IMPRESSIONS OF THE AMERICAN
TRADE UNION DELEGATION
THAT VISITED THE SOVIET UNION
IN JUNE AND JULY 1951
FOREIGN LANGUAGES PUBLISHING HOUSE
Moscow 1952
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE
This booklet contains speeches made by
members of'the American labour delegation
at meetings with trade unionists, texts of
their radio addresses, articles written by them
for the Soviet press, and impressions of visits
to factories and institutions, as well as the
.report which the delegation made in New York.
This edition follows the pamphlet pub-
lished in Russian.by Profizdat, Moscow 1951.
Printed in .the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
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Leon Straus ' . I L
.The Soviet People Desire Peace. Lee Candea . . . . . 12
CONTENTS--
We Come . to You on. Behalf. of American Workers.
I Was ' Astonished at the Care Given to the Workers.
Fred Sanidt . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Children: the Country's Future. Warren Hoover . . . . 16
Emergency Brings Spiralling Prices in U.S.A. Henry R.
Bathe, Jr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Liberty Came to Me From Another Country. Marie Bowden 19
I Understand Why Your Workers Are Happy. Stanley
Beczkiewicz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
For the First Time I, a Negro, Was Showered With
Love. Hilliard Ellis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26.
The Soviet Union Has a Peaceful Economy. Leon Straus 31
In the Guest Book of the Low-Powered Auto Plant, Moscow 36.
In the Guest Book of the Railwaymen's Hospital, Moscow 37
A Free and Happy People . . . . . . . . . .? 38
MEETING WITH TRADE UNIONISTS IN LENINGRAD 42
The Soviet People Want Peace. Leon Straus . . . 42
We Are. Winning Victories in Our Fight. Hilliard Ellis . 47
I Have Fallen in Love With Your Country and Your Peo-
ple. Marie Bowden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
I Will Tell About Everything I Saw in the U.S.S.R.
Warren Hoover . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
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Page
MEETING WITH TRADE UNIONISTS IN MOSCOW. . 54
I Have Seen That the American Press Prints Lies About
the Soviet Union. Fred Saniat . . . . . . . 54
Happy People. Lee Candea . . . . . . . . . . . 56
We Have Learned a Great Deal in the Soviet Union.
Stanley Beczkiewicz . . . . . . . . . . . 62
In the Soviet Union People Are Valued Above All Else.
Marie.Bowden. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64
I Saw Freedom and Happiness in Your Country. John
Blackwell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
The Soviet People Make a Good Living.. Leon Straits . . 68
THE REPORT OF THE DELEGATION IN NEW YORK 74
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An American labour delegation visited the Soviet Union
in the summer of 1951 at the invitation of the Central Coun-
cil of Trade Unions of the U.S.S.R.
The group consisted of eleven members: Leon Straus
(Chairman of the delegation), Vice-President of the Inter-
national Fur and Leather Workers' Union of the U.S. and
Canada; Hilliard Ellis (Co-Chairman of the delegation).,
General Organizer, Local 453, United Automobile Workers
of America, C.I.O., Chicago, Ill.; Fred Saniat, member of the
executive board of a Chicago local of the United Electrical,
Radio and Machine Workers; Stanley Beczkiewicz, Presi-
dent of Lake States Council No. 4, United Shoe Workers of
America, C.I.O.; Lee Candea, representing rank and filers of
the Hotel and Restaurant Employees International Union,
A.F. of L.; Warren Hoover, President of Local 751, United
Electrical and Radio Workers of America, Niles, Ohio; Hec-
tor Jacques, representing a New York division of the Distrib-
utive, Processing and Office Workers of America; Marie
Bowden, representing members of the Sheet Metal Workers'
International Assoc. (A.F. of L.), Los Angeles, California;
Vincent Moscato, member of the executive board of United
Retail and Wholesale Workers (C.I.O.), New York; John
Blackwell, Secretary, Local 14 of Mine, Mill and Smelter
Workers' Union in Wallace, Idaho; Henry R. Batke, Jr.,
Chairman, Radio Committee, Local 931, United Electrical
Workers of America, St, Joseph, Michigan,
1'
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The delegates, men and women of different political and
religious convictions, represented different unions, including
auto workers, miners, machine workers, sheet metal workers,
shoe workers, fur workers, leather workers, united electrical
workers, hotel and restaurant employees, and retail and
wholesale workers-some A.F. of L.,.some C.I.O. and some
independent unions.
In Moscow, the delegation expressed the desire to become
acquainted in detail with the Soviet people's living and work-
ing conditions. It.planned its own tour of the Soviet Union,
visiting Moscow, Leningrad, Stalingrad, Zaporozhie and the Crimea. The delegates inspected factories, cultural institu-
tions, hospitals, sanatoriums, children's summer camps and
a collective farm, and attended theatre, movie and concert-
performances.,'
When the delegation members said they would like to
share their impressions of their'stay in the Soviet Union,;,
meetings with trade unionists were arranged in Moscow and'
Leningrad. The delegates spoke on the Moscow radio.to tell'
their impressions to American workers.
The aim of this booklet is to acquaint readers with these
impressions.
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Henry R. $,tke:,I':..
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Arrival at? the Moscow. airport
WE COME TO YOU ON BEHALF
OF ;AMERICAN - WORKERS
-LEON STRAUS
Speech _at Moscow Airport
Fellow trade unionists and people - of Moscow and of - the:
'Soviet.Union. On behalf, of,the-delegates who are here-with
me, and- on, -my own behalf,F as well- as that of---the- workers'
we represent; I want to extend our. greetings and our thanks-. ,
for, the. reception '.as.: well as:for, the :invitation- to visit-your
country.
In America we have been told many things` about your
country: Some of the things ,: are-believed by the majority , of
the American people, some are.not understood by .the Amer>
ic.an people,. and- spme:'of.us_do not .believe .all t e things:we,
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are told. We are happy to accept_this invitation of the Soviet
trade unions to see with our own eyes and hear with our
own ears and learn the truth for ourselves.
We have been told that the Soviet Union is responsible
for all the war-like preparations that are taking place in the
world today. Those of our soldiers who fought in the last
war against fascism, uniting.with the Russian soldiers in
the war against fascism, find that very hard to believe.
Therefore, in conclusion, we come to you on .behalf of
the, American workers and American people that we rep-
resent with the desire to continue the full friendship that
exists between the Russian and American, people for many
years, and with the hope that Our visit may help in your
country, as it may in our, country, to-develop that friend-
ship to new and greater heights. And we come to you with a
message.on behalf of the American people who we know
want peace, with the hope that our two peoples will over-
come any and all obstacles and see to it that we do have
peace.
This is Lee Candea speaking. While I have been in the
Soviet Union just about a week some impressions have al-
ready been made that are so strong I will never forget them.
For one thing, Moscow itself is a beautiful and wonderful
city. Its combination of new and old architectural and his-
torical landmarks and buildings is indeed inspiring. Your
Metro-or subway-is an amazing, enduring achievement
and again combines architectural, historical and decorative
beauty with its. spaciousness, cleanliness, correct lighting
and ventilation. Your museums and libraries should indeed
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be a pride of the Soviet people, and your parks enhance
greatly the charm. of Moscow.
Your widely developed housing construction and con
struc4tion'plans?are something to be marveled -at"and are truly-,
-
an indication of the desire for peace , .imthis 'worl,d; .for you
cou-l.dn't build so rmuch!if there were thoughts of destruction.
It was'a.thrilliri?g,experie.nce for, me to go to the concert,
the operdtta.and:the ballet.'Itis understandable why-:the thea-
tres .w.ere so p:acked with music .lovirig people, for rarely
have I seen such a'. high :degree of artistry. The ~rriusic danc-
ing and singing will be an unforgettable memory:
'It is-;a pleasure to.'walk down the street- and see the;
stores,bulging with food,, and-.flowers on every corner.I see
the trees and the growing greeds. as a sign of the Soviet .peo-
ple',s love for those things that live..Everywherea've.gone,
'
:down -the- streets, in:the suburbs, in' the Metro, in,tl hotel
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where I am staying, I seem to be surrounded by happy peo-
ple, smiling, warm, friendly faces.
I am deeply impressed by the large number of women
who seem to be involved in every phase of your life here.
I've seen women as train engineers, subway station agents,
conductors, technical experts in museums, department heads
in the hotel, and yesterday when we visited the hospital for
the railroad workers I saw a high degree of doctors and spe-
cialists, and I'm told that when I visit the different industries
I'll have the opportunity to see and speak to a large propor-
tion of women in jobs on every level.
In our country there are, according to some A.F. of L.
figures, approximately 19 million women in industry. How-
ever, the major occupations in which they work are clerical
work or white collar work, while one fourth of the 19 million
are employed in semiskilled factory work, domestic.work,
the clothing industry and in service industries. In other in-
dustries or phases of life women are a great m inority. But
while women are a minority in most fields in one question
we are a tremendous majority. We-want peace, not waf. On-
ly peace.
Here in Moscow I've seen and felt that peace is synony
mows with eating, sleeping and drinking, the necessities
of life. I not only see it in the faces of the women but in their
achievements and their participation in all the 'problems fac-
ing the people. I perhaps did not have the same level of un-
derstanding till I saw all of the reconstruction going on here
and saw what the last war did to the people here. Not to for-
get the millions of Russian heroes who lost their lives fight-
ingagainst fascism.
We in America too have suffered in the last war. Many of
our husbands and brothers were taken away from us never
to come back. And even though our land did not receive the
destruction your land has, the overwhelming majority of the
American women, I'm sure, feel as I do that I don't want
war, for we want peace. We want to have our homes. We
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don't want to hate, we want to love. We want our families
with us. I don't want my son to grow up to be a soldier, and
all American wives and mothers feel the way I do. And if you
hear there is confusion in America on this. question, let me
tell you the confusion is not on war or peace, the confusion
may be on how to fight for peace. The women's peace move-
ment in America is growing. (Mothers have banded togeth-
_er to cry out for peace and many of us are showing the way
to organize and fight for 'peace, for we are sure that the
American women, yes, the American people, when the truth
is known, will join me in calling for peace as proud Amer-
icans and as a people proud of our old tradition of freedom,
for truly we want peace too.
I WAS ASTONISHED AT THE CARE
GIVEN TO THE WORKERS
FRED SANIAT
Radio Speech
The Central Council of Trade Unions of the U.S.S.R. has
made it possible for us to visit the Crimea and made it pos-
sible for us to visit-some of,the sanatoriums and rest homes
for the workers of the Soviet Union. I was astonished and
amazed at the care given to the workers and tl?eir rest and
at the small amount of money they must pay for their vaca-i
tion. Not only do they have the Black Sea for enjoyment
while swimming, but clean homes and wonderful food ,plus
all medical care that is necessary for them to enjoy their va-
cation period.
My own local union of the United Electrical Workers of
America of the city of Chicago had just purchased a san-
atorium for our 'people as I left there for my visit to the Eu-
ropean countries. I know it.will be many years before we
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reach the peak of efficiency that you have in your sanatoriums
down in the Crimea. With these medical sanatoriums you
have it proves that the Soviet trade unions not only have the
welfare of their workers at heart while working in factories
but also when they are vacationing for rest and peace from
everyday life.
In conclusion I wish. to quote our Lord Jesus Christ and
just add a little phrase to his quotation: -
"Let there be peace and, good will toward, all men of the
world that they may live happily in peace regardless of their
political views, regardless of what flag their country 'may
be flying. Let there be peace."
CHILDREN: THE COUNTRY'S FUTURE
WARREN HOOVER
Radio Speech
' Dear friends, I would like to express my appreciation for
the splendid reception given to me on behalf of the people
of the Soviet Union both in Moscow and Leningrad. I will
confine my remarks to Leningrad. We were given the same
warm and friendly reception on our arrival in Leningrad. We
visited many places of interest. We visited several shops and
were deeply impressed with the modern equipment and the
lack of speed-up 'prevailing in these shops. The facilities for
protection of the health of the workers, their comfort, educa-
tion and recreation were of, much interest to us also.
We attended a ballet of amateurs, the cast of which was
made up of workers and the children of workers.
There we were given an ovation of welcome and love I
think was second to none, proving to us that the Soviet chil-
dren have only a feeling of love and friendship towards the
American people, for everyone knows that the affection oil
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At a sanatorium,for. . agricultural workers-in Yalta
little children is sincere.'We'twitn,essed a'per`formance of abil-
ity quite beyond -my ability to describe, a performance long
to.-,be remembered.
the ,future of your country re'sts.with_ the children of,`today,
and given such: training you will riot-have, to worry ,about
'their destiny in the tomorrows to come.
viet .:Union; and -on my; return I will give he; message of
friendship,from the Soviet people td -those whotii I represent
so as to establish . unity. between our,peoples
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EMERGENCY BRINGS SPIRALLING
PRICES IN U.S.A.
HENRY R. BATKE, Jr.
Radio Speech
We all know that war means hardships, including death
for many of the fighting men, the soldiers. Herd is an exam-
ple of what is the value of the talk about the so-called
"equality" of sacrifices. The rich are able to attend college.
Thereby they are immune from the draft law. The poor,
however, have no escape and must therefore yield to many
of the hardships. Because of the so-called emergency with
its continually spiralling prices, the working people have;
to wage a continuous struggle trying to keep up with the
prices and maintain normal and decent living conditions:
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Now I don't know of any average American who has
profited by war. Pure unadulterated murder, caused by the
lust and greed of a few for power and riches! Millions of
dollars are being spent for. implements of war which do not
add to the happiness of the people I have met and spoken
to. Nor do they help clothe the children Zr adults in the
slum areas of our country.
The coloured people, because they are asking for the
'rights which they are guaranteed in the constitution" of the
United States, are being daily, discriminated against. The
rich, however, seem to be doing well. Their profits in the
past two or three three years have doubled and in some cases
tripled.
Iri the process of returning for war in the different indus-
tries, the working man has been caught in a vise through-
out the country and left with not enough money. The food,
,clothing and rent bills, however, have to be paid. 'Even now
a new tax law is ready to dig even deeperinto the income
of the worker, to the extent of about 800 dollars per year
.in the near future.
LIBERTY CAME TO ME
FROM ANOTHER COUNTRY
MARIE BOWDEN
Statement to the Press
I have come to the Soviet Union to investigate the con-
ditions of .labour and to a great extent I must rely upon an
interpreter. The reactionary observer may be able to say that
these interpretations are dishonest, but he will be incapable
of denying what I see with my own eyes.
I am incapable of isolating the labour question from the
life of the Soviets as a whole. I feel that.the economic status
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Marie Bowden with workers of the steel mill in Zaporozhie
of a Soviet citizen must of necessity reflect the political and
social status. I would like to therefore deal with and com-
pare the qualitative status of the Negro woman in America
and in the Soviet Union.
So very much I have walked since I have been in Europe
that I have worn out the shoes that in my home I would have
worn another year, not because. transportation was not fur-
nished, but because even a bus or automobile does not enter
the building of a factory or an opera for an evening's en-.
tertainment.
I have met a hundred or more groups of people, and the
slightest smile from me brought smiling responses, and more
handshakes and doves of friendship and peace and kisses.
Can a reactionary deny this to me? I say no. I have talked
to Soviet citizens by the dozens, who answered me in their
own language, and there was no interpreter and we kept
talking, and never. in my life have I felt so loved.
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,
is 'an actuality in the Sovief Union. They, met me with ow,
ers; and :clasped my hands tight 4and, more .than. that, they'
In America there is a .saying, Say. itlwath; flowers:" This
equality and peace with a:l.l: working people; ; from all 'the,.
Embodied iri. Paul are the pride, hope; aspirations of .the Ne
many men would, do. themselves proud: to .walk- in"tlae `image
of ,' whom Negro people, can be proud of; progressive. people
that for. the first:tihie he had'walkedi'Witfi.:digoity. in theSo-
viet Union: But Paul is : nevertheless ,a rrian=a man whom
,world:. Very truly I love him.
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I am a Negro woman, I come from the most oppressed
section of the United States of America. As such I had to
know what the position of a rank-and-file worker, a woman
and a Negro woman would be in the Soviet Union. And
I say truthfully that some of the progressive theoreticians
on the Negro question in the United States would be put to
shame when it comes to putting into practice the actuality
of their theorizing as compared to the Soviet people.
Without taking any undue glory from the Soviet perform-
ers in the opera The Tsar's Bride, I might say unqualifiedly
that I was truly the star of the theatre. After each act of the
performance, while I was in the vestibule of the theatre, hun-
dreds of people crowded around me to greet me, to kiss me,
to wish world peace, and. especially peace with the Amer-
icans and Negro people in particular. A group of girls told
me that they were daughters of workers and were studying
at a higher technical school. for the work that they had
chosen. They followed_ me outside when I prepared to leave,
to give me a dove of peace for my coat lapel.
Some looked at me amazed that I had gotten from behind
our iron curtain at home. I recalled the Statue of Liberty in
the harbour as I had left New York, with its inscription say-
ing," "Give me your poor and your humble." I had been
both, but her eyes were closed, yes, closed for all these hun-
dred years. And the liberty for which she stood came to m,e
from another country, from another people who knew how
to give love, freedom and equality to all.
1228 W. 37th Drive,
Los Angeles, 4, California
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I UNDERSTAND WHY - -
YOUR WORKERS ARE HAPPY
STANLEY BECZKIEWICZ
Statement to the Press
As a member of the American labour delegation I was
accorded the privilege of inspecting the Sko'rokhod Shoe
Factory. Upon arrival we were greeted by those in charge
of the plant, and ushered into the 'plant. We were introduced
to the chief engineer, who described in detail the operation
of the factory and its background. After he finished, questions
were asked by the delegation and he answered them. Being
a shoe worker myself, I can fully appreciate what was said,
and it' gave me information for which my 'people have to
some extent sent me.
What I saw amazed me, for .the simple reason that I've
never seen a plant so perfectly set up for the production of
shoes, the conveyer system being something new. This way
of production does not exist in my part of the country, and
for the whole of America you may have about 10 'per cent
using this method of production, most factories using the
truck or rack to move the shoes from one worker to another.
I consider this method far more efficient and less tiring on
the worker, because it is a known fact that about 20 per cent
of time is used in pushing and pulling under c'rowded con=
ditions. This of course does not help to produce pairs of
shoes, and the worker gets tired much faster.
Another thing I noticed is the large number of women
doing: what in America are considered highly-skilled jobs.
In most of these operations men are used and they consider
it, hard, work, yet here women do it with-such ease that I
Was amazed. The percentage in our shoe factories is about
65 per cent men and 35 per cent women, and women doing
mostly stitching or packing; here it seemed like 85 per cent
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At the Skorokhod Shoe Factory in Leningrad
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v omen and 15 per cent men, and women doing all types
of work.
Another,good impression was the fact that your fac-
tory was very-.well ventilated and very cl-ean. The same
cannot be said for most factories .in. America. This of course
adds to the comfort of the worker and makes for more pro-
duction.
There are no lay-offs for workers and they have social
benefits. In America lay-offs are a plague to workers of-the
shoe industry, and social benefits are not common. Each
group of workers must fight their employer for whatever
they can, get from him, very often going on long strikes
and often gaining a minimum of social benefits for their
efforts. Your health and first-aid program for the protec-
tion of the workers' health is something - unheard-of -in
America. - $ -
-
We cannot forget that your school for workers is- one, of
the newest developments ever heard of in the shoe industry.
By contrast, the American shoe industry says you can take
a worker off the street and make a shoe worker of him, but
that is a costly and inefficient way and increases the cost of
the shoe, for which the consumer must 'pay.
I would like to express a personal, message of thanks to
all those who accorded me the privilege of seeing-the shoe
factory. I can understand.now why your production is high
and- your workers are happy and willing to cooperate to
help their own cause, which of course means -security on
the job, no lay-offs and increased pay as a result of,their
productivity.
In other words, I was very, very much impressed.
3720 E. Birchwood Ave.,
Cudahy, Wisconsin, U.S.A.
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FOR THE FIRST TIME I, A NEGRO,
WAS SHOWERED WITH LOVE
Statement to the Press
I can now understand fully the reason the U.S. State
Department does not want Americans to visit behind the
"iron curtain," and especially Negro Americans. It is a
known fact that the U.S. Government practises and encour-
ages discrimination against its largest minority, the Negro
people. This. is amplified by the Jim Crow set-up in Wash-
ington D.C., the nation's capital. Therefore all measures are
taken to discourage Negro people from seeking the truth
about such countries as the Soviet Union.
The Wall Street crowd fear.the possible repercussion that
might come with the opening of the eyes of this most mili-
tant section of the working class that could destroy 'the very
foundation on which this Jim Crow system is built. It is now
a matter of fact that Negro people are relegated to the me-
nial jobs, poor housing, least amount of schooling, and spe-
cial brutal treatment.
I consider myself fortunate and privileged to have seen
life in a new way in the Soviet Union that not only made me
feel proud as a worker but also as a Negro. I had been
taught that capitalism afforded the best opportunities for
the working people, that I; a Negro, should be proud to fight
for the maintenance of our so-called "American way of life."
I must admit that to be kept in semislavery is hardly
anything to be proud of or to be defended. In reality it shows
the hypocrisy of those that yell the loudest about democracy,
and tell blatant lies about "slave labour" in the Soviet
Union.
I have seen with my own eyes, have witnessed and talked
with hundreds of workers, in Leningrad, Stalingrad, Mos-
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the "speed-up" as we-know'it in-America
they' are the 'real .owners of the. plants. I have not ,once seen::
cow, Zaporozhie,. and nowhere have :1 found ;this "slaye 1a\
bour." RIn fact, the workers work'witha'devotion which shows
compared.to'.conditions of'workers 'in plants that I ana,per
pay between three to six: per cent of their earnings for rent:
The working conditions, of the Soviet" workers are: ideal
tims who must have shelter. In"the.Soviet Union-the workers...
I ,-also- found that there are no gouging:lan'dlordsGnat
stock you were born from. L also found..that the workers
'portu--tyoadiance because of 'ab'ility,rather than what.
In.the.S.oviet Union "I 'found .that -people.aregiven the op
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sonally famili-ar with. The factories that I visited in the prin-
cipal cities of the Soviet Union were clean, with good ven-
tilation, with every type of safety and health precaution im-
aginable.
I. also found that the workers have the necessary machin-
ery to have their grievances processed, even to the extent
that it could mean the removal of the plant manager. (Just
imagine this happening at General Motors, U.S.A.)
The vacations are from 14 to 30 days for the workers. If
workers are absent from work due to illness, they suffer no
loss in pay.
This explains why the workers look upon their jobs as
working for themselves. This explains why there are no
strikes. Can you'imagine a carpenter building his own home
striking against building a dwelling for himself and his fam-
ily? The Soviet workers are carpenters, building their fu=
ture homes.
Being in the Soviet Union these few weeks, I have wit-
nessed the pride with which the people are steadily improv-
ing the beauty of their country, the cleanliness of the streets;
I have seen no staggering drunks, no dope addicts, and no
prostitution.
The Soviet Union allows those who believe religion to
practise religion. Those who are not religious are not molest-
ed. It is true that the church is forbidden to, enter into pol-
itics or engage in bingo rackets. And to my way of thinking
that is the way it should be.
To appreciate the high cultural. standard of the Soviet
people, you must first look at the educational and cultural
structure that is given to -all citizens of this country. Instead
of "pig alley trash;" there are culture centres," operas, con-
certs, and healthy, decent films. And seemingly everyone is
trying to improve his knowledge and develop the mind. This
is true of the old-as well as the young.
After living with these friendly people for these few
weeks, I must say I have never seen a more devoted people
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-Delegates.Hilliard Ellis and. Vincent .,Moscato
in ?a Yalta barber'shop
l9
wealth-ofjhe nation:
-building for -Communism, :and .,improving the health and
?'to the causeS? which. its leader's are fighting for; such. as peace,.
The late Franklin D.'Roosevelt"was loved by. the com-
the? 16 .republics -that compose' the Unison of.'Soviet .Repub=:, -
lies,. Practically :everywhere "that, you: may go in this ' Land
?of ~ Socialism,. the :following three' names - ring- ? out,
;Lenin, Stalin, and, our great Negr.o\ leader, Paul. Robeson.
that Joseph-,Stalin is loved much more by the*, people -af
mon peoplelthroughout America. I say from my observation -
ouf from everywhere,.p"oint "up tome the; Jreedom,and. appre-.
mer camps'for.the children,Sthe joy. acid"singing; that ring
Robeson; .ari .Ameri,can' and 'Negro; is ,loved by.- the Soviet
people:
The - rest homes for the; workers in the. Cri"mea, the SUM-,/'
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elation workers have for their country. I have seen many
human beings in my lifetime, but nowhere have I seen a hap-
pier people. On every lip there is an expression of peace,
peace; peace.. That is the word that, is heard most in this
country.
The children, adults, porters, doctors, intellectuals, all
have something in common, and that is the desire for peace.
And to speak of peace in this country shoves a genuine un-
derstanding of war. Most of us in America really cannot
appreciate what war really is. I thought I had a good
concept of war, but must admit that even my imagination
could not stretch to the real devastation and destruc-
tion that the peoples of the Soviet Union that I saw lived
through. These people lost over seven million of their loved
ones in World War II, saw their homes blown to bits,
their places of work destroyed, towns demolished, food and-
stock ,destroyed, and if Americans had a similar experience,
there would be more people in America speaking up for
peace.
The Soviet people and especially the youth gave me the
greatest pleasure that I have ever enjoyed, a new pride in
being a human being, in being a Negro.. Nothing can take
this new insight on freedom from me. Here I went about as
any other individual, not as a freak of nature or an oddity.
I wonder what would happen to me if I walked into a barber
shop in Stevens Hotel in Chicago, to be shaved, as I have
done so often here in the National Hotel in Moscow? I can
imagine my landing in an insane asylum because the ruling
class would say that I_ would have to be insane to expect
such accommodations from a shop other than a Jim-Crowed
shop.
For the first time I, a Negro, was showered with love and
affection. Not any "phoney or patronizing show," but real
genuine love, with such deep moral and human decency that
is part of the Soviet people.
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I look forward to the day that they will achieve their goal
where the slogan, "To each according to his needs;" will 'be
a reality.
And finally, the weeks I. have spent learning a new way
of life in the Soviet Union will. help me in America to fight
for freedom, peace, prosperity and good-fellowship of all
mankind.
4810 West Cermack,
Cicero, Illinois
THE SOVIET UNION
HAS A PEACEFUL ECONOMY
The delegation of American trade unionists has come to
the Soviet Union without any prejudiced notions. We repre-
sent different, sections of the country. We represent different
unions, including automobile workers, miners, fur workers,
leather workers, shoe workers, united electrical workers-
some A.F. of L., some C.I.O. and some independent unions.
We came with many questions on our minds and we
found some of the answers to these questions in our visits to
Leningrad and to Moscow. Here we have. seen already many
plants. We have talked to the workers in these plants. We
have not gone on any guided tour. When we arrived here,
we asked to see the industries that we worked in ourselves.
,.And so we were taken, to these- plants. In the automobile
.plant that we visited, for instance, in Moscow, where'they
produce the Moskvich, a car that we see so often in the city
of Moscow, we stopped and talked to the workers at random.
We picked put the workers-no guides, no interpreters se-
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At the Linotype Plant in Leningrad
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lected special categories of workers for us. We must have
spoken to hundreds of workers. We asked them about their
pay, about the rent they pay, about the money they pay for
food, for clothing, we asked about their conditions, about
their safety devices, about their insurance plants, their sick
insurance, their old-age pensions, their vacation funds and
so on.
And we learned a great deal. We learned essentially
that their working conditions are good, that they have insur-
ance benefits for which they do not pay, that their children
are well protected, that they go to rest camps paid for not
out of their pay. We learned that there is no speed-up. We
learned that there is adequate protection against accidents
and illness. We saw hospitals in each of the plants we
visited.
And we learned that this kind of production is not one
that can take place in a country preparing for war, is not
one that can take place in a country that wants war. This
is production for peace.
Every single worker we spoke to, every single citizen of
the Soviet Union, has repeated that same wholehearted desire
to us. I can'speak out of personal knowledge of myself and
that of the other delegates, having already spoken to hun-
dreds and perhaps thousands of Soviet workers in the fac-
tories we visited. Their most earnest desire is for a free and
for a peaceful world.
We have seen children who have no hatred for Ameri-
cans. We have seen these children express their love for us.
Now anybody who is an adult, it can be said, can be indoc-
trinated in a hatred toward Americans here in the Soviet
Union, if that were the policy of the government. But cer-
tainly no one can say that children we meet in the street or
a concert hall or a ballet theatre where they are perform-
ing-no one can say that these children can be taught to
lie and be deceitful. Their love and their friendship for us
was sincere and honest and decent, and something all
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Inspectiiig a new workers' settlement in Zaporozhie
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Americans must respect and, through that, learn that the
Soviet people want peace, just as the American people want
peace.
I want to call to your attention further that the utmost,
respect for our people and our nation exists here in the So-
viet Union. Trade union leaders called to the attention of the
American delegation on July' 4th that it was the American
national holiday, our day of independence, and they gave us
toasts honouring our July 4th and in celebration of the free-
dom and independence of our land, with the wish that our
land and their land shall continue to be free and at peace
with one another.
I can only say that what we have seen has indicated to
us that this country has a peaceful economy. The automobile
plant we visited was built in 1947. That plant produces not
tanks, not airplane engines, but small passenger cars for
use by the people of the Soviet Union.
. I am informed that at this time unfortunately in our
country there has been a cut of 40 per cent in automobile.
production in order for the reconversion to arms production
to be able to take place. Here there is no cut-back in civilian
production, as far as we have been able to see. We have only
seen a greater desire to improve the peaceful activities of
this country, to get better and more food in the bakery we
were in, and to get better and more shoes in the shoe fac-
tory we were in, and the same with automobiles and every
other plant that we have visited.
I must conclude that in our country someone must be
kidding us. These people don't hate us. They don't want war
with us. They are building for peace.
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In the Moscow plant where the Moskvich cars
are made
IN THE. GUEST BOOK
OF THE LOW-POWERED AUTO PLANT,
MOSCOW
The American trade union delegation expresses its appre-
ciation and gratitude for the exceptionally friendly reception
given us by the, workers of this plant. We have found if to
be clean and well-lighted, and the working conditions good.
We did not see any speed-up. We talked to the workers and
learned that they get good pay, and receive sick pay, vacation
pay, pensions and other social insurance benefits without de-
ductions from their wages. The equipment. we-saw at the
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plant was efficient and 'up-to.-date, and we saw finished cars
coming off the assembly line.
Congratulations. We stand for friendship between the
Soviet and American people. We want firm friendship.
i
Hilliard Ellis Leon Straus Warren Hoover
Fred Saniat Vincent Moscato, ' Lee Candea
Marie Bowden Hector Jacques John Blackwell
Henry R. Batke, Jr. , Stanley Beczkiewicz
IN THE GUEST BOOK
OF THE RAILWAYMEN'S HOSPITAL,
MOSCOW
The American trade union delegation to this hospital has
.found it to be clean, beautiful and scientific.
We were impressed greatly by the democratic and decent
treatment, of the workers who were patients. Their health
seems to be 'exceptionally well taken care of. It is tremen-
dously educational and exciting to us that all workers in your
country are entitled to and get this kind of exceptional care
and treatment. Please accept our thanks for the opportunity
to see the hospital and our congratulations, our heartiest,
warmest fraternal congratulations.
Leon Straus Hilliard Ellis Fred Saniat
Stanley Beczkiewicz Lee Candea. . Warren Hoover
Hector Jacques Marie Bowden Vincent Moscato
John Blackwell Henry R. Batke, Jr.
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A FREE AND HAPPY PEOPLE
A Statement After Visiting Yalta
The American trade union delegation with workers from
New York to California and representing many of the major
industries in the U.S., after visiting. Moscow, Leningrad,
Stalingrad and Zaporozhie, have come here to Yalta.
.In the atmosphere of the historical significance of this
city we are reminded of the time when a greater understand-
ing existed between the American people and the Soviet peo-
ple. For it was here that our great President Roosevelt
and the leader of the Soviet people, Premier Stalin, met and
made agreements that solidified our peoples in our, joint
struggle against those who wanted to enslave us, German
fascism.
However, the friendship and unity that existed then be
tween our peoples has been partially destroyed. This has
been done by those reactionary influences in the U.S. who
try to besmirch Roosevelt's reputation and work, by those
who cry out against the agreement reached in Yalta, by
those who hate the social progress of the American people.
Those same interests, riot representing the majority of our
people, have misrepresented the truth to us. And they
have great power over means of communication, press and
radio,.
We have been told that the. Soviet people are hungry, have
bad working conditions, that slave labour exists, and that
the Soviet Union wants war. We did not satisfy ourselves
with the word of those who invited us here, the representa-
tives of the Soviet trade unions, about these things. Instead
we talked to hundreds and hundreds of workers in many,
many plants and cities. We spontaneously picked them out in
a plant at their bench and listened to them. The workers make
a good living here in spite of economic problems caused
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At the Moscow hospital for railwaymen
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by the destruction during the war by the German fascists,
and they are well-fed, well-clothed, well-housed, They pay
only five to six per cent of their pay for rent, for example.
They have from 14 to 30 days a year vacation, they are paid
when sick and have unions and collective agreements to
protect them. We have not been able to discover any slave
labour. The people leave work spontaneously-surround uus-
answer our questions-ask of our conditions in the U.S.
These are a free and happy people.
As to wanting or preparing for war-we have only seen
production for peace: autos, tractors, housing construction
for workers-an economy of peace. And everyone we spoke
to expressed their great friendship for the American people
and their greatest desire for peace.
Every city, factory, meeting, or person-bar none-sent
a message to the American people through us calling for
peace.
We are convinced that it was impossible to prearrange
all this-that thousands of workers would show such a whole-
some outpouring of affection, warmth and love as we have
experienced. The sentiments were real.
This is only a preliminary report. When we complete our
tour it will be finalized. At this point we can only conclude
that we have been misinformed by those with selfish special
interests in the U.S.A. The entire people here believe in
friendship with the American people and want to preserve
peace.
We who are Americans, who love our country and who
have only the best interests of the American 'people at heart,
who believe in,President Roosevelt's prime plea of unity and
friendship and peace-here at Yalta-call for the redevelop-
ment of that solidarity and friendship between the American
and Soviet people without which peace in this world is im-
possible.
We ask that any differences that may exist between our
different social systems be settled by peaceful negotiations,
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to the end that the most heartfelt desire of the American peo-
ple-as we know .it-and the same desire of the Soviet
people-as we observed it-peace between our two peoples
and the peoples of the world, can be attained regardless of
any obstacles. -
Leon Strat7s Hilliard Ellis Fred Saniat
Stanley Beczkiewicz Lee Candea Warren Hoover
Hector Jacques Marie Bowden Vincent Moscato
John Blackwell Henry R. Batke, Jr.
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MEETING WITH TRADE-. UNIONISTS
IN LENINGRAD
. On July 4 the delegation attended a meeting of more than
100 active trade unionists of Leningrad at the Gorky Palace
of Culture. N. N. Pshenitsyn, Chairman of the Regional Trade_
Union Council,. presided.
Below are the speeches* made at this meeting by Leon Straus,
Hilliard Ellis, Marie Bowden and Warren Hoover.
THE SOVIET PEOPLE WANT PEACE
On behalf of my union-the International Fur and Leath-
er Workers-and on behalf of the American workers I want
to convey our deep friendship and hearty greetings.to the
Soviet people.
This is an especially important day for us. Today is July
4th, our day of independence, and we Americans, now far
from our country which we deeply love and to which we
wish the very best, take special pleasure in marking this
day here at a time when we are working for firm friendship
between our peoples, for international solidarity of the
workers.
International working-class solidarity is something our
peoples greatly need in this tense international situation.
The last time I celebrated July 4th, American Independ-
ence Day, in Europe was at the end of the second.
Retranslated from the minutes' recorded in Russian.-Ed.
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world war. We of the American army joyously marked
that day together with your soldiers, who had won victory
over fascism, who had won independence from fascist
bondage.
Our American labour delegation has come here to ac-
quaint itself with the living and working conditions of the
Soviet people and with the hope that our visit may help to
develop the friendship between our peoples to new and great-
er heights.
Much is said and written about the' Soviet Union, and in
the main these reports are distorted and coloured by the capi-
talist press and radio. These reports say that the conditions
of the workers in the Soviet Union are frightful. We have
been told, also, that the Soviet people do not have any civil
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liberties, that there is forced labour in the Soviet Union, and
that the Soviet people want war.
During our short stay in your country we have seen
many things and we are convinced (at any rate, I am) that
in the Soviet Union there are all the civil rights and that
Soviet workers have fine living and working conditions.
From my 'meetings with people here I have arrived at the
firm, conviction that the sole desire of the Soviet people is
peace.
Other questions which interest us and to which I hope
we will receive a full answer are these: Is there enough food,
in your country? Are prices rising? What are the conditions
of your national minorities?
We would like to see the labour conditions in various in-
dustries, and we would like to know whether free choice of
jobs exists in the Soviet Union. The bourgeois press says
that there is no free choice of jobs in the Soviet Union and
hence no freedom.
It should be noted that today, when reaction stands at
the head of our country, the wheel of history has been turned
back, back from the days when Franklin Delano Roosevelt
headed our government. Unfortunately the progressive la-
bour laws adopted during Roosevelt's presidency have now
been changed fundamentally and are operating in the oppo-
site direction. At the present time such slave laws as the Taft-
Hartley Act and Smith Act are being applied in our country.
And instead of continuing the efforts which were begun by
Roosevelt, our great president, the efforts for unity of the
three Great Powers-the Soviet Union, Great Britain and
the United States of America-the 'policy of our rulers has
split the world into two camps.
.As a result a colossal arms drive has begun in our coun-
try. Huge sums are going for war preparations. This natural-
ly affects the living standard of the workers, which is con-
stantly dropping, while the profits of the big .corporations are -
steadily growing.
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I want to cite some figures on this growth of corporati
profits. During the past year they equalled 40 billion d
lars, while the cost of living has increased by 190 per ce
on
ol-
nt
in the past four years; the food you could buy for ten dollars
before the war now -costs 24 dollars. Besides, the average
working-class family, which m-akes about 3,000 dollars a
year, pays out 800 dollars in taxes to the government. Not
so,l-ong ago the administration instituted a wage-freeze, un-
der which workers' wages can be raised by no more than
10 'per cent, while prices have risen and can increase two,
three and four times over.
It should also be pointed out that many trade union lead-
ers have now betrayed the working class and are acting hand
in glove with the big corporations. The only aim of such
trade union leaders is self-aggrandizement.
But there is also a progressive trade union movement in
our country, and it is growing daily. Some of the progres-
sive unions are represented on our delegation.
In our country there are 11 independent unions which
have been expelled from the C.I.O. for refusing to follow the
policy of its leaders. Besides, there are progressive locals in
the reactionary unions.
The progressive unions have,a total membership of about
1,000,000. There are, for example, the electrical workers'
union, with 300,000 members, and our fur and leather work-
ers' union, with 100,000 members who, irrespective of their
political iconvictions, support a progressive program. A large
number of workers in the mine, mill and smelter workers'
union, among the West Coast longshoremen and among the
workers of the fish industry support a progressive program.
I could list many other progressive unions, but I think it
is more important to point out that in. a number of the
unions headed by reactionary leaders many of the
workers do not submit to the leadership. Among such unions,
for example, are the united steel workers, the united auto
workers and the united shoe workers, which are fighting for
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progressive demands and which do not submit to the policy
of their leadership.
However, I do not want you to get the false impression
that 'progressive elements are the majority in the American
unions. No, today this is not yet the case, but I want to point
out that the progressive locals are coordinating their actions
more and more. I also want to note that local coordination
committees have been set up in ten cities in the United
States.
Still, it should be emphasized that the situation in our
country is very difficult and we are up against a. very strong
opponent.
At the present time the employers are resorting to various
methods to split the trade union movement. Humiliation of
the national minorities and persecution and lynching of Ne-
groes are continuing in our country.
In this situation of soaring war taxes, increasing perse-
cution of progressive leaders and abolition of civil rights we
consider unity and the fight for peace most essential. That
is why our American delegation which is here today fully
supported the proposal made by U.S. Senator Johnson, the
American delegate to the United Nations, and by Soviet del-
egate Malik for putting amend to the war in Korea. We
fully support the proposal for a cease-fire and conclusion of
peace in Korea.
In conclusion I want to tell about the great joy we expe-
rienced when we saw that the Soviet people sincerely desire
peace. The Soviet people want peace, just as the American
people want peace.
I want to thank you for the opportunity to visit the
Soviet Union so that I can see everything with my own eyes,
and I want to assure you that when we return our delega-
tion will work to promote friendly relations between our
peoples and world peace.
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WE ARE WINNING VICTORIES IN OUR FIGHT
Friends, I am honoured by this opportunity of speaking
io you. I know your country and have followed its progress
for the past fifteen years, but I never thought I would have
a chance to come here and see it all for myself and rejoice
in your achievements.
I've been here about two weeks, and so I can't picture it
yet very fully myself, but everything I have been able to
see has surpassed my expectations. This refers especially to
the Soviet people's attitude towards me as. a Negro. Paul
Robeson, whom you all here probably know, spoke to me
about this for many, many hours. I think you would be in-
terested in my telling you how the Negro people are treated
in our country today.
As you know (and I have no doubt you do) we, the Ne-
gro people in the United States, are fighting for equal rights.
There can be no doubt that you also know that under the
existing forms of administration in the United States we Ne-
groes are in the position of second-rate citizens, and very
often, when we raise the question of equal rights, we are
told: "Go to Russia." I have had the good luck to come here,
to the Soviet Union, and to see with my own eyes what the
attitude to the Negro people is here. When I return I will
fight all-out for Negro rights.
If we take into account the nonsense spread by the Voice
of America, many listeners will find it a bit hard to under-
stand what I am going to say.
The Constitution has a series of amendments, like the
13th, 14th, and 15th, giving the Negro people of the United
States equal rights, but though they are native Americans
they do not enjoy these rights.
In many parts of the United States you can come
across such things, for example, as separate schools for Ne-
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groes, separate hospitals, separate places of entertainment.
For the Negroes everything is separate. And only because
they are Negroes.
I should like to note that aside from all the suffering
caused the Negro people, Negroes are further deprived of
equal rights because there is not a single Negro in the gov-
ernment. The United States Congress has about five hundred
members and it may be of interest to you to point out that
there is a representative of the workers among
single g
not these five hundred. They are either representatives of the
bourgeoisie or lawyers. The 15,000,000 Negroes have only
two representatives. But unfortunately even these two don't
express the real interests of the Negro working people. They
support the policy of the big corporations and the big cap-
italists.
I am sure that the :majority of these injustices will be abol.-
ished and remedied when we have greater working-class
unity and when the Negro people will be the masters of
their own destiny. Today, when a new war hysteria is so
widespread in our country, this is impossible. With the war
hysteria which we observe in our country, especially during
the past year, many progressive leaders are afraid to come
out in defence of Negro rights. They are also afraid to come
out in defence of peace, because those who come out in de-
fence of peace, and in defence of Negro rights, are immedi-
ately called Communists and are hounded. But I must tell
you that the Negro people are very well aware of the Soviet
people's attitude toward Negroes.
I want to point out that today the Negro people no long-
er rely upon the leaders of the organization known- as the
National Association for the Advancement of Coloured Peo-
ple. Under our leaders Paul Robeson and Ferdinand Smith
we have set up the National Council of Negro Workers and,
together with the progressive organizations which we
here represent, and side by side with other progressive
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Visiting a Zaporozhie housing development
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organizations in the United States, we are winning victories
in our fight.
I want again to thank the people of Leningrad, of Mos-
cow and of the Soviet Union for making me feel like a free
and equal person for the first time in my life.
HAVE FALLEN IN LOVE WITH YOUR COUNTRY
AND YOUR PEOPLE
I am very glad to have this opportunity to thank the lead-
ers of the Soviet trade unions for their invitation to: visit
their country and for the amazing kindness shown me dur-
ing my stay in the U.S.S.R. I have come to you as a rank-
and-file worker in a machine factory and a rank-and-file
union member, as a representative of the most oppressed
section of the American people. As an ordinary Negro wom-
an, I have formed a definite opinion of your country. I have
compared the situation in your country with the situation in
the U.S. and I will tell you briefly the results of this com-
parison.
Although Negroes, as slaves, fought for their country's
independence, although Negroes fought against slavery, and
although they fought.-in special army units-to free the
world from Hitler fascism, the Negro people are still treat-
ed in the United States as a second-rate section of the popu-
lation. To this day Negroes are being lynched. In just the
state of Tennessee 400 Negroes have been lynched since the
second world war. In California, from where I come, the po-
li~ce .beat up Negroes practically every day. Just last year
four were killed.
During -the last war a Negro woman. was tied to a tree
and pulled to pieces. A Negro woman, Rosa Lee Ingram, and
two of her sons have been in jail for three years now, al-
though they committed no crime.
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The wife of one of the Negroes executed in Martinsville
has received an eviction order. -
In the field of labour the Negroes are also severely dis-
criminated against. Only a few of them can find work, and
for the Negro women jobs are almost impossible to get-for
them it's either the menial work of a domestic servant or else
unemployment. Negroes are hired last and fired first.
In the Soviet Union I have seen the tremendous differ-
ence between the living conditions of the Soviet people and
the life of the American 'people.
I have seen buildings which were destroyed during the
war against fascism. I know very well that war brings death
and destruction. I know the tremendous sacrifices made by
the Soviet people. I know their strength-a strength whose
equal it is difficult to find and impossible to overcome. I have
seen how life is being born out' of the ruins, how big con-
struction jobs are being carried out, how new houses are
going up-houses for the workers, houses of culture, rest
homes, museums, fine hospitals. I have seen cleanliness ev-
erywhere, exceptional cleanliness both in the streets and in
factories, and this has made a great impression on me. I
have seen what the Soviet Government is doing for the work-
ers: rest homes, hospitals, children's camps, nursery schools.
If I did not have to go back to fight-for better living con-
ditions in the U.S., for freedom, democracy and peace, I
would like to stay and live in the Soviet Union, because here
I am treated with the same respect as all women are in your
country, women who enjoy equal rights and opportunities
and whose labour is so appreciated.
Nothing in the attitude.toward me ever reminded me of
the country of the lynch law. Everywhere we went I saw hap-
py faces. I have fallen in love with your country and your
people.
I greet the Soviet people and on behalf on my trade union
I express the desire for peace with your country.
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I WILL TELL ABOUT EVEkY?HINd
I SAW IN THE U.S.S.R.
Friends, I want to thank the Soviet people for the' invi-
tatioh to come to the Soviet Union and to convey friendly
greetings from the workers of our country.
I have come here as a representative of Local 751 and
the Ohio district council of the-United Electrical and Radio
Workers of America to investigate labour conditions all.over_
Europe, and when-I return home I will tell about everything
I saw in `the Soviet Union to the 30,000 workers I represent.
I work in a shop manufacturing electrical equipment and
am president of our local, and I know that throughout the
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twelve years our union has been, in existence all our locals
have been 'progressive. We have always fought for the
vital interests of the workers, and we are continuing to
do so.
Our progressive United Electrical and Radio Workers
has done everything possible to improve labour conditions,
wages and services for the workers. We have won a pay in-
crease, higher pensions, longer vacations, and so on. But be-
cause there were many people in our progressive unions
who tried to split our ranks, and also because war hysteria
is so widespread in our country, the employers were able to
put pressure on our workers. All this brought about a split in
our union. As a result our union now has slightly` more than
300,000 members left, out of more than 400,000. But we hope
in the next few years to reunite and increase the number
of our members.
This split dealt heavy damage not only to the workers of
our, union, but to the entire progressive movement in the
United States.. Because of the lack of trade union unity the
workers now find it difficult to fight for their economic de-
mands, for wage increases. But thanks to the efforts of our
progressive unions we are doing everything we can to raise
the workers' living standards.
Everything I have seen and learned in the U.S.S.R. en=
courages one to fight for friendly relations between the work-
ers of the U.S.S.R. and the workers of the United States. On
the basis of all that I have seen here with my own eyes * I
feel that we have every opportunity of creating a basis for
developing friendship and mutual understanding so that the
workers of all the countries of the world might raise their
living standards and ensure peace.
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MEETING WITH TRADE UNIONISTS
IN MOSCOW
On July 17 the delegation met more than 350 representa-_
'tives of Moscow trade unions in the Grand Hall of the Palace
of Labour. K.S. Kuznetsova, Secretary of the Central Council of
Trade Unions of the U.S.S.R., presided.
Fred Saniat, Lee Candea, Stanley Beczkiewicz, Marie Bow-
den, John Blackwell and Leon Straus told. the meeting their. im-
pressons. of the Soviet Union and spoke about the conditions
.of American workers.*
I HAVE SEEN THAT
THE AMERICAN PRESS PRINTS LIES
ABOUT THE SOVIET UNION
I address you today on behalf of three delegates from
three different states. We have all come to a unanimous opin-
ion on,the question I am now going to speak about.
I must say I am very sorry our tour is coming to an end.
During this 'short stay in the Soviet Union I have seen many
things of historic-importance and significance. I have seen
your fine work in reconstruction to make the life of the So-
viet people even better than it is now.
I have visited many factories and' many shops in the So=
viet Union and have ,come to the conclusion that they are
all modern, well-equipped, clean and orderly, that they have
all,the conditions for good work. I have spoken to a large
* The speeches have been retranslated from the minutes recorded
in Russian.-Ed.
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In Zaporozhie
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.number of people and they have always willingly answered
our questions. This goes for every city we visited.
I have seen that the American press prints lies about the
`'Soviet Union, and if this doesn't stop I think it will spread
only hate, mistrust "and misfortune in our country.
But I am sure that the truth will win out, and so are
During my stay in the Soviet Union I have seen that 'the
Soviet people are building their future, giving the children
a fine upbringing in the spirit of friendship and. on a high
standard of culture. I am sure that in the near future the peo-
:ple of your country will enjoy the peace and happiness you
.fully deserve.
11- in conclusion I want to thank our hosts-the Soviet trade
unions and the workers of the Soviet Union=for their kind-
tress and the wonderful reception they have given us during
ur stay in the Soviet Union. It is a reception I will never
forget. In return I can `offer only my friendship and express
try gratitude.
I pledge that when I return I will tell only the truth, only
what I. have seen, so that on this basis we will be able to
establish closer contact and unity between our countries.
Peace and happiness for the nations of the world!
HAPPY PEOPLE
I am very happy to have this opportunity to say a few
words here. .
In a few hours we shall be. leaving the Soviet Union. Al-
though I feel a little sad at leaving many new friends and
acquirtances here, I am also anxious to return to my own.
land to tell the American workers my observations and con-
e1usions as the result of my experiences here.
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In the rolling' mill 'department of the Zaporozhie steel plant
--li
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I will touch upon one aspect of my experiences which has
deeply impressed me-the Soviet people as I have seen them
and gotten to know them.
We were greeted at every airport, in every city, with
strong handclasps of friendship. We were brought flowers, a
wonderful expression of warmth, love and friendship. In
every city we visited, you opened your hearts to us` and gave
us the key to your cities. Wherever we wished to 'go we had-
only to,mention it and it was arranged that we go-more
often-you offered us more than we could: see. You took us
to concerts, theatres, operas and operettas. No effort was
spared that our: delegation obtain the: maximum arr ount of
knowledge about life in the Soviet Union:
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We, visited plants, iactories rest homes, a bakery. a win
ery, -children s. ,camps, a;collective ;farm -`and.many; rimany.
other places Wherever?_we'went; we,stopp_ed the .people:- at
work, .ori.:the.street, at random to ask questions and they al
ways responded with 'pridein their work,. their country,` their
aims and -their achievements.'
\ue'were all moved - by the" fast disappearing signs of the
horrible destruction ,caused'by ?the`.warunleashed by Hitler=
.ite fascism
The Soviet people's desire for peace' is reflected in the
tremendous large =scale :build-i,ng, reconstruction -and re"sto
ration tprogram.. We found itI'incredible that in just a -few
'short years such outstanding` progress, has been; made,,and
with it; =the rich development of culture in every. 'form The
ace:
Soviet PeoPle have been trulY ' building for.,.
.
Much of. the American can, press has resorted to outright
slanderous lie's; distortions and misquotations about the
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Our country is being mobilized for war: There are pow-
erful forces in our country who call for war. These are the
same people who would gear business in our country to
provide war, contracts with tremendous war profits for a few
people. These are the selfish interests who have refused to
hear the. voices of the American, people calling for an end to
the fighting in Korea and for peace with China and the whole
world. Despite this, instead of treating us as enemies, in your
welcome to us you extended your hand of friendship to the
American people.
You told us you see the distinction between the Ameri-.
can people as a whole and those individuals who are ene-
mies of all the working people of the world, of which we
have our share in America.
- We will never forget the reception we received in the
children's camp, the spontaneous warmth, affection and love
expressed when they surrounded us and sang to us. It seemed
to me that this could only be the reflection of their teach-
ing and training. This is quite a contrast to the atmosphere
surrounding our children, Through the radio, movies, tele-
vision and our school system they are being taught what
to do in case of an atom bomb attack. When the Soviet
children greeted us they-weren't thinking of war, but of sing-
ing and body building. They.sent their love to our children
in America. They know of our country. They asked for our
Paul Robeson. Their teachings of no discrimination against
:any minority groups and their sympathy for any oppressed
people became sharply clear from their especially warm re-
,ception of our Negro delegates. It -therefore became very ap-
parent that contrary to our American press the Soviet chil
dren have been indoctrinated only with pride for their coun
try, respect for other fellow human beings and the rights of
all people to live as equals, to live as they please, however
;they.. please and wherever. they'please. Such training.helps_to
build for peace.
60
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Lee Candea chats with members of the Ilyich Collective Farm,
Zaporozhie Region
All around we have received every conceivable sign of
friendship. We have seen a happy people engaged in peaceful
and creative labour. The standard of living is good. Wages
are high. Rents are amazingly low. Food is reasonably priced.
Trade ' unions here are free and strong ones, and they
ensure Soviet workers many advantages which American
workers do not have.
In return for your friendship' the only request you have
made of us is that we tell the truth of what we have seen- and
heard in the Soviet Union,
I pledge to you that when I return `home I will tell-the'
truth about the U.S.S.R. not only to the 30,000 workers who
are members of the Hotel and Restaurant Employees Union,
but to many other thousands whom I will meet. I pledge to-
let the American workers know of your wonderful country,
the wonderful people and of your sincere desire for peace.-
61
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WE HAVE LEARNED A GREAT DEAL
IN THE SOVIET UNION
First of all I should like to point out that I am very glad
of this opportunity to spend my last day in the Soviet Union
with trade unionists and with Soviet trade union leaders.
We representatives of the American working class have
visited Europe and Soviet Russia. We have come with the
object of promoting mutual understanding and solving prob,
lems that confront our two peoples.
I personally think that during our stay in your country
we have learned a great deal by our exchange of opinions
on many questions. We have also become acquainted with
living conditions and wages. Moreover, we have seen that
the workers everywhere want peace. We know that you had
many difficulties resulting from. the last war and we also
understand that the country's 'prosperity and development
cannot be achieved immediately after such destruction as
was caused by the war. We have come here to establish
closer friendship and collaboration, so as to work in peace.
I thank you for the opportunity to visit your factories.
To me the shoe, factory was of special interest because, hav-
ing worked a large number of years in this industry, I want-
ed to know what difference there was between production
methods in your country and ours.
After a warm reception given us by the workers, the chief
engineer of the shoe factory told us about the damage caused
by the war and about the reconstruction work done since the
war. o
When we entered the shoe shop I was immediately im;
pressed by the cleanliness, the order, and the abundance of
light and air. The next thing that made a strong impression
on me was the high degree of mechanization in all the proc-.
esses and the conveyer system.
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At the conveyer in the Skorokhod Shoe Factory, Leningrad
' But though there was. a conveyer system. we did not no-
tice any speed-up. Another thing that struck me was that
women were easily doing jobs which in America are done
only by high-skilled men workers. When we asked workers
whether the work was hard they always smiled and an-
swered, "No.'
As for the medical service and the first-aid facilities at
the factory-this was a complete revelation to me. I was
especially impressed by the clinic which this shoe factory
had. In our country it is considered a big achievement if a
factory has a first-aid station.
We trade union members and delegates feel that in the
near future representatives of the Soviet people may perhaps
have the opportunity to visit our country, and we hope that'
if such a delegation- 'does come we will try to return
the warmth, the `attention and the friendship shown. our
delegatio-n.
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An especially strong impression was' -made on the by the
warm reception given us by the children of Leningrad and
I extend my heartfelt thanks to them.
On behalf of the American workers I want to convey to
you our wishes for friendship and peace.
IN THE SOVIET UNION PEOPLE ARE VALUED
ABOVE ALL ELSE
MARIE BOWDEN
1 am- very happy to have received such a warm recep-
tion from the Soviet trade union leaders. On behalf of the
people I represent I want to assure the Soviet trade unions
that invited us here, as well as the chairman of the present
meeting, that the whole truth about what we saw will be con-
veyed to the American people.
My position here today is somewhat unusual, yet I am
proud that I speak both on my own behalf and on behalf of
one of the members of our delegation, Hilliard Ellis, who is
ill and asked me to speak for him.
I think that only Comrade Hilliard Ellis and I can fully
appreciate, more than the other members of the delegation,
the conditions of the Soviet workers as compared with the
conditions our workers have in the United States.
I should like to point out that Comrade Hilliard Ellis,
has a passport limiting his stay abroad, ..and must return
home earlier. He asked me to tell you that the, "iron cur-
tain" we hear so much about does not exist in the Soviet_
Union, but we did discover that there is a curtain of,flow-
er.s here-, and that.in the Soviet Union, for the first time in
his life, he felt he was a full-fledged human being with, all
the rights enjoyed by the entire people.'
Comrade Hilliard Ellis represents workers in the auto
industry, and as a foundry man he was especially interested.
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in foundry work. We visited an auto plant, inspected the
foundry shop and saw that the working conditions. in the
Soviet Union are very good, and that the mechanization is
equal to the mechanization in the United States. The safety
devices we saw at the -auto plant made a very big ithpres-:
sion on Hilliard Ellis. He said that when he returned home
he would fight with all his energy for similar conditions for
the American auto workers.
During our stay here we really came to understand that
in the Soviet Union people are valued above all else.. We
discovered, also, that everything done in the Soviet Union
is done for the workers. Splendid working conditions have.
been created for them. The Soviet workers have rest homes:
and sanatoriums, they have .libraries, they go to the. theatre..
The workers have opportunities for study and advancement,
for which there are special schools, courses and colleges..The
American workers, especially Negro workers, do not have
such conditions.
- It should be noted that the conditions of the Negroes
have been growing steadily worse and worse since the end:
of the second world war. Proof of this is the persecution and.
the malice toward Negroes, especially in the South. For in-
stance, Negro children can't study in the same school with
white children, they can't use the same textbooks.
We have 'a saying in the United States: the Negro is last-
to be hired and first to be fired. I. would like to tell you about
the following case. A week before we left, a whole block of
houses in which Negro. workers lived in a Negro district was'
burned down because a progressive leader lived in that dis
trict. The well-known progressive leader Dubois, the historian,
who has written a history of the Negro - people, has been
hounded for. many years because he is one of the leaders in
the American peace -movement. Paul Robeson's passport
was taken away from him because when he returned home
from abroad he told only the truth, and not lies. There are
many cases of lynching in our country. As you know, the
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seven' Martinsville boys were executed. Today only four of
the Trenton Six are at liberty.
I mention this here because it is impossible not'to speak
of this when you come to the Soviet Union, when you see
the living conditions of the Soviet workers. We know that
there is no forced labour in the Soviet Union, and we
also know very well that in the southern parts of the United
States the status of the Negroes is that of semislaves. At
one of the factories we visited a worker came up to us, greet-
ed. us warmly, shook our hands and invited us to remain
here and work. That was the invitation of a man who
is satisfied with his job. I am sure that a man working
under slave labour conditions would never make such a
proposal.
When we return, Hilliard Ellis and I will tell only the
truth about what we have seen and learned in the Soviet
Union, and no representatives of the administration will be
able to make us shut up because the workers know that if
the speaker is a Negro worker-a representative of the most
militant section of the Negro population of America-then
he is fighting to throw off the same. chains they themselves
are wearing.
Hilliard Ellis asked me to tell you that he has faith in
the American working class, and that he has faith in the
working class of the Soviet Union. If we work in close col-
laboration and friendship we will guarantee peace.
In conclusion I want to convey wishes,of friendship and
happiness from the workers we represent and wishes -for
every success in building the society in which people will
be guided by the principle: from each according to his abil-
ity, to each according to his needs.
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:: I SAW FREE6bM AND HAPPINESS IN YOUR COUNTRY
1 .1 I was elected by railroad workers of the city of Spokane
and also by woodworkers and mine,* mill and smelter work-
ersaof Idaho. I have come with a message of friendship and
peace from the workers whom I here represent. But I had
difficulties in conveying this message of good will, peace
and friendship owing to the stream of propaganda lies in
the U.S. press and radio. I had difficulties in arranging my
trip. When I applied to the State Department for a passport
and declared the purpose of my trip, I was refused. I protest-
ed against this violation of my rights. The workers who elect-
ed me also protested. They appealed to a number of per-
sons, who helped me to get permission for the trip. And so,
thanks to the pressure exerted by the workers we succeed-
ed in having the original decision of the State Department
revised. The workers who sent me want to know the truth.
I have seen this truth with my own eyes.
I represent hard rock miners, and I live in the state of
Idaho, where the Western federation of miners was found-
ed by one of our leaders, who drafted the charter of the
federation while in jail. You workers know the name of this
man who headed our fight. He was William Haywood, whose
ashes are buried in the Kremlin wall. It was then that we
began our ,campaign for better working conditions and high-
er pay. But our first efforts to improve labour -conditions
produced no results because the employers did not listen to
our demands. There was nothing left for us to do but strike
for our demands. That was our first. strike. The workers
played a militant part in that strike, proudly wearing strik-
er's armbands. The government took a number of repres-
sive measures, going so far as to set fire to the settlement
where the miners and their families lived. Police squads
were sent out against the workers.
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Our- trade- union? was born in thosehistoric days: We
fought for our demands for many years, but up until 1941
we did not have any definite successes. In 1941 our union
won recognition on a national scale,. I was, one ,of the first
members of the committee which negotiated on wage ques-
tions,. and I have been on this committee ever since.
My colleagues and I returned. from the army to find that
a lull had set in in the, movement, but since
1946 we have taken every measure to steer our work. in the
proper. direction. We have scored a numberof successes in
social insurance and technological- improvements. Now we
are negotiating for a new, system of social insurance and.
higher pay.
After visiting the coal mines in the -Tula district I must
say that the Soviet Gov.ernment pays much attention to the
conditions of the miners. In conclusion I- want to say that
when I return I will tell the workers who sent me that I saw
freedom and happiness in your country. I will,convey a mes=
sage of peace and friendship to them.
THE SOVIET. PEOPLE-
MAKE A GOOD LIVING
LEON STRAUS
I greet you on behalf of- the president of our Fur and
Leather Workers' Union, Ben Gold, and on behalf of the
100,000 members of. our union 'in the -United States. We
have already spoken much about what we have seen in the
U.S.S.R., and we have made-several'press statements. A full
report has been. made .at. a press conference.
During our stay in the Soviet Union we have received
answers to our questions and the questions which Ameri-
can workers asked us to get cleared up. We did not see any
hungry or starving people in. the' Soviet Union as we were
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The delegates visit the poultry section of the Ilyich Collective Farm, Zaporozhie Region
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told' in the United States we would. On the contrary, we
saw that the Soviet people make a good living. They are
well-fed, well-clothed and well-housed.
I see that you are smiling. That was also the case in
the several cities we visited in your country, but neverthe-
less stories about "starvation" in the U.S.S.R. are printed
in the American press.
In studying your living conditions we saw that you
have a system of social insurance which gives the workers
splendid benefits as regards vacations, pensions, sick pay,
and so on. Although some of the members of our delegation
do not agree with the political system in your country, they
declare that the American working class needs such benefits.
We saw that civil rights exist in the Soviet Union; all
the rights of man are granted the Soviet people. As a con-
trast I want to say a few words .about labour conditions in
our country. Here is an example. Since the beginning of the
war in Korea about which our press has shouted so much,
huge sums have been invested in American industry, but it
is not the workers who have gained from this. It should be
noted that there are several million unemployed and several
million part-time workers, and that the number of unem-
ployed is growing larger and larger in the industries manu-
facturing consumer goods.
It is becoming more and more obvious to our workers
that a war economy brings no benefits to the American
working class, despite the fact that 60 billion dollars have
been invested in industry. On the. contrary, prices have
soared. There is no price control in our country. On the oth-
er hand the government has instituted a wage-freeze. This
economic policy is leading us to a' grave economic crisis.
A little while ago we had a talk with Chairm.ari Kuz-
netsov of the Central Council of Trade Unions of the
U.S.S.R., and we told him about price statistics. In par-
ticular, I want to say that our Bureau of Labour Statistics,
which publishes the official figures, has had to note that
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food prices have increased by 132 per cent since 1939. As
a rule, the Bureau of Labour. Statistics "slightly" minimizes,
it gives incorrect figures. A number of trade unions that are
conducting research in this field testify that prices have in
creased by 190 per cent. For example, food prices this year
are 24 per cent higher than last year. Moreover taxes on the
population have trebled. A family earning 3,200 dollars a
year, which according to official statistics is the subsistence
minimum, pays about 800 dollars a year in taxes.
While the living standard of the people is steadily drop-
ping, the profits of the employers have increased sharply.
Let me cite an example. In the four years from 1935 to 1939
these profits comprised 5.5 billion dollars a year. During the
war, between 1942 and 1945, the yearly profits rose to 22.5
billion dollars. Between 1947 and 1949 they rose to 30 bil-
lion a year, and in 1.950 to 40 billion.
Here is another example. In a single year General Mo-
tors makes a profit of 4,000 dollars per worker, or more than.
the average worker earns in a year in this company.
Under the wage-freeze the worker's pay can be increased
only 10 per cent, while food prices can increase two, three
and four times. And though we are fighting against this, the
-wage-freeze bars increases of more than 10 per cent.
Although the working class has fought throughout its
history for better economic conditions, this situation exists
.in our country today because the top trade union leaders
have betrayed the working class and serve the interests of
big business. Nevertheless our workers are continuing their
fight for better economic conditions. The majority of the
progressive unions which were expelled from the C.I.O. last
year now embrace about 1,000,000 workers, headed by pro-
gressive leaders.
Some of these progressive unions are represented on our
delegation: the electric-al workers, the fur and leather work-
ers, the mine, mill and smelter workers and other unions.
The progressive unions include the West Coast longshore-
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.men headed by Harry Bridges, the fishermen's union, and
so .on: The workers of -these progressive unions are combin-
ing their fight for better economic conditions with a fight
against the C.I.O. leadership:which is betraying the interests
of the working class.
When the C.L.O. leaders joined up with the big corpora-
:_tions and supported- their policy, it became clear to the
American workers, especially to the workers in these unions,
that the C.I.O. leaders are not defending the interests of the
?wofkin.g people:
As for the leaders of the A.F. of L., they do not have'.to
be .taught how to betray the working class. They have learned
-this well in the course of many years, and such "friends"
of the workers, say, as Matthew Wo,ll and William Green
are teaching their assistants to hate the Soviet Union and
to betray the working, class.
" The worsening of the economic situation has spurred the
progressive unions to organize coordination committees
in maj.or cities in a number of states. Coordination com-
mittees have been set up in 15. cities, consisting of repre-
sentatives of the progressive unions, C.I.O. unions and, to
a 'lesser degree, representatives of A.F. of L. unions.
Besides close contact and.coordination among locals, our
unions also have contact on a national scale. However, we
have not yet succeeded in fully solidifying our ranks. This
is one of the pressing problems facing our progressive la-
bour movement in the United States.
The betrayers of the working class who now head a nurn-
ber'of unions are showing their true colours more and more
`.clearly. James Carey has gone so far as to propose an alli-
ance with fascism to fight the Soviet Union. And though
they are now in power, these leaders, like James Carey, who
? are calling for. a struggle against you, won't hold their posts
long.
Trade union members look upon the Russian people, who
fought German fascism, who were our allies in the war
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against Hitlerism, as our friends, and we look upon the
German fascists as our enemies.
Our union has 15,000 war veterans, who know what it
means to have the Soviet people as an, ally; because the So-
viet people's struggle helped save our lives. I have, had the
experience of personal acquaintance with Russian soldiers.
I will tell you that when, -during the war, one of our big,
units was surrounded by the Germans in the Ardennes, we
followed the radio reports of the Soviet advance With great
attention because we knew that the advance of the Soviet
Army was.saving our lives. I feel that I owe my life to the
Soviet Army. -
Despite the arrests and all the persecution in our country,
at the present time, I.want to assure you that we are true.
and sincere friends of your country and will always remain
friends of your people. -
We will constantly call for peace and general.disarma-
ment because that is the _way we can ensure peace.
Long live -friendship between the American and Soviet
people and among the people of the whole world!
tong live peace! , .
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THE REPORT. OF THE DELEGATION
IN NEW YORK
Upon its return the delegation held a press conference in
New York on August 9, which was attended by reporters from
trade union and.bourgeois newspapers.
Leon Straus, Chairman of the delegation, read the following
general report, signed by all the members of the delegation.
The American trade union delegation that visited Europe
in July 1951 was composed of representat-ives of workers in
A.F. of L., C.I.O. and independent unions from coast to
coast. They came from the following industries: automobile,
mines, shoe, sheet metal, fur and leather, electrical and ma-
chine workers, distributive trades, department stores and
hotel and restaurant workers. The -delegates also represent-
ed a wide variety of political opinions.
The delegation spent five weeks in Europe and visited
the following countries: France, Italy, Poland and the Soviet
Union. In addition the delegates were able to spend- a limit-
ed time in Berlin, Vienna and Prague.
The delegation went to Europe at the invitation of Euro-
pean trade unions. In each' country we were invited by lead-
ing trade union federations and met with both trade union-
ists and their leaders.
One thing that we found in every country we visited was
a deep desire on the part of the people for friendship with
the American people. Wherever we went, workers expressed
this sentiment. In some countries the degree of unity of
workers, in their own interest, was greater than in others
but in all countries we were made aware of this desire on
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the part of all workers for friendship, and the most impor-
tant message we were asked to bring back was that of peace.
Similarly, even though conditions of labour varied in the
countries we visited, we found that everywhere working
people have much to gain from the friendship of the Amer-
ican people, just as we have much to gain from the things
our delegation was able to see in the course of our visit.
Here are some of the observations we made of labour
conditions in the countries we visited:
France.-In France we met many trade union leaders,
representatives of various kinds of trade unions, in addition
to visiting workers right in factories. We met with leaders
of the electrical workers' union, metal workers' union, min-
ers, paper-box workers, fur and leather, and shoe workers,
as well as-with the General Secretary of the General Con-
federation of Labour Brother Frachon. From all of them we
heard this message of friendship, international solidarity of
labour and peace.
The delegation visited an airplane engine plant outside
Paris called the Hispano-Suiza Plant. We met workers and
leaders of all the three major unions in France-the General
Confederation of Labour, the CGT (which has an overwhelm-
ing majority of workers unified in its ranks), the Force
Ouvriere and the Christian Democratic Union. For example,
in this plant out of 3,400 workers, 1,860 were members of
the CGT, 269 were members of the Force Ouvriere, 299 were
members. of the Christian Democratic Union, and 380 were
members of the Independent Union of Engineers. .
We soon learned that the division of workers into many
federations within the same factory inevitably weakens the
workers' strength and therefore their conditions. For one
thing, a very large percentage of workers were not members
of any union. Their pay and working conditions reflected
this. They earn an average of 37.5 cents hourly. Without ex-
ception all workers told us that they were unable to meet
the tremendously high cost of living on their salary. Prices
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have skyrocketed in France just as they have in our owri
country. Workers informed us that the employers were mak-
ing exhorbitant profits, while they, . the workers, are unable
to make ends meet. The delegation had an opportunity to
observe housing conditions of workers and saw the most
miserable hovels and shacks that it is possible to imagine
with horrible plumbing and -toilet facilities.
However, this report would be incomplete if it did not
make clear that the workers of France are uniting more and
more and are fighting for better wages and working condi-
tions. The majority of workers have a strong labour organi=zation in the CGT. In the Renault automobile plant, which
has about 35,000 workers, the CGT has 28,000 members, the
Force Ouvriere-1,700, and the Christian Democratic Union
-2,800. The CGT functions very effectively as a powerful
organization of labour, with regular meetings, conferences
and many struggles conducted for better working condi-
tions. Its concern for workers goes beyond the actual fac-
tory. We were fortunate enough to be able to visit .a camp
owned and operated by the metal workers' union, where we
saw how the union makes efforts to improve the life of its
members
French workers asked for support of the American trade
unions in their struggles against their employers for a de-
cent living wage. They pointed out that the employers of
America are giving every kind of assistance to French em-
ployers with grants of money and machinery through the
Marshall plan enabling them to make outrageous profits.
The French workers, on the other hand, are suffering
more and more each year. It is no wonder that they call for.
international solidarity between French and American work-
ers to mutually improve our conditions.
Italy.-In Italy we met with active workers and trade
unionists in the city of Rome as well as with leaders of the
General Confederation of Italian Labour and its General
~ecrethry Di Vittorio.
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We discussed problems of American labour and answered
their questions. Similarly we heard from Italian work-
ers about their problems. There too workers pointed out the
need for greater labour solidarity, as aid to the increasing
strength of Italian labour in its struggle for better condi-
tions. We learned that the CGIL, like the CGT in France,
has a great majority of workers in its ranks. It has a mem-
bership of five million while the Christian Democratic Union
has 500,000 members and the Social Democratic Union-
150,000 members.
The leaders of the CGIL including many who are them=
selves Catholics and Socialists pointed out to us that when
labour struggles take place, all workers, regardless of their
affiliation, participate in them, but that the only guarantee
of greater progress of labour is consistent unity within one
federation.
One of the most serious problems faced by Italian work-
ers is unemployment, which has increased greatly. . Unfortu-
nately the Marshall plan has stimulated rather than re-
duced this unemployment.- This example was given to us:
previously Italy produced a great deal of machinery which
she had then exchanged for wheat from the-Unite'd States,
thus providing employment to many workers in the machine
industry. However, under the Marshall plan the United
States gave a great deal of grain to Italy. Since there is no
longer an exchange of machinery for this grain, many ma-
chine factories have had to close down and workers have
been thrown out of work. To make matters worse, Italian
industrialists were loaned 200 million dollars under the
Marshall plan to buy machinery from the United States.
Thus while they made a tremendous profit out of this trans-
action, it -hurts Italian workers by causing, greater unemploy-
ment. Not only that, but- workers, through their taxes, are
forced to pay interest on this gift, thereby taking an.addi-
tional cut in their standard of living. We were told that there
are two million unemployed workers and another two mil-
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lion workers working part time, This was confirmed by
United Nations figures which indicate four million unem-
ployed in Italy. When one considers that the total labour
force in Italy is only nine million workers we can get an
idea of the terrific rate, of unemployment.
As an example of how difficult it is for workers to live in
Italy we were informed that a worker needs about 60,000
lire monthly in order to make ends meet. The average pay
is 30,000 lire monthly or about 50 dollars. This is 50 dollars
monthly, not weekly. How can these workers be expected to
make a living?
But in Italy, like in France, the story is incomplete with-
out indicating the tremendous struggleithat the CGIL is con-
ducting and the many gains this is winning for workers.
Last September, the workers through their unions won a
wage increase. They have had to conduct many strikes; they
have had a great deal of interference from employers, the
government and from those who are trying to disunite their
organizations. But despite these obstacles they were able to
win an additional eight per cent wage increase this last
April.
As far as conditions are concerned we found that many
Italian workers work 48 hours a week-eight hours daily
six days a ,week; others work longer hours. The union has
been able to win a 20 per cent bonus for overtime work in
some industries and a 50 per cent bonus in other industries.
Most, holidays are paid as holidays and workers receive
double time for holiday work. Only a small percentage of
workers have paid vacations. 'The union has succeeded in
eliminating discrimination of any kind in industry.
In going to and,coming from East Europe we were able
to halt in the United States zones of Berlin and Vienna. Un-
fortunately, we did not have opportunities to visit factories
and discuss problems with workers. However, we did notice
one thing of great importance which we feel should be re-
ported. Here was the dividing line of Europe. Here we saw
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American soldiers serving as occupation troops in Germany
and Austria. Here we began to see that the world is di-
vided into two parts and that if there is to be peace, these
two parts must learn to live together. It is our conviction
that this process is not being helped by the presence of oc-
cupation armies anywhere-whether they are American or
Russian or any other.
We visited Prague while in transit to Poland and the
Soviet Union. The day we spent in Prague waiting for an
airplane interested the delegation very much. Throughout the
city we saw many signs of American traditions, and influ-
ences and backgrounds in housing, architecture and many
other aspects of life. We saw clean streets, well-organized
social order, prosperous people and stores jammed with prod-
ucts. If one were to take his eyes off signs in the Czecho-
slovak language he would think he was in a particularly
clean, prosperous American city.
These people too continually proclaim their friendship
for the American people and ask only to live in peace with
the rest of the world.
Poland.-In Warsaw we met with both trade union lead-
ers and workers. The thing that impressed us most in War-
saw was the terrible destruction caused by the war. We still
saw whole areas levelled to the ground. Even though the
majority of the devastation has been repaired there is still
a tremendous amount of construction going on in the city.
On every street, as far as the eye could see, in every direc-
tion scaffoldings are still up in the front of every house.
We learned that one out of every 25 workers in Poland
is a building worker engaged in constructing new homes;
that the most important task of the country is the rebuilding
of Poland; that there is no unemployment; that the standard
of living is constantly improving; that workers pay only up
to five per cent of their wages for rent; that workers do not
pay for social insurance or for many social services includ-
ing nurseries for their children.
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As far as conditions of work are concerned there is gen-
erally a 46-hour week consisting of five days at eight hours
per day and-six hours on Saturday. Workers are paid time
and a half or double time for overtime work. In some indus-
tries like the metal, chemical, mining industries,, workers
work 34 hours a week. All the workers receive 70 per cent of
their wages when they are sick, besides free medical treat-
ment. Workers who are employed for one year receive two
weeks' vacation with pay; after three years .they receive
three weeks and after ten years-a one-month vacation.
We were able to quickly see why these people constantly
told us of their hatred for nazi fascists who caused this ter-
rible destruction by systematically mining every house,
street and blowing, them up with dynamite.
We could see why these people hate war with all their
heart and appeal to us so earnestly for peace between our
two'countries. We saw that this reconstruction of their coun-
try was the most important thing to them-that all their en-
ergy is devoted to rebuilding their homes and factories and
the winning of a better life. We were able to understand
their desire that nothing should stand in the way of this
tremendous task.
Russia.-Fortunately we were able to spend a good deal
more time in the Soviet Union. During our three weeks there
we travelled by bus, auto, railroad, plane, motorboat and
motor launch. We covered over five thousand miles. We saw
the cities of Moscow, Leningrad, Stalingrad, Zaporozhie,
Simferopol and Yalta. In these cities and their suburbs we
saw steel, auto and tractor plants, a shoe factory, a printing
plant, a machine plant, a bakery, an electrical power sta-
tion, a collective farm, subways, department and food stores,
.a winery, apartment houses, churches, theatres, 'movies,
:museums, parks, rest homes, sanatoria, hotels, children's
camps, a hospital and botanical gardens. We were in barber
shops, beauty parlours and libraries. We saw -and spoke to.
thousands of workers.
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At the Lenin Dnieper Hydroelectric Station
When we came to the Soviet Union and were received by
trade union leaders in Moscow as we arrived at the airport,
the chairman of our delegation, in response to greetings
extended to us by the trade unions and people of the city,
enumerated several questions that influence the thinking of
American people and expressed our determination to find
answers to these questions.
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. Among these questions were the following: is the stand-
ard of living as low as pictured in the United States; are
starvation wages in existence; do workers have enough
food; are there inflation and price rises; is there slave labour;
why are there no strikes; do people have civil rights; is there
a secret police dogging everyone's steps so that fear exists
in the country; is there speed-up on the job; is, there freedom
of 'religion; is there. free speech, press and radio; and most
important of all-does the Soviet Union want'war?
We spent most of our time in the Soviet Union because
it has become. abundantly clear that the greatest differences
that exist in the world today are those between the United
States and the Soviet Union, and that unless greater under-
standing develops between our two peoples these differences
can only widen through the efforts of those who exploit these
differences for their own selfish gain, until they would
finally explode into a world war-a terrible holocaust that
would destroy both our peoples and the world. Therefore we
had to find out what this country and its people are like.
We truly saw what they are like. They are ordinary peo-
ple like people all over the world-like the American peo-
ple. They too want friendship and peace.
Here are the answers to the questions we-asked:
The workers in the Soviet Union make a good living'.
They are well-fed, well-clothed and well-housed. We did not
see any hungry or starving people. The rents they pay aver-
age from three to six per -cent of their total wages. This
may sound amazingly incredible to Americans but we per-
sonally checked in every factory we visited, spoke to thou-
sands of workers and found this to be the absolute truth.
Workers receive from 14 to 30 days' vacation every year de-
pending upon their skill, length of service and productive
ability. Their_ vacations are paid for by government funds
administered by trade unions.. Workers are paid when sick.
Women have two and a half months' paid leave for mater-
nity care.
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Nowhere-d d We-see-any speed-up as we know-it on the
assembly lines of the factories in America. We did see good
equipment, modern machinery and safe healthful working
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doves and light. There is comfortable working, space between
machines and, generally speaking, factories and streets are:
kept even cleaner than homes.
Despite the desire of the whole country.and people for
increased productivity, which is reflected in the payment of,
special bonuses for improved technique and extra effort, real
safeguards are taken against accidents. We found the work
ers' health, age, and physical condition to be of prime con-
sideration regardless and above all else.
Vincent Moscato talks with a dairymaid at the Ilyich
Collective Farm, Zaporozhie Region
63
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During our tour we did not . see a' single worker. Who
could be characterized as `."`slave labourer;' Workers sponta-
neouslystopped their, mmachines'-, 'When they- heard that our
delegation was visiting their plant and freely'.answeted`'our
questions. They likewise asked us questions .about. our, life,
in the-. United,- States. Without any doubt, noa single work-,
er "by.word, manner or glance indicated 'any fear to . us for:
his 1safety,; family 'or his. Life.
This question of "slave labour" becameY as. much of a
joke to the American-`.'delegates as it.is to the Soviet peopl"e:..
So much so that .66-several occasions when 'we saw workers
relax.in or sleeping i,n the sun-:we'shouted "Wake up,. slave
labour :r; you're not. allowed to do that!" Or w e kiddmgty'
remarked;Th-at poor "fellow nnust, h'ave "been .`worked' to
deat.;,
h
In this connection our delegation agrees with the re=
port of the C.I.O., delegation.to 'the'Soviet. Union in 1945
which included James Carey,--Allen Haywood, Joseph Curren
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and Emil Rieve, and which said: "We were impressed with
the character of the Soviet trade unions and with their many
excellent activities in promoting the interests of workers in
economic and social welfare and cultural fields, as well as
with the most far-reaching character of the social insurance
system they operate which is designed to protect the work-
ing people and their families against all contingencies from
the cradle to the grave."
What these trade union leaders saw-in 1945, our delega-
tion saw on a much expanded scale in 1951. We are there-
fore unable to understand how it is possible for these same
trade unionists today, without having revisited the Soviet
Union, to repudiate everything they said before and sudden-
ly unveil Hearst-like stories of "slave labour" in the Soviet
Union-stories which are nothing more than figments of
their imaginations.
It is interesting to observe that contrary to the horror
stories of the so-called "iron curtain" as depicted in many
parts of our press, this delegation had complete freedom of
movement in the Soviet Union. There were- no secret police
following us around. Instead, in every city, we left our ho-
tels when we pleased and we walked through the streets
without guides or interpreters day or night whenever we
chose to do so. We walked through and around the Red Square
in Moscow on many occasions. The idelegation feels com-
pelled to contrast this freedom of movement with conditions
in our own country. There were several other elected repre-
sentatives of workers who were scheduled to come on this
delegation. Some were not given passports, others had their
passports revoked and still others were given restricted time-
limited passports. One of the delegates was refused his pass-
port and only after considerable protests were exerted did he
receive permission from our government to travel abroad.
We call the attention of the American people to the need
for a changed attitude on the part of our government on
this vital question of freedom of movement.
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We saw complete freedom of religion in the Soviet Un-
ion. In every city we visited we saw both churches and peo-
ple attending them. In Moscow several of our delegates who
are Roman Catholics went to the Roman Catholic Church of
Saint Louis on two separate' Sundays. As is usual they
-found the same people there on the second time that they
had seen previously. These people explained that they have
been going to church in Moscow all' their lives, that they at-
tend church regularly and that nobody interfered with, their
right to attend. They said that while their children did not
receive any religious training in school, they likewise did not
receive any antirel:igious training. They pointed out that after
-the war, since their church had been destroyed, the parishion-
ers had petitioned the government for a church and were
given one free. The entire amount of the taxes paid by their
church to the government amounts to two hundred dollars a
year. The priest is paid by the 'congregation and does no
other work outside his religious functions.
With regard to Jewish people we learned that under the
_Sovietconstitution anti-Semitism is a crime against the
state with heavy penalties assessed for it. We found out that
most Jews in the areas of western Russia occupied a promi-
part in every aspect of the political, economic and cul-
nent
tural life of the country and many of them have received the
Stalin Prize for their contributions in these fields. Jewish
synagogues function freely all over the country in addition
to Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic and other churches. We
learned that the place where Jewish culture and religion is
most extensively developed is the Jewish national state of
Birobidjan where the Jewish people have their own newspa-
pers and schools and where the Jewish language is taught
to children
While touring plants and factories we learned that work-
ers who are sick are sent home or taken care of by the hospital
attached to the factory or plant, without any loss of pay.
Absenteeism is very low. Where it exists it is taken care of
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by the workers and trade union organization through many
discussions. Where it becomes incurable, chronic, workers
are discharged and find jobs in other plants. There is no
unemployment. Everywhere we went we saw "help wanted"
signs. Due to the tremendous amount of reconstruction and
peaceful expansion of industry, more labour is needed. We
saw great numbers of women working in all jobs, catego-
ri-es and skills, including drivers of railroad trains
The workers explained that they have no strikes in the
Soviet Union because their country belongs to them. They
explained that they are working for themselves and not for
profits to be realized by any employers. Their production is
turned back to them in the form of better and more abun-
dant goods, making for a higher standard of living.
They also pointed out that they have an effective trade
union organization and strong collective bargaining agree-
ments through which their complaints, grievances and prob-
lems are quickly and satisfactorily adjusted with the man-
agement. The unions are in a position to deal effectively
with the management up to and including the removal of
directors who violate the rights of workers.
We do not want to give the impression in this report, de-
spite the.many wonderful and advanced things we saw dur-
ing our visit there, that everything is wonderful in the So-
viet Union. There are some respects in which the Soviet
Union would do well to emulate what exists in the United
States. Perhaps most important of all we found plumbing
facilities inadequate. In the United States such facilities are
also inadequate in certain sections of the country, particu-
larly in communities where working people, Negroes, Puer-
to-Ricans and Mexican-Americans live. Yet the facilities
there are not quite up to our standards.
Generally speaking this is also true of the railroads. We
realize that because of the devastating destruction of the
war, the immediate needs of the Russian people were to re-
build both industry and homes. Nevertheless, we wish to
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The members of the delegation are here photographed with students of Dniepropetrovsk University
who were on student practice at the Nikitsky Botanical Gardens in the Crimea
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point out that our railroad facilities are more advanced and .
much better than those in the Soviet Union.
This was no guided tour. We were not given any prear-
ranged program by our hosts. We were not carefully protect-
ed and prevented from speaking to the people of the country.
We informed the trade union leadership what cities and what
factories we wanted to see. They took us to those places.-
When we visited factories, we selected the workers we talked
to at random. In addition we spoke freely to many people
in the streets, subways, churches, parks and museums.
By speaking to hundreds of workers in the factories,. we
checked the stories of one another and against our notes, so
that translators could not misinterpret what we were being
told. In every factory we visited, we found one or two work-
ers who could speak English and who conversed at length
with the delegation. In the parks and theatres many stu-
dents who are learning English came up to talk to us. So
we had many ways of getting the exact and correct informa
tion that we wanted and not that which might have been
prepared for us.
Everywhere we went we found a tremendous desire for
friendship with the American people. Any idea spread by the
press that the Soviet people hate us is simply ridiculous.
Any idea spread in certain quarters of our country that the
Soviet Government hates us is equally ridiculous. There is
such love and support by the people for their leaders that if
this were the case, then there would be no. question but that
any hatred of America by the government would influence
the people to likewise hate America. This is true in our coun-
try where large numbers of people are influenced by the pol-
icies of our government. In all truthfulness there is burning
hatred there for those in America who call for war with the
Soviet Union, for those who advocate dropping atom bombs
and for those who are in favour of continuing and spreading
the Korean war. But for the American people there is only
the greatest respect and friendship. As a matter of fact, Rus-
9Q
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At a children's summer camp in the Ukraine
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sian trade unionists in Leningrad celebrated our Independ-
ence Day, July Fourth, with the American delegation with
the wish that- America be free, independent and at peace
with the world.
Perhaps the greatest proof of the truth of all this is the
overwhelming reception accorded to the delegation by chil-
dren.1n every instance in children's camps, in theatres where
they were performing, in parks, streets and in all cities
we were in, the children rushed over to send their love to
the children of America. There are those in America who say
that Russian children are indoctrinated by the Socialist so-
ciety they live in. But if it were true that the government of
the Soviet Union feels that the Americans are their enemies,
surely then it would be reflected in the children of this country.
On the other hand while it may be said that the people
we saw in factories we visited were all prepared to falsely
represent their opinions and conditions to us, still no one
can say that children can conceal their real feelings. Chil-
dren cannot be taught to falsely represent love for hatred.
And these many experiences convinced us on this point.
So we have come to the conclusion that someone has
been trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the American
people. As to preparations for- war, stories in our country
have been completely misleading.,We have seen only peace-
ful economy with no reconversion' for war production. Auto
plants we saw.-continued to produce passenger cars. There
was no reconversion in order to produce tanks, airplane en-
gines. Tractor plants continued to produce tractors. One of
the biggest steel plants in the country in Zaporozhie is not
producing cannon, armour plate or ammunition but is turn-
ing out rolled steel for peacetime machinery and equipment,
including automobile. The biggest industry in the Soviet
Union is still production of building materials and actual
construction of housing for workers. We have not seen the
construction of one air-raid shelter and in Moscow we lived
in a hotel across the street from the Kremlin.
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At the steel mill in Zaporozhie
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One question was sharply pointed up for this delegation
and that is the absolute equality of all peoples, nationalities,
races, regardless of sex, in the country that has very many
nationalities. This was shown in the special attention paid
by the people wherever we went to the Negro members of
our delegation. There is no Jim Crow discrimination against
the coloured peoples in their housing, work, pay or culture
or in any respect. There are no jailings of minorities or
lynchings of people because of their colour. The coloured
people and minorities eat in the same restaurants, sleep in
the same hotels, go toy the same beauty parlours and bar-
ber shops. This occurs not on the basis of their passing for
white but because of the conscious policy that there is no
discrimination against any human being.
Even though some members of our delegation served.
their nation in the armed forces of the United States in
the last war at the battlefronts and saw what damage war
can do, this delegation was shocked by the extent - of de-
struction caused by the last war in the Soviet Union. In
Stalingrad, for example, not one single building has been left
standing. We learned therefore why these people hate war.'
Ten million people were killed. In almost every family bitter
memories have remained. We began to appreciate why the
most burning desire of everyone in the Soviet Union is for
peace. Every greeting, every farewell, every Soviet worker
we talked to cried out for peace. In Leningrad an old woman
textile worker told us what misery war had caused in her
personal family and begged us to convey her feelings, the
feelings of the workers in her plant and the feelings of the
people in her city for a peaceful world.
At the bread-making factory in Moscow the workers told
us that they wanted to continue to make more and better
bread for their people.in a world of peace. The workers in the
tractor plant in Stalingrad told us that to, them war meant
the death of one-third of their city's population and the destruc-
tion of their entire city. How could they possibly want war?
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In Zaporozhie the children in the camp, some of whose
parents were killed in the last war, movingly expressed their
earnest wish for a peaceful world in which their future
would be secured.
In Yalta, where workers were resting in sanatoria get-
ting well or vacationing, they flocked around the American
delegates asking why any disagreements arising out of the
differences in our social systems could not be negotiated
through peaceful means.
We were asked why our government was ringing the
world with military and aviation bases. We were asked why
the military alliance aimed at the Soviet Union-the North-
Atlantic pact-wa-s concluded. We were asked why milliard's
of dollars in our economy are being spent for war prepara-
tions. We were asked why in the very halls of our Congress
government- officials called for war against the Soviet Union.
We were asked why hoodlums were permitted to attack Unit-
ed Nations Soviet representative Malik and his associates
in their car, as an overt gesture of enmity. We were asked
why peaceful trade between the Soviet Union and the United
States was stopped by the American government.
Conclusion.
In every country all the workers of all political beliefs
and convictions, of all, religious faiths-young and old, men
'..) and women, have told us- of their earnest desire for peace.
They cannot understand and neither can the members of
this. delegation understand those few madmen who keep on
calling for war. How can anyone understand the man who
stands up in the halls of Congress and shrieks that we
should drop the atom bomb on Moscow? No one can under-
stand how in this day and age a civilized country can in-
crease armaments, make military alliances and instruct its
generals to chart out new wars.
We told the Russian people-as we tell the American
people' that we want universal disarmament. We want the
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Russian army to be disarmed and demobilized just as we
want the American army disarmed and demobilized. We ex-
changed greetings with the Russians on the occasion of-
America's national holiday of July 4th, honouring American
people, at which time we called for independence for all the
nations and freedom for all the people. In Yalta, where the
historic conference of wartime allies fighting against fas-
cism took place-where our late President Roosevelt enun-
ciated his principles for world peace and freedom-we called
upon the Russian people as we now call upon the American
people for universal, everlasting friendship. The only pacts
we ask for are peace pacts, not military ones. The only bonds
we ask for are those of friendship and not those created by
money or by selfish alliances.
We hope that this message will be distributed as widely
through America as the message we delivered to the Rus-
sian workers and the Russian people was distributed
through the Soviet Union. We spoke on the radio there and
said these same things. Not once were we told what to say,
even by -suggestion. Not once were we asked what we were
going"to say. Never did we have to submit a prepared text
in advance nor was anything we said censured. Our articles
and interviews were printed in the Russian papers. This
freedom of press and radio is such that while a tremendous
number of newspapers and magazines are printed and read
by practically everyone and while almost all the people have
and listen to radios there is still a demand for more.
We bring this report to you as a public service in the
best interests for the American nation, with our most fer-
vent hopes for a greater America in a world of peace.
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