LABOR
The average number of persons employed in industry in 1969 was 1,980,000, or about 40 percent of total employment excluding those employed on collective farms. Industrial employment had increased by 725,000 persons in the 1960-69 period. Employment in construction grew more rapidly—from 372,000 persons in 1960 to almost 648,000 in 1969. At the end of 1969 women constituted 43 percent of employment in industry and less than 9 percent in construction. In industry, the proportion of women in blue-collar and white-collar jobs was about equal. In construction, however, women occupied one-third of the white-collar positions and only 5 percent of the blue-collar jobs.
A distribution of employment by industry branches is available only for enterprises under the direct jurisdiction of the central government. Of these, machine building and metalworking absorbed 27 percent of the employed; fuels and metallurgy, 15 percent; forestry and woodworking, 15 percent; textile production, 12 percent; and chemicals and food processing, 7 percent each. Several less important industry branches accounted for another 11 percent of industrial employment, and an unlisted residue of fifty enterprises employing almost 100,000 persons, presumably constituting the defense industry, made up the balance of 6 percent.
The growth of employment in the 1960-69 period varied widely among the different industry branches. Whereas the number of employed rose by 60 percent for centrally administered industry as a whole, it increased by almost 2.4 times in the chemical branch, somewhat more than doubled in the production of cellulose and paper, and grew by 80 percent in nonferrous metallurgy and in machine building and metalworking. The lowest increases in employment occurred in the production of fuels, in ferrous metallurgy, and in the manufacture of glass and china. The increases in employment did not necessarily correspond to the priority ratings of the individual branches; high priority branches received relatively much larger investment.
The labor force is numerically redundant but qualitatively inadequate for the needs of modern industry. Despite the existence of labor training programs, there is a shortage of skilled personnel at the intermediate level, such as technicians and foremen. Few workers have professional school training; most acquire their skills through short courses or on-the-job training. The number of skilled workers is too small to allow efficient two-shift operation of plants throughout most of industry. The lack of adequate skills and the associated inept handling and poor maintenance of imported sophisticated machinery have been responsible for frequent breakdowns. The resultant work stoppages and the under-utilization of available capacity have had a deleterious effect on productivity.
Because of a high rate of investment and large-scale imports of advanced Western technology and equipment, productivity per worker nevertheless has been rising at a relatively rapid rate. According to official data, productivity in industry increased by an annual average of 7.5 percent in the 1960-69 period, but the increase in 1969 was less than 5 percent. Official plans for the 1971-75 period call for an annual growth in productivity of at least 7.3 percent. Western economists, however, estimated the rise in productivity to have been only 5.6 percent per year in the 1960-67 period, compared to an official figure of 8 percent. Despite the impressive gains, productivity in industry remains low, mainly because of the inadequate qualifications and work habits of the labor force and the shortcomings of industrial organization and management.
Industrial labor discipline has been a subject of continuing concern to party and government. Both labor turnover and absenteeism have been high. During the first nine months of 1969 almost 455,000 workers left their jobs in centrally administered enterprises, in many instances without the requisite official permission. During the same period worktime losses from absenteeism amounted to about 12 million man-hours. Abuse of the provision for leave without pay and loafing on the job have also contributed significantly to losses of worktime. For centrally administered industry as a whole, the loss of worktime from all causes, including stoppages caused by deficiencies of the supply and distribution system, amounted to almost 47 million man-hours in the third quarter of 1969—the equivalent of about 74,400 workers.
Poor labor discipline was officially blamed on the failure of the prevailing wage system to provide adequate work incentives. After some experimentation in the food-processing industry during 1968 and 1969 a new wage system was introduced throughout industry on March 1, 1970, still on an experimental basis. Some of the changes brought about by the highly complex new system included: a reduction in the spread between wage rates in different industry sectors and between the upper and lower limits within certain wage categories; the establishment of in-grade wage differentials depending upon the personal achievement of the worker; a rise in the proportion of basic wages to total pay (which also includes bonuses); and a tightening of the provisions concerning the payment of bonuses. Provision was also made for withholding a portion of the pay in the event that production targets are not fulfilled.
Downgrading the importance of bonuses was intended to stimulate the raising of skill levels by making higher earnings dependent primarily upon promotion to higher wage categories, based on qualification rather than on surpassing quantitative production norms. As a means of reducing labor turnover, a seniority system was introduced, with wage increases based on length of service in the same unit. The reform of the wage system was accompanied by a general rise in wages averaging 12.3 percent.
A further increase in wages is planned for the 1971-75 period. The minimum wage of 800 lei (for value of leu, see Glossary) is to be raised to 1,000 lei in September 1972 and to 1,100 lei in 1975. The average wage is scheduled to reach almost 1,500 lei in 1972 and 1,805 lei at the end of the five-year period. In accordance with past policy, the rise in wages will be kept well below the increase in productivity (see ch. 14).