The daily worker., 1929-01-11


of unemployed is growing incom-
parably more rapidly than the num-
Der of employed workers. The num-
Der of industrial workers unem-
ployed is increasing.
"The manner in which the insur-
ance fund serves the unemployed
calls forth the just complaints of
the latter. The average rate of ben
Gift is 11.9 roubles ii. e., about five
pre-war roubles). The assistance
rendered by the trade unions
amounts on the average to 6.5 to
10 roubles. Only 20 per cent of
the members of the trade unions re-
ceive this assistance" Extract
from the Opposition PLATFORM
The Facts.
One Of the really sore spots of
our social life is unemployment, and
on this the Opposition is gambling
most of all. 1t is on this sore spot
that the Opposition tries to strike
the Central Committee when it
argues that things are in very
bad way and that there are no pros
poets of improvement. In the opin-
ion of the Opposition the principal
cause of unemployment is the insult
ficiently rapid growth of our indus
tries. What are the actual facts ?
Unemployment is considerable and
has beer increasing recently. Ac-
cording to the returns of the Com
missariat for Labor, during the
seven months from 10-1-26 to
5-1-27, the number of unemployed
registered on the labor exchanges
has increased from 100000 to
1,428,G00, i. e., an increase of
35S,00O.
The Composition of the Unemployed,
But an analysis of the compost
ton of the unemployed shows that
this unemployed army is recruited
mainly from agriculture and not
from industries, from the country
and not the towns. For example,
taking the figure of 1,42S,000 I'M
employed, we find that of this num-
ber 359,924, or 25.2 per cent, have
never worked for wages before.
Moreover, 147,111, of 1913 per cent
Of the total, represent seasonal
workers. Unemployed industrial
workers on 5-1-27 numbered $4,000,
or 1872 per cent of the total. What
is, particularly important is that the
number of industrial workers unem-
ployed is steadily declining. III jan
uary, 1925, they we've 29.1 per cent
and in October, 1927, only 21-9 per
cent.
This exposes the falsity Of the
Opposition's assertion that unem-
ployment "among the industrial
workers is rapidly increasing" or,
as the authors of the platform of
the "15" more frankly state, "un-
employment among the industrial
workers is increasing more rapidly
than among other groups of unem-
ployed snd consequently mos rap
idly than those flowing in from the
rural districts" AS a matter of
fact, the percentage of industrial
workers unemployed today is almost
half of that of 21s years ago; it has
declined from 29.1 per cent to 1872
per cent. But even this relatively
high percentage is due to the de-
cision taken by the Seventh Trade
Union Congress, which made it COM
pulsory for unemployed casual work
ers to register at the labor ex-
change, with the result that the
number of registered unemployed
members Of trade unions in the
period between 10-1-26 and 3-1-27
has increased by SO per cent,
whereas in the corresponding period
of the previous year it had increased
by 22.6 per cent. This point must
be particularly emphasized, because
the Opposition argue that the rate
of our industrialization is leading to
a monstrous "scrapping" of indus
trial workers.
The statement of unemployment
in Leningrad was as follows:
Number of unemployed registered
in the Leningrad labor exchanges:
Number of
Date Unemployed
Oct. 1, 1926. 6.......... $4,000
April 1. 1927. 7.......... 10000
Sept. /, 1927. ......... $4,000
The number Of women employed
on 9-1-27 was 10000, or 68.3 per
cent of the total number of unem-
ployed. Trade unionists numbered
so, 900, or 459 per cent of the total.
The number of unemployed in Len
ingrad has declined by II per cent.
The large number of non-trade
unionists unemployed, 54.1 per cent
of the total, indicates that unem-
ployment is fed principally by the
influx from the rural districts.
How the Party is Combating
Unemployment.
According to the Opposition, the
Party is doing nothing to combat