The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-12-05

BY IVAN a. hkANAL
Assistant Commissar for Labor of the
U.S.S.R. and Director of the
Labor Research Institute
The following is taken from a re-
port made by Mr.. Braval at the
International Industrial Relations
Association Conference on social
economic planning, held at Am
sterdam, Holland, in August.
BLAMING in the field of labor in
the Soviet Union involves the
following problems: Meeting the re-
quirements Of agriculture for various
kinds OF skilled labor now needed as
q result Of the industrialization of
agriculture; finding ways and means
Of keeping track of all the surplus
labor power in agriculture set free as
result of mechaniZation and dis
tIibuting this surplus labor among
the various branches Of industry;
training skilled workers and en-
gineers; qualifying workers for pro-
motion from less skilled to more
skilled work; regulating wages for the
various categories of labor; increasing
labor productivity and improving
technique, in order to improve the
general welfare OF the workers; and
celebrating and carrying out a pro-
gram of health and safety measures.
Certain difficulties have been and
still are being encountered in our
labor supply, Some of these are
result of the very considerable labor
turnover. This turnover alone is an
effective reply to those who attempt
70 find elements of compulsion in our
labor system. = is, indeed, strange
kind of f'forced labor" which allows
any worker to pass freely from one
branch of industry to another
The struggle against this tendency
Is not easy and is carried on through
the self-discipline of the workers. In
the majority of plants many workers
pledge themselves to stay in their
particular factory or plant until the
completion of the Five-Year Plan.
In this manner the more advanced
workers influence the more backward
workers through convincing example
and direct aid.
Training New Workers.
While new strata Of workers are
being constantly drawn into the pro-
cess Of social production, there are
no bnnd-a1ley trades in the Soviet
Union, nor are workers doomed TO
unsklled labor. There is a steady
advance in the skill OF the huge army
of workers building up its industries.
This is most clearly seen in the de-
velopment Of all sorts of measures
enabling the. workers to learn any
trade and obtain any technical train
mig and knowledge they may seek.
Tbs school year 193o-31 witnessed
s. tremendous development In the net
work Of general schools with a view
TO carrying out the measures provid-
ing for universal elementary educa-
tion. The total number of students
IN the elementary and secondary
schools In 1930-31 amounted to 1913
million, as compared with 7.S million
IN 1914 and 11.9 million in 1929. Dur
ing the past few years the develop
nent OF the network of trade and
technical schools has advanced at a
rate even more rapid than that of
the general schools. Various govern
Snent DEGREES have recently been
Issued with the aim Of extending the
Draining of workers for all branches
Of the national economy.
In this connection it may be noted
That, while in the majority of the
branches of national economy the
Five-Year Plan is being carried out
bl four and, in some cases, even in
shree years, as regards the training
Of workers for industry it is being
carried out at an even more rapid
pace. Thus, as early as 1881 the
schedules set by the Five Year Plan
for 1882 had been exceeded by 70 p,