GDR 25th Anniversary

Continued from page4
weekend creche and-four kinder-
gartens. ; ;

Despite these and a number of
other provisions (116 noisy jobs
to be eliminated in 1975, a preg-
nant women -not permitted on
noisy jobs, etc.) Mrs. Kieber, in
charge of women’s questions, re-
_ Mains very active in the plant.
(Women in the GDR account for
47.7% of the work force.)

Use Oppertunities

“We know we can solve our
problems,” she said, “but it re-
quires constant vigilence to see
that rulings handed down by the
state are implemented, to see
that state law is applied.

‘It is largely a question,” she

explained “‘of women taking ad- -

vantage of the equality guaran-
teed them, and making use of
the opportunities to take respon-
sible positions’. . .” .
“ She spoke of the textile en-
gineering diploma that is avail-
able—three years at an engineer-
ing school, with special -facilities
‘for ‘women. Or, there is the
work-school of the enterprise
where women can increasé their
‘knowledge and skills and gain a
certificate by spending two days
a-week at study (at full pay)
with time off twice a year for
consultation and examination
preparation. _ 25
Women retire at 60, men at
65, but the women’s représenta-
tive was apologetic. “We cannot
reduce the pensionable age at
present because of the labor
Shortage, and the large propor-

tion who are already of pension-'
able age.” In the GDR almost’

20% of the population is on old-
“age pension. There are 75 non-
employable persons for every
100 working inhabitants, and

33.8 of the 75 are old-age pen-

sioners. .
Pensions are based on years of
work, average earnings of the

last 20-25 years, with considera- - term
tion for women who have. also.

kept a hausehold and Trajsed
children — in fact it is a meas-
‘ure of what one has put into
.the community. State honors al-
so count. Recipients of the Trade
Union Medal, for example, re-
ceive an additional- amount of
- pension per month.
More than Fringes

There is little value in. quoting

amounts of pay or pensions in

marks, without a study of the

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 1974—PAGE 10

se

A chlidren’s hotel at the Cottbus Textile plant. provides accom-

modation for those occasions when both parents have to be absent
— on shift work, study courses or for other reasons. Parents pay a
token sum for: full, professional child ‘care, room and meals. The
plant will enlarge this facility in 1975.

many benefits received, includ-
ing low rents, free ‘or inexpen-
sive vacations, free education
and: universal medical care. The
truth is that the fringe benefits
of socialism attach to all aspects
of life. ~ :

Yet, there is one which can-:

not go unsung. Young married
couples. up to 26 years of age,
whose joint monthly income ‘is
not higher than 1,400 marks re-
ceive an interest-free credit of
up to 5,000° marks, for the pur-
pose’ of furnishing their house-
hold. What a delight for the con-

‘templation of “Canadian youth

who are the victims of sky-
scraping prices. .

’ One other clue to living stand-
ards is seen ‘in the division of
average expenditures of a family
of three over one year:

related products t

footwear 0%
textiles 10.4%
other industrial oe
- commodities ............... 17.4%
services and repairs... 11.8%
including: a
transport 20 1.3%
rents” x» 2.8%

gas and electricity
(heating of all types) 1.3%
Two Main Problems _ ,

: Don’t GDR workers’ have any
problems, then?

Yes, the Cottbus workers said
that for example:

“There is still a contradiction
between what we would like to
do and what is possible at the
given. moment. Through long-
planning we can see up to

1980—and it shows a unity of.

development between production
and living standards.
“Housing is our biggest prob-
lem; quite a number of people
are still searching for proper
homes.” But they welcome what
Erich Honecker, first secretary
of the Socialist Unity Party, said
earlier this year: —
“We are pressing ahead with
our housing construction _pro-

gram under which the housing

problem in our country is to be

solved by 1990. During the cur-
rent Five-Year Plan period end-
ing in 1975 we are making avail-
able to the population, especial-
ly to working-class families, well
over 500,000 new or modernized
apartments.”

_.What does he mean, “espe+
cially to working-class fami-
lies”?) No such proposition was
ever heard in Canada.

But in the GDR, no less than
the Socialist Unity Party ‘Con-
gress (April 1972) declared: “The
local authorities and enterprises
are bound to ensure, in coopera-
tions with the housing commis-
sions of. the enterprise trade
union committees,
housing is to be made available
with priority to factory and of-
fice. workers’ and families of
three or more children. At least
60% of new housing is to be of-

fered to production workers . . ..
, “A check on the distribution

of housing space in the enter-

prise and territory is to be in-.

cluded in the activity of the or-
gans of the Workers’ and Farm-
ers’ Inspectorate and the trade
union worker-controllers.”

Can workers afford to accept
the offered housing? What are
typical rents? Here is an example

from Guben, north ‘of Cottbus,

near the Polish border. (Keep in
mind the average wage in the
GDR is 815 marks.) A two-room
apartment (piped heating, bath-
room, built-in kitchen and hot
water) is 66 marks a month.
Three rooms —. 77 marks, four
rooms — 94 marks. This is for
families earning less than 2,000
marks monthly. Those earning’
more pay the higher scale’ that
was standard for the same apart-
ments before 1972 — 77, 94 and
130 marks for the accomodation
mentioned above,
Labor Shortage
“The second biggest problem

is the labor shortage,” the Cott/

bus. workers told the Tribune.
“The working week is 42

hours, and although overtime is

not encouraged as common prac-
tice, with trade union agree-
ment, overtime is worked in
some jobs.”

Deputy Director Raum ob-
served that out of the 8th Con-
gress of-’the Socialist Unity
Party came decisions: guarantee-
ing stable prices, an increase in
the minimum wage and an in-
crease in paid holidays, to men-
tion a few of the advances.
“Every increase in pay is a real
increase,” he stressed, “because
Prices are stable — and some
prices have been reduced. This
plant’s products were reduced in
price by 30%! ;

“We are fulfilling the Party
demands,” he said. “We are pre-
paring for the 9th Congress.”
And the Congress of the leading
party in the socialist GDR is
looked to for a plan to take the

next step on the socialist road.

that new:

’ cialist country.

"Workers must have séJ|
in every decision madé

‘Among vast’ changes. aris-

ing from the founding and 25-
year progress of the German
Democratic Republic are im-

mensely increased opportuni-'

ties for-women in all spheres
of life.

Major credit for this goes.
to the Socialist Unity Party,
whose branches are an integ-
ral part of life for the Cottbus

’ Textile workers as it is in
other enterprises.
/ Pointing out that the Party
is the tested fighter for the
all-round interests of work-
ing people, Mrs. Schmidt,
Party secretary at the plant,
said a few words of explana-
tion for Canadian workers

about what a Party branch
does, and how her life ‘and .

those of many other women

were given new impetus with.
the help of Party encourage-

ment. ‘
Unlike the tasks of a work-
ers’ party in capitalist con-
ditions, where the means of
production is privately own-
ed, and workers and manage-
ment are class enemies what-
ever their subjective feeling,

“it is the task of the (Social- |

‘ist Unity) Party,” Mrs.
~Schmidt ‘explained, “to dis-
cover new reserves in the

form of ideas, methods, etc.,” .

to improve the performance.
of the socialist economy.

“The more we can win-
. workers to. participate and

the more we listen to their
ideas, the more they can par-
ticipate ‘as owners of.our in-
dustries,” she said.

It was the Party’s job, she
said, to ensure worker parti-
cipation in every discussion,
in every decision. “With
young workers it is necessary
to show them: how to use re-
‘sources carefully; how to pro-

tect machinery ... We (Party

members) work intensively

with the Free German Youth

(FDJ) and the trade union.
“We are now discussing
. production targets. Manage-
' Ment cannot just hand out
these targets; there is full

_ discussion among the work

teams. These discussions

form the basis for the target .

for 1975.”
_ _Mrs. Schmidt revealed some
of her own experiences which

fired her down-to-earth en-:

thusiasm for working to build
and make prosperous her so-
“I grew up in a working-
class family,” she related.
“My ‘father had been unem-
ployed for many years, and
he was actively engaged in
the Communist Party. I my-
self could not learn a trade
on account of the conditions
we had at home; my father

‘with reaching what We

couldn’t afford to send me iit)
to apprenticeship.” pe.
Observing that she “stat
ed as a domestic servant aft |
I left school at ‘the age
14,” the Party secretary °°".
that she was in the positiol
“until the end of the last wa!
In the meantime she had mat |
ried and had two childret
“After the German Dem’
cratic Republic was foundel
I went to night school for for’
first time in my He,
courses in typing and. | to
man among others. (I ws
then started in “adminis
tion work at sa 1g
grade,” joined :
organization in’ which px
later became a full-time *
tionary.
She ‘and her husband ee |
the 30-odd miles to :
.. » “My husband a!
high school study course 1 |
three years in tis just]
entered the textile “gith
. .. Starting as a mill

“I was given every. ¢

44

be

Ai
AG

:
u

|
i

i
Hf
4
AE

GDR, been awarded a P44 |/
for her contribution 1 ~~
socialist economy.
“We - have fulfilled iy
state plan,” she told the ou
une, “and our own Pit ied
discussions are now

=f

we produce more ef |
skirts as a result of “a
performance.” A
Explaining further nou
of the workers

in ie
iere, They help be
crecetere, They Oe aa
them to convey
to others, to bring
they think can be im
“We see it as mares cet
duty to discuss wa Le
Pe i
to. have an open the gilt

Part of the automated circular knitting dep jeted
Cottbus textile plant. Begun in 1968, it was comp’ :

four months.

ment i?
artmen in