I. V. Shilnikova Labor disputes and workers’ economic condition in Russian textile factories  during the years of World War I:  an analysis of the archival material

Abstract: Keeping social peace and preventing complex, lengthy labor conflicts in factories during the years of World War I became one of the crucial priorities of the owners and managers of industrial companies. Many of them were willing within reason to meet the demands of the workers on improving their economic situation. In the first place, the article exposes how the workers’ demands, put forward individually or during strikes, were influencing the entrepreneurs and factory administrators’ decisions to increase work wages and narrow its differentiation level. Secondly, the author examines which complementary measures were undertaken by the managers in order to provide the workers with items of first necessity in case of the prolongation of the war. Thirdly, the article determines the level of differentiation in textile workers’ wages in two periods of time (June 1914 and June 1916) to define how much this indicator changed during two years of war based on workers’ qualification level (profession), age category (adults, adolescents, children), and gender. This research is founded on archival material, which permits to analyze labor conflicts and workers’ economic condition during the years of World War I on a micro level (in a series of individual companies). As well, this study uses statistical methods (including the correlational analysis). The article demonstrates how under the influence of workers’ demands there was an increase in their wages and a decrease in their differentiation during World War I. During these years, the welfare policy of enterprises, beside wage increases in correlation to costs of living, included other elements, some of which proved effective and were consequently adopted by the government which sought to develop efficient measures for keeping order and discipline in industrial companies – a particularly critical issue in a time of war.

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