Workdays instead of rubles: why did not they pay wages in Soviet collective farms until 1966

  • Sep 09, 2021
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Workdays instead of rubles: why did not they pay wages in Soviet collective farms until 1966

In the Soviet Union, until the second half of the sixties of the last century, collective farmers did not receive a salary. Instead, they were given workdays - payment in kind, mostly in grain. What kind of system was it and why was it abandoned over time?

The workday system was convenient, but not cost effective / Photo: spa22.ru
The workday system was convenient, but not cost effective / Photo: spa22.ru
The workday system was convenient, but not cost effective / Photo: spa22.ru

This option for the development and raising of agriculture was convenient, but from an economic point of view, it was absolutely ineffective. As a result, the state leadership nevertheless decided to motivate the collective farmers financially by assigning them a certain salary. In spite of everything, after the collapse of the USSR, collective farms and state farms also became a thing of the past. But first things first.

1. Workdays system

Workdays began to be credited to collective farmers after collectivization / Photo: vtambove.ru
Workdays began to be credited to collective farmers after collectivization / Photo: vtambove.ru
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Workdays, by definition, should have been a share of the collective farm income / Photo: worldcrisis.ru
Workdays, by definition, should have been a share of the collective farm income / Photo: worldcrisis.ru

After collectivization, a special resolution of the Council of People's Commissars in the form of wages to collective farmers was assigned workdays. The system operated until the mid-sixties of the last century. The workday, by definition, had to be a share of the collective farm income. It was distributed according to what kind of participation in labor activity each of the workers took.

The workday system made it possible to distribute income from donated livestock or crops differentially in accordance with the contribution of a particular employee / Photo: vlad-gluh.livejournal.com
The workday system made it possible to distribute income from donated livestock or crops differentially in accordance with the contribution of a particular employee / Photo: vlad-gluh.livejournal.com
If a person did not develop workdays, he could be prosecuted / Photo: smolbattle.ru
If a person did not develop workdays, he could be prosecuted / Photo: smolbattle.ru

During the entire existence of this system, reforms have been carried out more than once, but the scheme has not become less confusing because of this. In most cases, it did not depend on the effectiveness of production, but it made it possible to earn income from distributed livestock or crops in a differentiated manner in accordance with the contribution made by a specific employee. Provided that the norm of workdays was not worked out, the person could incur criminal liability. He could be assigned correctional labor on his own collective farm. At the same time, the fourth part of the workdays was retained.

The main unit of settlement with the peasants was grain, which was absolutely not enough during the war years / Photo: zeir.ru
The main unit of settlement with the peasants was grain, which was absolutely not enough during the war years / Photo: zeir.ru

They usually paid with the villagers with grain. During the Second World War, less than half a kilogram of grain was given per workday. In the post-war period, the harvest was poor and people were starving en masse.

There were many disaffected among the villagers, people protested and made attempts to leave for the city / Photo: russiainphoto.ru
There were many disaffected among the villagers, people protested and made attempts to leave for the city / Photo: russiainphoto.ru

Naturally, the collective farmers protested and tried to move to the cities. To prevent a massive movement of people from the villages, in 1932. a passport regime was introduced, which made the villagers practically serfs. That is, a person could leave the village only if he was allowed by the chairman of the village council or collective farm. Rural children did not have much prospects. They were destined for the fate of their parents - work on a collective farm. The chairman decided whether to release a graduate to study in the city after graduation. In this regard, after serving in the army, the guys tried to settle in the city so as not to return home.

The fate of children in the villages was a foregone conclusion, they could leave to live in the city only with the permission of the chairman of the collective farm / Photo: yandex.ru
The fate of children in the villages was a foregone conclusion, they could leave to live in the city only with the permission of the chairman of the collective farm / Photo: yandex.ru

There was also no opportunity to sell something from your garden, as there was a large tax on land and what grew on it. Collective farmers were paid pensions either very little or not at all.

2. How did it end

The peasants' interest in efficient labor was minimal / Photo: mapme.club
The peasants' interest in efficient labor was minimal / Photo: mapme.club

Since the collective farmers had no material interest, the productivity of their labor was also low. Therefore, the government of the state revised its earlier decision and in 1966, in May, issued a decree regarding the payment of wages to people in money.

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The peasants could get a passport only by personal order of the collective farm chairman / Photo: rpwbl.ru
The peasants could get a passport only by personal order of the collective farm chairman / Photo: rpwbl.ru

But this did not affect the passport regime, workers were still left without documents. They received them only if there was a personal order from the chairman. The certification of citizens was completed only by 1981. Even then, villagers, especially young people, tried to leave the villages for the cities en masse.

Continuing the topic read,
why in pre-revolutionary Russia people earned a lot, but there was not enough money for a well-fed life.
A source:
https://novate.ru/blogs/260321/58320/

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