CORRECTION OF CLASSIFICATION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00046R000400400004-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 23, 2009
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: April 21, 1955
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2009/07/23: CIA-RDP82-00046R000400400004-9
Approved For Release 2009/07/23: CIA-RDP82-00046R000400400004-9
 Approved For Release 2009/07/23: CIA-RDP82-00046R000400400004-9
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
C-0-N-F-I-D-E-N-T- I A-L
COUNTRY
Czechoslovakia
SUBJECT Recruitment of Labor for ACrioulture
DATE OF INFO.
PLACE ACQUIREq
This material contains Information affecting; the Na-
tional Defense of the United States within the mean-
ing of the Zuplonage ILws, Title 18. U.S.C. Secs. 793
and 704, the transmission or revelation of which in
any manner to an unauthorised person to prohibited
by law.
REPORT
DATE DISTR.
NO. OF PAGES
REQUIREMENT
REFERENCES
THE SOURCE EVALUATIONS IN THIS REPORT. ARE DEFINITIVE.
THE APPRAISAL OF CONTENT IS TENTATIVE.
24+ March 1955
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COUNTRY Czechoslovakia
DATE DISTR. 28., Dec 1954. l
SUBJECT Recruitment of Labor for Agriculture NO. OF PAGES 3
DATE OF INFORMATION
PLACE ACQUIRED
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
1. A shortage of agricultural labor was one of the reasons for in-
efficiency of aggricultural production in Czechoslovakia under
the Communist regime. This was admitted officially at the end
of 1953. Actually, there were three different categories of
this labor shortage: a general shortage of agricultural labor
since 1945, a lack of young people in agriculture, and shortage
of village artisans such as blacksmiths, wheelwrights, and
saddlers. The two latter categories have affected agriculture
since February 1948. The general shortage of labor existing
since 1945 was caused by the movement of people from rural areas
into towns and the movement of Germans out of Czechoslovakia.
The lack of young people working in agriculture, and this was
true of private farms, Unified Agricultural Cooperatives (JZD),
and state farms, was caused by the recruitment of young villagers
for industry. This was part of the policy of the regime.
Frequently this was a forced type of recruitment, especially in
cases regarding kulaks. In addition to industrial recruitment,
the shortage of young people in agriculture was caused by the
government wage policy; the average monthly wage in industry
was. much higher than in agriculture,i.e., 8,000 to 10,000 crowns
compared with 2,000 to 3,000 crowns. Industrial recruitment was
in effect until early 1953 and was followed by?a period of waiting
and uncertainty regarding assignment of workers which lasted until
late 1953. The employees of village blacksmiths, saddlers, and
wheelwrights, including their own children, left for city factories
because of the general government policy governing handicrafts and
because there was not enough work for them in the village shops.
The private farmers, awaiting collectivization of their farms,
were not interested in purchasing new agricultural equipment or
having old equipment repaired. These facts were taken into con-
sideration when the regime decided, in addition to holding present
agricultural workers in their jobs, to make an all-out recruitment
of labor for agriculture. This recruitment started early in 1954
and was to be completed by the end of 1957, when the new Five-Year
Plan would begin.
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2. In accordance with this new recruitment policy, all surplus
industrial emplo
e
yees w
re to be transferred to agriculture.
Each type of industry had to release a certain number of employees.
In addition to workers who decided to transfer to agriculture
on their own, those who lived in villages and commuted to city
factories were released for agricultural work, unless they were
considered indispensable. The majority of workers who chose to
leave industry for personal reasons were married people who could
not find suitable housing for their families in the cities. Most
of these people would move to the border areas to be employed on
state farms there. The state farms in the border areas received
funds from the Ministry of Agriculture for reconstruction of
abandoned houses for the new employees; however, the state farms
had difficulty in securing construction firms to do the necessary
work. For example, the State Farm, Large Farm Unit, in Tachov
(N 49-48, E 12-38). received 1,200,000 crowns for reconstruction
of housing which had to be used during 1954. More people desiring
to go to the Tachov area were registered with the Prague labor
office than could be accepted at the state farms there but, as
of summer 1954, the state farms had been unable to secure a con-
struction firm to perform reconstruction of housing. The con-
struction firms claimed they had more important work under way.
If the allocated funds were not used during 1954, they would no
longer be available for use by the state farms, although still
larger amounts were to be allocated to the Tachov state farms
for 1955. The Unified Agricultural Cooperatives (JZD) in the
border area also had plans for providing housing facilities for
new employees. The cooperatives were assisted by the national
k
committees in 1-1,4 ? +.
a s
The transfer of people from towns and cities to rural areas was
underway early in 1954. By summer 1954, most of the people had
gone to work with Machinery and Tractor Pools (STS).
In addition to the general recruitment of industrial workers,
all those who had one or more years of agricultural education
were to go into agricultural work
r
d
,
egar
less of their present
employment. -Should their salaries be less in agriculture than
in their previous employment, which would be the case in most
instances, they were to receive additional payment to cover the
difference. A program was in process to introduce payment on a
piece-cork basis in agriculture. This recruitment was
handled by labor offices and through the local CP and was in
its initial stage by summer 1954. It was apparently a forced
recruitment because employees meeting the educational qualifi-
cations for transfer were simply instructed to report to the
labor offices.
A larger number of youth than in previous years, upon completion
of eight years of elementary education, were assigned by the labor
officesto work in agriculture. Agricultural schools of all types
accepted more students for the year 1954-55 than in previous years.
For instance, the agricultural college in Brno accepted approxi-
mately 350 students for 1954-55; approximately 250 students had
been accepted for each school year from 1951 to 1954, and 150
students for 1949-50. Schools for agricultural youth were
established throughout the country, frequently located at state
farms. The young people assigned to work in agriculture by the
labor offices were to attend a one-year training
schools. The training was both program theoretical as these
trainees had to specialize in a pparticular and field such ascattle-
breeding, swine-breeding, repair of implements, etc. Students
from agricultural high schools and people with man
experience in agriculture were to teach at these schoools. oIt
was also planned to establish winter training courses in agri-
culture such as those which existed during the First Republic
and later were'aboli-shed by the Communists.
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_3_
5. Of the three divisions of agriculture, i.e.,private farms, Unified
Agricultural Cooperatives, and state farms, the state farms, he.0,
priority in recruitment of people from industry. All 'highly,
qualified people were transferred to state farms, with the xception
of a few who had agricultural high school or college educations.
TW. were transferred to the agriculture desks of district and
regional national committees. People with small agricultural
plots who resided in villages but earned their living by working
in city Factories (kovoz
m
d
l
e
e
e
ci - factory farmers) were to be
transferred to the Unified Agricultural Cooperative in their
village. As of summer 1954, they were the only newcomers . to
the Unified Agricultural Cooperatives. These people were unhappy
about leaving industrial work because in industry they were
assured of a certain minimum wage, which was not the case in
the agricultural cooperatives.
The former usual practice of family farms being passed on to heirs,
which had been discontinued in 1948, was reestablished-:-during 1954.
In other words, children were no lo
f
`
gger
orced To le
a a their
family farms to work in industry but were ordered''?tb remain on
their own farms by the labor offices. Children cf farm families
who were not needed at home because of the size of the farm were
usually required to work elsewhere in the''`eid of agriculture.
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