GHDI logo

Ernst Dronke: Excerpts from Berlin (1846)

page 6 of 9    print version    return to list previous document      next document


We now examine the conditions of working life, because trade has turned life into junk and this inalienable right of mankind has to be first dealt with. Let us see what the poor can deal with and how they can live.

Wages for laborers in Berlin

1. Women’s Jobs

Job description

daily wages in silver pieces

months without work per year

washerwoman

10-12

4 months

ironer

8-10

4 months

hairdresser     

6-10

4 months

seamstress

8-10

florist  

4 months

embroiderer 1)

3-8

4 months

gold and silver embroiderer

10

silver polisher 

7½-10

8 months

metal polisher

6-7

2 months

crocheting

5

fabric sorter    

5-7½

4 months

thread stringer

3-5

4 months

reeler 2)

3-6

3 months

box girl

5

light packer     

4

2 months

silk reeler

3-4

3 months

spooler 3)

3-4

3 months

layout at the printer    

3

2 months

fashion worker 4)

3-7½

tailor 5)                

5-7½

4 months

blanket seamstress      

4

4 months

glove seamstress 6)

3-4

4 months

shoe binder            

2½-3

3 months

cap maker

5-6½

3 months

straw hat maker     

4-8

6 months

factory girl 7)

3-6

cigar maker 8)             

2-4

(?)

tavern girl 9)              

2½-4

servant girl 10)

 

daily farm worker 11)      

4-6

4 months



1) Different kinds. The working girls in fine embroidery have to compete with the women and daughters of the middle class who earn their pocket money in this fashion and of course, deliver very cheap products.
2) Wool spinners perhaps 5-8.
3) Children get at the most 10-12 silver pieces per week, which is an average of 1-5 silver pieces a day.
4) Director, 10-15.
5) The tailors who work for families also receive board and a somewhat smaller wage. Those who work for shops are the worst paid; for a high-quality expensive shirt which takes at least a day to make, they receive 4-5 silver pieces and have to pay the materials themselves. When the master craftsmen have time off, most work for the shops and so-called manufacturers.
6) The yearly average is 2-3 silver pieces.
7) Children 15-22½ silver pieces per week.
8) Mostly paid by the thousand, although they have to pay for wasted tobacco. Deveining is done by children, who get 7½-10 silver pieces per week.
9) With board.
10) 8-12 thalers a year plus board. Some receive a “house key,” which essentially means that they have to prostitute themselves to make ends meet. Most are sent into the armies of prostitution anyway, and the fare in Berlin is so meager that they usually resort to theft and fraud.
11) Receive less in wintertime.

first page < previous   |   next > last page