FORESTS AXD EMPLOYMENT IN GERMANY 



51 



VOLUME OF EMPLOYMENT IN AUSTRIAN FORESTS, WORKING CONDITIONS, AND 



WAGES 



The total area of Austrian State forests (4) is slightly more than 1,800,000 

 acres, but only 800,000 acres is classed as commercial timberland. The average 

 annual cut during the period 1927-31 was approximately 44,000,000 cubic feet. 

 The numbers of persons employed at various times since 1927 are shown in table 27. 



Table 27. — Persons employed in the State forests of Austria, 1927-31 





Administrative 



Laborers 



Total laborers per 

 1,000 acres 



Year and month 



Techni- 

 cal and 

 protec- 

 tion stafE 



Clerical 

 and 

 other 



Statutory 



Free 



Com- 

 mercial 

 forest 

 area 



Gross 

 area 





Perma- 

 nent 



Nonper- 

 manent 



1927- April — .- 



1807 

 661 

 589 

 527 



0) 



141 

 204 

 230 



2 1, 076 

 983 

 902 

 724 



( 2 ) 

 464 

 395 

 377 



2,787 

 2,300 

 2,500 

 1.913 



4.8 

 4.7 

 4.7 

 3.8 



2.1 



1928-June ____________ 



2.1 





2.1 



1931-Decernber -- - 



1.7 







i Technical and clerical employees not given separately for 1927. 



2 Permanent and nonpermanent workers not given separately for 1927. 



The number of workers employed by the State per unit of area is smaller in 

 Austria than in Germany, partly because in Austria only about half of the timber 

 cut from the State forests is cut by the State workers. About 30 percent is sold 

 on the stump and cut by the purchasers, and 20 percent is cut by holders of timber 

 rights (servitudes) . 



In Austria, forest laborers are classed as "statutory" or "free." The former, 

 who are found in only two provinces, have legally established rights to employ- 

 ment in the State forests when work is available. They include permanent 

 (standige) workers, whose right to work is irrevocable, although they cannot 

 demand full-time employment, and nonpermanent (unstandige) workers, from 

 whom the right can be withdrawn, but who enjoy the same arrangements with 

 respect to insurance, wages, and terms of employment as the permanent workers. 

 The free workers work under agreements drawn up in the spring of each year. 



Wages in Austria, at least until recently, have been comparable to those in 

 Germany (4). The average daily wage for forest workers in 1913-14 was S. 3 

 (SO. 71), or about the same as in Bavaria. In 1931 the average was S. 6.40 (SI. 52). 

 Wages ranged from S. 4.4 ($1.05) for an 8-hcur-day planting, to S.6.8 ($1.62) for 

 a 10-hour-day logging. There is also some variation according to region; for 

 instance, wood cutters in Lower Austria got S. 6.63 a day in 1930, and those in 

 the Tyrolean Alps S. 8.84. Wages in private forests are lower than those in State 

 forests. 



In Austria the "statutory" workers get old-age pensions and allowances for 

 sickness without any contribution on their part (4). In some places they also 

 receive free medical treatment. The cost amounts to about S. 3,000,000 a year 

 (about $700,000). In July 1928, there were 2,432 pensioned workers or widows 

 and orphans of workers. The average age of the men was 59 years and their 

 average length of service 31 years (maximum 50 years). Their average pension 

 was S. 121 (S28.80) a month. Widows received an average of S. 66 ($15.70), and 

 orphan children S. 20 ($4.76). In December 1931 there were on the pension 

 rolls 1,957 men, 567 widows, and 46 orphans. The total number of statutory 

 workers actually employed in 1928 was 1,427 and in 1931, 1,101. There were 

 approximately twice as many pensioners as active workers. 



Examples of employment afforded by managed forests in Austria are as follows: 



1. A State forest of 10,000 acres (forest land only) in Austria. Spruce, beech, 

 and some pine. Annual cut 880,000 cubic feet. Foresters, etc., 11. Perma- 

 nent workers, 16; temporary workers, 23 (4 to 5 months). 



2. A State forest of 16,000 acres in Austria. Spruce, beech, and some pine. 

 Annual cut 1,400,000 cubic feet (normal cut 1,125,000 cubic feet). Foresters, 10. 

 Permanent workers, 26; regular part-time workers, 63; occasional workers, 30. 

 Numerous small mills draw their logs from this forest. 



