Differentiation of Wages and Problems of Labor Motivation in the Context of Solving Key Tasks of Industrial Development of Western Siberia During the First Five-Year Plan (1928–1932)

The aim of this article is to examine and evaluate wage differentiation in the industrial and construction sectors of Western Siberia as a tool for labor motivation during the implementation of the First Five-Year Plan (19281932). The authors examine how differences in remuneration influenced workforce recruitment and labor productivity dynamics at key industrial sites in the region: the coal industry of Kuzbass and the construction of the Kuznetsk Metallurgical Plant (KMK). The study is based on the following sources: statistical data on average wages of workers and employees across labor sectors and industrial production, published in statistical handbooks on the economy of the West Siberian region and economic publications from the late 1920s to the mid-1930s dedicated to the construction of KMK and the development of the Kuznetsk coal basin, as well as memoirs of KMK construction participants, including the project’s chief S.M. Frankfurt. The first part of the article analyzes wage differentiation in the construction sector. It demonstrates that in 1929 and 1930 wages at KMK construction sites significantly exceeded (by 52.3% and 32.3%, respectively) the regional averages for Western Siberian construction. Skilled construction workers (bricklayers) earned substantially more than unskilled laborers (diggers). Moreover, the wage gap at KMK was more notable than in the average construction sector of Western Siberia and the USSR. The second part examines wage differentiation in the industrial sector. The authors establish that despite the strategic importance of coal mining, wages in this industry remained relatively low in 1929-1930. The 1931 tariff reform intensified inter-sectoral wage differentiation. In 1929, the wage ratio between metallurgy and textile workers was 1.64, but by 1932 it had risen to 2.2. In coal mining, workers’ wages relative to the regional industrial average increased from 99.6% in 1929 to 111.4% in 1932. The authors conclude that wage levels at enterprises or construction sites played a significant role in workers’ job choices and influenced labor turnover but failed to serve as an effective incentive for productivity growth. As the study shows, managers at KMK construction sites and Kuzbass coal mines met production targets primarily by mobilizing additional labor force, resorting to overtime work, or lowering quality standards. The authors declare no conflicts of interests.

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