Wages
Original title: Salários
Describes the steep rise in wages of Madeiran workers between the years before the First World War and about 1921, set against the soaring cost of living, with a table of daily pay for various trades.
Wages before and after the war
Because the cost of living has risen quite extraordinarily in recent times, all members of the working classes have been forced to demand better pay for their services, since they have no other way of maintaining their professional dignity and meeting their own most pressing needs and those of their families. Some workers now (1921) earn wages 20, 25 and 30 times higher than before the war. But if we consider that the price of all basic necessities has risen extraordinarily, as was shown on page 141 of this volume; that houses once let for 6 and 8 escudos (Portuguese currency from 1911, = 1,000 réis) a month can be had today only for 300 and 400 escudos; and that a suit or a pair of boots costs 18 and 20 times more today than formerly, etc., etc., then the demands of the working classes cease to cause surprise. We must acknowledge their right to improve their financial circumstances, so as to face the terrible crisis the country is going through, thanks to the errors and incompetence of our rulers (1921). Below we give as accurate a note as possible of what various classes of workers received before the war and receive today. It should be added that, despite the considerable differences between the old and the new wages, members of these classes never lack work on the terms they demand, whatever the nature of their occupations. This is due to various circumstances, and above all to the considerable change in recent times in the economic situation of a mainstay of the Madeiran population.
WAGES
| Trade | In 1914 (escudos) | In 1924 (escudos) |
|---|---|---|
| Carpenters | 0.80 to 1.00 | 18.00 to 25.00 |
| Stonemasons | 70 | 18.00 to 20.00 |
| Stonemason’s mate | 50 | 10 |
| Painters | 80 | 19 |
| Cabinet-makers | 70 | 18 |
| Locksmiths | 80 | 15 |
| Whitewashers | 70 | 15 |
| Tinsmiths | 0.70 to 0.80 | 15.00 to 16.00 |
| Coppersmiths | 80 | 18 |
| Tailors | 0.80 to 1.00 | 25.00 to 30.00 |
| Shoemakers | 80 | 25 |
| Polishers | 70 | 16 |
| Embroiderers | 0.18 to 0.24 | 5.00 to 8.00 |
| Ditto, repair work | 20 | 4.00 to 5.00 |
| Embroidery pressers | 0.25 to 0.30 | 5.00 to 7.00 |
| Farm labourers | 0.45 to 0.50 | 10.00 to 12.00 |
| House scrubbers | 50 | 12.00 to 15.00 |
Printers are usually paid monthly, compositors receiving 400 to 500 escudos and apprentices 150 to 200 escudos. Before the war, the latter received 4.50 to 7.00 escudos and the former 18.00 to 20.00 escudos a month. Owners of first-class barbershops charge 2.00 escudos for a haircut and 1.00 escudo for a shave, while those of second-class shops charge 1.50 escudos for a haircut and 75 centavos for a shave. Before the war, the same work cost 10 and 5 centavos in first-class barbershops and 5 and 3 centavos in second-class ones. A baker receives 70.00 escudos a week, whereas before the war his pay was about 30.00 escudos a month. A cook and a maid demand wages of around 100$000 and 60.00 escudos a month respectively, whereas before the war they received no more than 10.00 to 12.00 escudos and 3.00 to 5.00 escudos, also monthly.
What is set out in this article refers entirely to the situation preceding the year 1921.
In this article
Time
Years mentioned · 02-
Taking pre-war 1914 prices and wages as a baseline, the cost of living in Funchal rose sharply up to 1921, with prices increasing seven to fifty times and firewood sixfold.
-
A sharp post-war rise in Madeira's cost of living drove some wages 20 to 30 times above pre-war levels and firewood prices up sixfold, hardening life for formerly comfortable classes.