Le rôle de la main-d'œuvre textile dans l'organisation de l'espace en Pologne

In 1918, after regaining independence Poland was a poorly industrialized country. At the beginning of the twenties the textile industry was the branch employing most workers. Textile workers constituted 1/3 of all workers of the manufacturing industry. The Polish textile industry was marked by pery strong geographical concentration, and 2/3 of all its workers were employed in Łódź and the Łódź region. Together with growing industrialisation of the country the textile industry became less important and the domination of the Łódź region also changed slowly. The situation of the textile workers, Very poorly paid until then, improved. World War II brought about great changes in the Polish textile industry and new zorder lines of the country resulted in significat growth of its productive potential. IQN 1975 Polish textile industry employed 478 000 workers. It was the hilhest employment level. Since that time the employment has been slowly but continually decreasing due to the modernization of factories. In 1980 the number of the employed was 440 000, i.e. less than 10 per cent of the total umber of the employed in industry. Statistics do not show the role of the social function of particular branches of industry. This the author carried out calculations on his own. They show that soon after the war 250-300 Thousand people arned their living in the textile branch, whereas at the end of the seventies -790-800 thousand people. When compared with the total number of inhabitants it was 3 per cent after the war, 4 per cent at the end of the fifties , and 3,5 per cent at the end of the seventies. It means that the role of textile industry, as far as employment and sources of people's income are concerned, is all the time the same. It should also be realized that unlike before the war the wales of the textile workers are not so strikingly low. As for the location, most of the Polish textile industry in the Łódź region, Białystok and Częstochowa are independent of any natural or economic conditions : it is based only upon cheap labour force. In XIX century the textile industry was developed as a result of a planned policy of the kingdom of Poland's government. This industry had a pioneer character except for Upper Silesia and Warsaw where it was rather complementary for other branches of industry. Wages level in the textile industry is in our days rather similar to average wages in other branches of production, which secures this industry sufficient labour fource and protects it against employment fluctuation. A majority of textile workers is employed in Lodz which is a phenomenon on a European scale in this respect, for employment level in this area amounts to 105 000 (1980) and 98 000 live in this city. Generally 1/5 of all inhabitants of Łódź is provided for by people employed in the textile industry. Łódź is a thoroughly textile city, and problems of the textile workers constitute a considerable part of all social questions of this town, for many years local authorities resisted modernization of the textile industry, because it always results in the decrease of the number of workers. Employment in the textile industry constitutes a social economic base of Łódź and many towns of the Łódź region. This area is marked by great concentration of Polish textile industry. Silesia is the second largest textile region. It includes lower Silesia, Opole Silesia, and Upper Silesia with its big centre Bielsko. The third largest Polish textile region is situated in the south-West part of Poland. It has two centres : Gorzów and ZielonaGdra. Besides there are some minor textile centres like Białystok or Częstochowa. Employment in the textile industry plays an important part in the social-economic structure in all these regions, and any changes in the labour market of this industrial branch are reflected in the economy of towns situated in these areas.Lorsque la Pologne devint indépendante, en 1918, l'industrie textile occupait les 2/3 des salariés du secteur manufacturier. Les 2/3 de l'industrie textile polonaise se trouvaient à Łódź et dans sa région. En 1980, le textile employait 440 000 personnes en Pologne, ce qui représentait moins de 10 % du nombre total des salariés de l'industrie. Łódź reste le principal centre textile polonais, avec plus de 1 00 000 salariés. L'industrie textile s ' est développée à Łódź au XIXème siècle à la suite des mesures prises par le gouvernement du Royaume de Pologne. La Silésie est, par ordre d'importance, la seconde région textile polonaise, la 3ème se situe dans le Sud-Ouest du pays et comprend principalement les centres de Gorzów et Zielona Gora.Straszewicz Ludwik. Le rôle de la main-d'œuvre textile dans l'organisation de l'espace en Pologne. In: Hommes et Terres du Nord, 1984/2. Géographie des textiles. pp. 104-108