In the second half of the 19th century and until the end of the
1st World War, the salaries of the tobacco workers were not
related with their working hours (12 hours per day) while the
profession itself was seasonal and unhealthy (due to dust, heat
and humidity). [Humidity is vital for the processing of tobacco
in the Warehouses during the summer months.]
At the time, the "class" of tobacco workers was constituted by
Orthodox, Muslim, Jewish and Armenian workers, mostly coming from
the regions of the Ottoman Empire or even from the Greek State.
Some of them were even sojourners from Thassos Island or the
hinterland.
The latter group was returning to their villages, working in
various rural activities after the end of the tobacco working
season (May-October).
Below, the tobacco workers movement is divided into four periods:
First period (2nd half
of 19th century until 1922)
The tobacco workers unify into one body and come into collision
with the facts of tobacco processing and trade, claiming a share
of the profits through persistent and victorious struggles.
Second period
(1922/1923-1929)
From the arrival of the refugees of the
Catastrophe of Asia Minor until the World Economic Crisis in 1929,
this is a period of social tensions with massive and crucial
tobacco workers' strikes.
During this period, the living standards of the working class are
impoverished. On the other hand, the merchants attempted to
produce unprocessed tobacco in order to exercise pressure to
reduce wages and the production cost, but also to impose new
dynamics in the working relations. The social clashes were
inevitable.
Third period (up to
1936)
A new system of tobacco processing (toga) is being
adopted involving mostly women labour that was cheaper. This
resulted to multiplication of the production and increased profits
for the merchants.
The tobacco workers' struggles turned therefore towards the
improvement of the working conditions and the equal share of
labour between the two genders. Furthermore, they demanded to
participate in the sharing out of the profit claiming a part of
it.
The end of this period is marked by the dictatorship of Metaxas,
followed by the 2nd World War and later the Greek Civil War.
The fourth
period
The labour movements continue to be active-yet in
a smaller scale. The workers' demands focus basically on
insurance issues, daily rates, etc.
To summarize, the economic pressure in combination with the
particularly hard working and living conditions of the tobacco
workers, together with the group work in the Tobaccoshops
constituted the fundamental factors for the development of the
tobacco unionist movement.
