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Romania Unpaid Labor
The rapid realignment of the work force created
difficulties
for agriculture, particularly during planting and harvest
seasons.
To compensate for the loss of farm workers, the government
followed
the Stalinist practice of mobilizing soldiers, young
people, and
even factory workers to "donate" their labor. Throughout
the
communist era, these groups have supplied unpaid labor
that made
possible the massive civil engineering projects launched
after
World War II. In 1988 more than 720,000 high school and
college
students and 30,000 teachers were detailed to agricultural
work
sites, and another 50,000 students and 2,000 teachers
"donated"
labor at construction projects.
Throughout the 1980s, the government appeared to be
growing
more reliant on compulsory labor, issuing a decree in
August 1985
requiring all citizens to make labor and financial
contributions to
public works projects. At the same time, the military's
role in the
economy was also becoming more prominent. Soldiers worked
on such
important national projects as the Danube-Black Sea Canal,
the Iron
Gate hydroelectric project, and the Bucharest subway, as
well as on
more mundane details such as repairing streets and
bringing in the
harvest. After 1985, when Ceausescu militarized the
electric power
industry, army officers even became involved in the
management of
the civilian economy.
Data as of July 1989
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