The chronicle of Eger Tobacco Factory

The cigar factory

Office directorate is fully understandable. While current manufacturing law laid down clear rules on how to handle wage claims and pacts made between workers and overseers whereby they would seek to squeeze a pay rise out of the management by bringing the operations of the factory to a complete standstill, there were absolutely no guidelines on how to cope with a full scale political movement among the workers, on October 12th 1917, the factory workers came out on strike. The strike lasted two weeks, and the factory women were asking no more than that their union be recognised and that all factory workers become members of that union. At the beginning of the strike Lajos Mertz asked for a task force from the Deputy Lieutenant, writing in a letter: “As a result of the activities of international socialist agitators, the workers have broken out into a strike. I would therefore ask you please to put at my disposal a small armed force of 100 men.” The request was granted and the soldiers cleared the factory. The women did not go home, however, but instead organised peaceful demonstrations on the streets of the city and held meetings in the workers’ club in Diófakút street. The women eventually achieved their aim, namely the formation of a bona fide union. The darling dream that every worker should join it, however, was not realised. The name of Mrs. Ruppik goes down in history for her stubborn refusal to have any truck with the union. She held out so fiercely that it was even suggested that she was a management stool-pigeon. In the end the factory women, fearing that the Excise Office directorate would punish the continuing strike action with dismissals, decided to quell their suspicions and return to work. Peaceful working conditions were restored for some time to come.

The activities of the church were not without result, either. The Christian Socialist Union, under the leadership of the church, approached the Excise Office asking for Christmas bonuses for the factory women, which they were granted. The women were given 100 crowns apiece, plus 20 crowns in child support. At the Christmas party six male children were presented with a new suit of clothes, and ten other children received other financial support. At the beginning of 1918 the number of workers belonging to the Christian Socialists totalled 180.