Percepţia asupra Serviciului Muncii din punct de vedere al compoziţiei sociale în primii ani după înfiinţare (1950-1951)
The General Perception Regarding the Social Composition of the Labour Service during its First Years of Existence (1950-1951)

Summary/Abstract: The Labour Service was officially created in January 1950, after previously operating experimentally for three months. The institution was part of the Ministry of Constructions and consisted of conscripts whose time of service was equivalent to the military duties. Although rarely clearly mentioned in official documents, the Communist authorities initially intended for the ranks of this Service to consist mainly of elements of undesirable social origin (a kind of penal unit in which they were to be rehabilitated through work). The role of the Service was to use and channel the available working force toward construction sites and development projects considered to priorities. Although this plan did not materialize, the units of the Labour Service having asocial composition similar to those under the authority of the Ministry of Defence or the Ministry of Interior, the idea caught up with the general public, which appropriated it. This situation generated numerous incidents in which its staff was treated badly, including cases in which officers were disregarded by those from other ministries or the Romanian Workers' Party, and even by the institutions and construction sites where the units of the Labour Service were deployed. As this situation created problems in carrying out the tasks for which the Labour Service had been established, the authorities were forced to intervene through a sustained campaign to combat this perception. In the end, the goal was achieved, after 1952 such problems were rare. Of course, the fact that the units of the Service were active in all fields of production and throughout the country, in the peak years with over 100,000 soldiers, also contributed to improve its image. The Labour Service was disbanded in 1961.

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