Page 155 - Mellinato, Giulio, and Aleksander Panjek. Eds. 2022. Complex Gateways. Labour and Urban History of Maritime Port Cities: The Northern Adriaticin a Comparative Perspective. Koper: University of Primorska Press.
P. 155
Workers of the Port of Koper and the Economic Reform Period in 1960s Slovenia
contrary, residents feared that ‘the union will comply with layoffs’. Others
felt that the reforms would hit those with the lowest personal income and
standard of living the hardest: ‘Those who own cars, flats, etc. should as-
sume the burden instead.’ Koper was also said to be in the throes of ‘con-
sumer fever’. It seemed that people were buying everything they could
in anticipation of speculative profits when prices went up. Some were
afraid Koper would pay a high price because it shared a border with Italy.
The people of Trieste were presumably already buying everything up, in
particular carpets, in order to resell at a profit. Others were anticipating
a grim future because people were thought to already be living beyond
their means. Building two weekend houses, one at the seaside and an-
other in the mountains, was considered unsustainable, but so were mass
purchases of washing machines imported from Italy: ‘There is one mer-
chant from Trieste who claims he made no less than 70 million Italian li-
ras with washing machines here. Apparently, we now have more washing
machines here than in Trieste. Was that rational?’ Local communists and
other activists discussed the anonymous gossip and opinions. ‘The objec-
tives of the reform must be properly interpreted,’ they claimed (AS 1589/
IV, t. e. 1664, Informacija, 18 June 1965).
In fact, it would take more than just a proper interpretation. Nothing
short of a mental leap was needed. Late in June the municipal commit-
tee of the LCS of Koper hosted Svetko (Cveto) Kobal, a secretary of econo-
my (‘minister of economy’) of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia (SRS) and
one of the key reform planners. ‘In terms of arousing private initiative,
individual interest, we need to make a big psychological leap just in how
we raise our children,’ Kobal told his comrades. Further, he claimed that
substantial differentiation in personal incomes was necessary. Industry
relies on highly skilled cadres, so these should benefit the most (AS 1589/
IV, t. e. 1664, Zapisnik, 25 June 1965, p. 19).
For Kobal, the push for income differentiation was nothing short
of a ‘battle’. At the same time, the companies, their managers, and the
workers’ councils were adamant in their view that a rise in wages should
come only with a rise in productivity. But in July, the productivity issue
caused a scandal at the Port of Koper. According to a local Party report to
the CC LCS, the director (Danilo Petrinja) had publicly claimed that the
Port employed as many as 300 unproductive and 600 productive work-
ers. Administrators, security guards, mechanics, electricians, etc. were
thought to be particularly redundant. Petrinja was criticized by the mu-
155
contrary, residents feared that ‘the union will comply with layoffs’. Others
felt that the reforms would hit those with the lowest personal income and
standard of living the hardest: ‘Those who own cars, flats, etc. should as-
sume the burden instead.’ Koper was also said to be in the throes of ‘con-
sumer fever’. It seemed that people were buying everything they could
in anticipation of speculative profits when prices went up. Some were
afraid Koper would pay a high price because it shared a border with Italy.
The people of Trieste were presumably already buying everything up, in
particular carpets, in order to resell at a profit. Others were anticipating
a grim future because people were thought to already be living beyond
their means. Building two weekend houses, one at the seaside and an-
other in the mountains, was considered unsustainable, but so were mass
purchases of washing machines imported from Italy: ‘There is one mer-
chant from Trieste who claims he made no less than 70 million Italian li-
ras with washing machines here. Apparently, we now have more washing
machines here than in Trieste. Was that rational?’ Local communists and
other activists discussed the anonymous gossip and opinions. ‘The objec-
tives of the reform must be properly interpreted,’ they claimed (AS 1589/
IV, t. e. 1664, Informacija, 18 June 1965).
In fact, it would take more than just a proper interpretation. Nothing
short of a mental leap was needed. Late in June the municipal commit-
tee of the LCS of Koper hosted Svetko (Cveto) Kobal, a secretary of econo-
my (‘minister of economy’) of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia (SRS) and
one of the key reform planners. ‘In terms of arousing private initiative,
individual interest, we need to make a big psychological leap just in how
we raise our children,’ Kobal told his comrades. Further, he claimed that
substantial differentiation in personal incomes was necessary. Industry
relies on highly skilled cadres, so these should benefit the most (AS 1589/
IV, t. e. 1664, Zapisnik, 25 June 1965, p. 19).
For Kobal, the push for income differentiation was nothing short
of a ‘battle’. At the same time, the companies, their managers, and the
workers’ councils were adamant in their view that a rise in wages should
come only with a rise in productivity. But in July, the productivity issue
caused a scandal at the Port of Koper. According to a local Party report to
the CC LCS, the director (Danilo Petrinja) had publicly claimed that the
Port employed as many as 300 unproductive and 600 productive work-
ers. Administrators, security guards, mechanics, electricians, etc. were
thought to be particularly redundant. Petrinja was criticized by the mu-
155
