Gabriel 150 years - Flipbook - Page 42
interwoven threads of silver and gold, a prod-
hours. This particular ban was not respected,
uct that had no appeal on the Danish market,
and more than a few workers nearly choked on
were also supplied to the Soviet Union.
pieces of bread or apple when one of the su-
Exports to the Soviet Union fell sharply to-
pervisors walked through the door.
ward the end of the ±∫∏∞s when the Russians
forced prices down to an unprofitable level, and
Working environment and
the surrounding environment
the knitting works closed in the early ±∫π∞s.
In ±∫∑∑, the Safety Committee took a closer
Virtues and conflicts
look at women’s legs. The reason was that many
Although the hierarchical organisational struc-
of the women who stood up on the job came to
ture continued to be the order of the day in the
work wearing “anything from gilded dancing
workplace, distinctions became less pronoun-
shoes to old, worn out slippers”. This was harm-
ced in the ±∫∑∞s and ±∫∏∞s. Little by little, use
ful to the legs and back, and the Committee
of the less formal personal pronoun, “du”, be-
strongly advised against such footwear.
came more common when addressing colleagu-
Apart from this, the working environment
es. Zacho celebrated his own change over to
was rarely a matter of discussion. In the facto-
this form with a company party, but he contin-
ry, the workers were supposed to protect their
ued to address people using their surnames.
hearing with cotton wool, but most would not.
Some of the other old virtues remained in
In the ±∫∏∞s, a sound-absorbing material was
place in the office, and job applicants were not
hung below the ceiling in the weaving mill, but
hired on the basis of their school leaving papers
hearing protection was still not used.
alone. They had to demonstrate their capabili-
Since the founding of Kjærs Mølle, the
ties by taking tests in writing and arithmetic.
waste water from the dye works had gone di-
Dissatisfied factory workers had short fuses.
rectly into the river. A glance at the river gave
And when the shout, “Strike”, was suddenly
passers-by a pretty good idea of what Kjærs
heard, everything came to a halt, often without
Mølle was currently making.
everyone knowing in the beginning what the
Kjærs Mølle took its first big initiative with
strike was all about. It might be due to a dis-
regard to the environment in the mid-±∫∏∞s.
agreement about the adjustment of piecework
Enormous amounts of river water were used for
rates, for example, following the purchase of
washing raw materials, as much as ±,∞∞∞ m≥ per
new looms.
day. Together with the waste water, up to ≤∞
Many things were forbidden in the ±∫∑∞s
tons of sulphates were pumped into the Østerå
and ±∫∏∞s, but, in some cases, permission was
River every year. This stopped in ±∫∏∂ when
given for things that would not be allowed today.
Kjærs Mølle, as the first factory in Scandinavia
Considerable amounts of alcohol were consum-
to do so, purchased a chemical purification
ed in some departments during working hours
plant, an act that was considered to be a great
before an agreement was reached that entitled
step forward at the time. This greatly reduced
each employee to drink one beer per day.
water consumption, and chemicals could be
After smoking was forbidden in the factory,
used several times over before finally being
the smoke in the toilets became so thick that
sent to the national waste treatment plant,
Zacho once again had to allow smoking in the
Kommunekemi, for breaking down. Use of the
factory. Today it is more difficult to understand
chemical purification plant also conserved
that it was forbidden to eat during working
energy, as less heat was needed for drying.
1959-1977
43
