In the Light of the West: Career Development, Income Relations and Social Mobilisation on the Hungarian Railways until World War I

Abstract

When analysing Hungarian railway wages and comparing them with the Bavarian example, it can be said that in Hungary wages rose less in the lower categories, while for clerks they rose at a rate roughly similar to that in Bavaria. Railway workers, especially manual workers, were not satisfied with their working conditions and income situation at the beginning of the century. This frustration was compounded by the fact that the incomes of other public sector employees improved significantly in the early years of the last century. The political leadership was also aware of the problem: during the debate on the 1907 Salaries Act, even. Pál Hoitsy, the rapporteur of the Finance Committee, drew attention to the fact that the railwaymen’s complaints were realistic, not only because living conditions had deteriorated in previous years due to high prices, but a few years earlier, in 1904, salaries for civil servants in other sectors had also risen significantly.
All in all, it can be said, that until the outbreak of the First World War, the income framework for railway workers was established and fixed in a way that ensured financial stability. This is particularly true for clerical workers, where the increase was not even lower than in the Western example under consideration. However, this income structure, which had been achieved over several decades and guaranteed a decent standard of living, was steadily weakened and devalued by the  outbreak of the First World War. All this was made even more difficult by the additional burdens associated with warfare. This, however, belongs to the next chapter in the history of the domestic railway society.