Day laborers in Switzerland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Day laborers[a] in Switzerland were workers hired and paid by the day. In the 19th and 20th centuries, this type of employment became restricted to agriculture, but in the pre-industrial era it was common in both urban and rural areas.
Day laborers occupied an inferior position in society as wage earners. In cities, they belonged to the lower classes and constituted one of the main groups alongside domestic workers. Politically, most did not enjoy citizenship rights but only resident status. Unlike artisans who managed family businesses, day laborers were dependent workers. They generally lived with their families in sublet housing. In contrast to masters and journeymen in organized trades, they did not acquire formal training and were thus classified as unskilled workers.[1]
During the Late Middle Ages, day laborers as such had neither professional organizations nor confraternities. However, in certain trades and services, they were admitted to guilds and could thus participate in political life in cities with corporatist regimes. In the fields of transport and agriculture, particularly in horticulture and viticulture, there existed "servant guilds" (Knechtezünfte). In Basel, day laborers employed in viticulture were affiliated with the half-guild of Winegrowers (joined to that of Wool Weavers, then a full guild from 1453), and those in horticulture were united with other trades in the Gardeners' guild (in 1429, 15% of the dependent working population belonged to one or the other). Wine porters, considered "servants," nevertheless belonged to the privileged Coopers' guild. In Zurich, wine criers (who announced sales specifying price and location) and wine transporters were members of the Meisen guild, while carters and porters belonged to the Boatmen's guild.[1]
During periods of economic crisis or shortage of orders, artisans and members of their families were sometimes temporarily forced to work as day laborers to secure income. There were also women among day laborers, particularly in agriculture, viticulture and horticulture (for example on the estates of the hospitals of Geneva and Basel), in road construction and maintenance, as laundresses, as well as children, who were paid the lowest rates yet relied upon by their families. In cities, day laborers were recruited partly from the rural population of the surroundings. This was the case, for example, for women working in Geneva's early modern textile industry (silk production, calico printing) or for wool combers hired in Zurich in the 17th and 18th centuries, who came from rural communes where home spinning was widespread; this workforce traveled to the city daily or stayed there during the week. Intensive agriculture employed itinerant workers especially during peak season.[1]
For day laborers, life was characterized by irregular periods of employment with changing employers, seasonal hiring (especially in construction, horticulture and agriculture), high geographical mobility, and low wages, paid partly in the form of food and/or lodging. Work hours were longer (and thus better paid) in summer than in winter, according to the length of daylight. The 16th century saw stagnation in nominal wages while wheat prices continually increased (doubling or even tripling), particularly in the second half of the century, resulting in a decline in living standards that could lead to poverty.[1]
