Roter Morgen: "Albania"

Albania

     What do you know about Albania? It is not much what you can learn about it from the school books or newspapers.

From: "DDR-Roter Morgen", illegal newspaper of the KPD/ML, July 1978.

http://ciml.250x.com/archive/albania/english/life-in-socialist-albania.pdf

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     "A country where a man is afraid to criticise another one is no socialist country." – Enver Hoxha

     In Albania the party and the working class are aware that it is not enough that the socialist relations of production was established but that a constant struggle has to be lead to keep them and to perfect them. In order to prevent that the Socialist People's Republic of Albania will suffer the same fate as the Soviet Union, the GDR and the other former socialist countries where capitalism was restored, the Albanian communists and the Albanian people took measures to strengthen the dictatorship of the proletariat according to the teachings of Lenin and Stalin.

     The PLA (Party of Labour of Albania) considers it very important to create a proper relationship between the leading cadres and the broad masses of the working people in town and country. They lead a consistent struggle against the cadres separating themselves from the working class and placing themselves above it, they lead a consistent struggle against bureaucratic, technocratic, liberal, sectarian and other bourgeois tendencies showing up in the work of the functionaries. In order to prevent that decadent elements and privileged strata develop, the PLA has always followed the line of steadily decreasing the differences in the level of income and the way of living between the cadres and the workers and collective peasants. No significant differences in wages are allowed, while at the same time petty-bourgeois tendencies of egalitarianism are fought.

     "The cadres have to have oil-stained hands and clayey shoes in order to learn the concerns, the needs and the work of the people not only from above but also from below, in order to make bureaucracy, pride and arrogance, the disease of commanding and of favouritism disappear; because all of these diseases are more likely to emerge within those who hold positions of power and thus think that they alone could manage everything and without them nothing could go on."

(Enver Hoxha)

In Albania the worker has the say

     To strengthen socialism and the dictatorship of the proletariat the Albanian working class has created extensive ways to exercise workers' control and to prevent the rise and growth of bureaucracy, cliques and nepotism. This is of great importance in the education of the people, the education to the "new human" with a socialist consciousness.

     Therefore much weight is given to criticism and self-criticism. Criticism and self-criticism are seen as driving force in Albania which contributes to the development of society.

     To prevent that the criticised feels offended by the criticism and looks for an opportunity to take revenge or to prevent that somebody misuses criticism just for his own selfish and ambitious interests, all criticism is discussed in the workers' collective. And further important features like the "Flete Rrufe" (flash letters) haven been created. The Flete Rrufe are openly posted criticism or proposals, which everybody can hang out and in which everybody, regardless of his position, can be criticised for his behaviour. This way e.g. the following criticism of a department chief in Fieri, written by one of his subordinates, was posted:

     "The party teaches us to be not vengeful, not arrogant towards subordinates but to let us be guided by the ideology of Marxism-Leninism. We know that you, comrade, know very well about all of this in theory. But we are right if we call you a dogmatist because this is illustrated by the fact that you have taken revenge on us. You tried to look down on the work of the others, to exert pressure and command us. You have been criticised for you mistakes but you have not changed. We ask you: Does the proletarian discipline apply to everybody or just to some? We request that the District Committee shall make an analysis about t your mistakes after you have given the answer."

     The criticised is obligated to provide a written reply to this criticism, which he also has to post openly. It is of course important that the criticism doesn't stay formal but that measures are taken to correct the mistakes. The primary purpose of criticism is, of course, education but it also happened in similar cases that even directors were sent back to work at the machines so that they could correct their arrogant attitude.

Did you already know...

... that the last case of measles in the People's Republic of Albania was in 1971? This is because general vaccination against measles was introduced in Albania as the only country in Europe. By the way, medical care is completely free in Albania. For children up to one year the socialist state also provides all medicaments for free.

...that workers in certain professions – e.g. miners – receive pension already with 50 years in Albania? Furthermore they get an additional annual vacation of 36 days.

...that women who go back to work after their maternity leave can bring their children to a crib at their business and additionally get at least half an hour break every three hours so that they can take care of their child? This break is seen as working time and is fully paid. By the way, all women who gave birth to six or more children receive their pension already at the age of 50 years, regardless of the jobs they had.

...that price increases are completely unknown in Albania? While prices rise continuously here, the prices for consumer goods have been decreased 14 times in Albania since 1950. By the way, a ticket for the opera or ballet costs 3 Lek in Albania - that is 75 Pfennigs [60 Pfennigs were around 30 ¢ at the time when the Euro was introduced in Germany].

...that nobody in Albania had to pay taxes or any other dues since 1967?

...that on 25th October 1970 the last house in Albania was connected to the national grid? The peasants even at the most remote farms do not have to pay a cent for their connection to the national grid.

...that every third Albanian goes to school, respectively educates himself further? In 1946 four of fife Albanian were still illiterates.

...that Albania is the country with the lowest wage differentials in the world? Thus, for example, the director of a metal-working factory can earn at most 50% than a qualified worker. The director of a mine can earn at most 20% more than a qualified worker, a minister 30-50% (payroll taxes do not exist).

...that everybody in Albania who is not working in production has to physically work at least one month a year? This applies for administrative officials to professors to the top-level state functionaries.

Work of the cadres in production

     Everywhere in Albania, in cities and villages, one could see leading cadres of all ranks, working people of the administration and intellectuals who worked directly in production, shoulder to shoulder with the workers and peasants. It was a principle of the socialist life in Albania that all cadres of the administration, the party, state and economic apparatus, of the mass organisations, the army and the cadres of state companies, of agricultural collectives and the members of the intelligentsia, with the exception of old persons and those who cannot regularly take part in production because of their health or physical disablement. Productive work was also an integral part of school, next to lessons and the physical and military education.

     The direct participation of leading cadres and intellectuals at work in production was a principal aspect of social life and of vital importance for the cause of socialism.

     It is not sufficient to establish the socialist ownership of the means of production. It is also necessarily needed to establish correct relationships between the leading cadres and the broad masses of the working people in town and country. On the one hand this requires the cadres to guide, lead and control but on the other hand they have to see themselves as servants of the people. They have to be connected closely with the masses and merge with them, learn from the, give account to the masses and to be under the actual, effective and constant control of the masses. This way centralism is correctly linked with socialist democracy.

     After the victory of socialism, too, the danger exists that the leading cadres become bureaucrats, that they isolate themselves from the masses or even oppose them, that they transform from servants of the people to rulers of the people, that they degenerate, that a new anti-socialist caste or class arises; this would lead to the liquidation of the dictatorship of the proletariat and to the restoration of capitalism. The existence of such a danger was fully proven by historical experience. To ignore this danger is momentous and fatal for the fate of socialism. But it is no inevitable doom and can be avoided if effective countermeasures are taken.

     Among the very important measures which the Party of Labour of Albania has taken is the cadre rotation, that is the relocation of cadres from leading positions to the basis and from administration to production and the other way around, the admission of more working people, especially from the ranks of workers in production, into governing bodies and furthermore the reduction of the higher wages and the creation of a correct relationship between the quality of living of the cadres and the masses as well as the increased Marxist-Leninist ideological and political education of the cadres and the struggle against technocratic aspects, etc.

     The participation of the leading cadres and the intelligentsia at work in production was a major principal problem as well as strengthening the moral and political unity of the people in the struggle for the cause of building socialism and preventing the separation of theory and practice - as Lenin emphasised, one of the worst ills inherited from the old capitalist society. It was one of the most concrete and most effective ways to decrease the significant differences between physical and intellectual work.

The relationship between low and high wages

     The continuous revolutionary efforts for social equality, which began with the elimination of private property of the means of production and the liquidation of the exploiting classes in Albania, developed further during the process of socialist construction by the decrease of the differences in the quality of life of the working class, the collective peasants and the other working people.

     Comrade Enver Hoxha said: "Our party fights for and will always fight for the constant improvement of the life of the people, and this means for all people. Our party is guided by the correct principle that there must not be egalitarianism in the wages but also no favouritism, and this means for nobody. Every single wage has to equal the amount and quality of work done and the gap between the wages of the working people has to be reduced further and further." 

     The PLA took care of establishing a relationship as correct as possible between the wages of the cadres and the workers and collective peasants, a relationship which did not allow any significant differences in wages. At the same time the PLA fought against tendencies of petty-bourgeois egalitarianism in wages which is alien and harmful to socialism, too. 

     At the beginning of the 80s the relationship between the average wage of a worker and the salary of a plant manager in the corresponding branch was 1:1.7, the relationship between the average wage of a worker and the salary of a department head in the ministry around 1:2, the relationship between the lowest and the highest wages of the workers within the specific branch around 1:1.5-1.65, etc. The relationship between wages is defined by law. 

     This is a specific and unique application of the Marxist-Leninist teaching, a great reality of proletarian justice in socialist Albania where the cadres do not exploit their position as a privilege but are connected with the masses. 

     The reduction of the higher wages and the measures to eliminate the excessive additions to the basic pay of those creating literature and arts, of the workers in the education field and science and to adjust the material stimuli better with the moral is an expression of the class-based treatment of the problem of the wages. This way the relationship between the masses and the cadres and the relationship between the cadres themselves were supposed to be revolutionised from the material point of view, too, because this is an essential requirement to save the people, especially the cadres, from harmful influences. Experience shows that bureaucracy is bred by high wages. The bureaucratic elements are always tending to increase the gap between the wages by different way and by all kind of methods.

Country without taxes and dues

     In developing and implementing the tax policy towards the people, the Party of Labour of Albania was always aware that taxes are a temporary historical category. Therefore it prepared, step by step and with the utmost care, all the necessary conditions to abolish it. On November 8, 1969 very important measures were taken to eliminate the system of taxes and other direct charges for the population completely. This is because the area of the socialist relations of production had expanded and the productive forces of the country developed rapidly. The share of taxes and fees of the population in the income of the state budget was 92 percent in the fiscal year 1945-1946 (the first year of liberation), in 1950 it had fallen to 12.6 percent and to 2.7 percent in 1960; 1969 it was only 0.1 percent.

     The process in which the taxes and fees have been abolished for the people did not take place at once and not in an administrative process. The taxes were abolished gradually, while simultaneously the socialist sector of the economy developed and the class structure of the country changed.

     Article 31 of the Constitution states: "The citizens pay no taxes and fees."

Rely yourself on your own strength

     The Albanian economy was based entirely on its own strength, based on its own material and financial resources without assistance and loans from abroad. The decisive factor of the revolutionary changes and achievements in socialist construction in stability and continuous development of the economy, was the selfless work of the Albanian people itself. The principle to ely on one's own strength arises from the teachings of Marxism-Leninism, according to which the internal factor is crucial and the environmental factor remains a complementary, an auxiliary factor. Already at the time of the anti-fascist National Liberation War the Albanian people, relied entirely on its own forces, won through its armed struggle for freedom and independence of the country. Similarly, the construction of socialist society, the development of economy and culture as well as the defence of the achievements will never be due to help from the outside.

     The experience of Albania showed that every nation, large or small, is able to manage the economy and to develop it in an independent manner, if it bases itself on its own strength. 

     Relying on its own strength, important steps forward were taken in the SPR Albania to expose the natural resources and the water resources and exploit them rationally. The producing and manufacturing heavy industry developed, and the industrial reserves of natural resources increased steadily. The development of the economy was based on the raw material and energy resources of the country, on the producing and processing of oil and natural gas, coal and the production of electric energy. Albania had no debts and did not base its own plans for development on foreign credits. 

     To rely on one's own strength is not a temporary and cyclical policy. It is not a policy of autarchy and isolation in the national scarf. All nations, big or small, make their own contribution to the question of the revolution and building socialism. The principle of relying on your own strength excludes the internationalist aid of the world proletariat and the socialist countries by no means, but on the contrary requires them.

The retirement age

     The Albanian socialist legislation does not define an uniform limit on the retirement age or on the length of service. The retirement age and years of service necessary for obtaining a pension were determined primarily by the difficulty of the work and by the gender. The more difficult the work is, the lower is the retirement age. According to this principle the workers were divided in three categories regarding the retirement age: The first category includes the working people who do work that is considered very hard. In this case, the pension age for women was set at 45 years and for man at 50 years. The required period of service for women was 15 years and for men 20 years. This category includes the workers who were working underground, some occupations in the metallurgy and chemical industry, the working people who work at the blast furnaces, on metal melting and casting, etc., the workers involved in the production of ammonium nitrate and superphosphate. Similarly, the working people who are exposed to radioactive substances and ionising irradiation belong to this category, further some occupations in the civilian air traffic as well as in education and in the field of culture, like dancers, acrobats, circus performers, musicians who play wind instruments, members of dance companies, etc. In the health sector the radiologist, the staff of the cobalt therapy departments and others are included.

     The second category includes the workers who carry out less heavy work than that of the first category. For them the retirement age is set to 50 years for women and to 55 years for men, the length of service to 20 or 25 years. The right to a pension under this category belongs to the workers in some occupations in oil and gas industry, a number of other occupations in metallurgy and chemical industries, who do a less hard work than those of the first category. Similarly, some occupations among this category were geology, the textile industry, leather industry the tobacco industry, some jobs in the commercial fleet; furthermore the fishing workers, teachers, surgeons. psychiatrists and others are covered an this group.

     The third category includes all workers who carry out other work that does not belong to the first or second category. The retirement age in this case is 55 years for women and 60 for men, the length of service 20 or 25 years.

     In order to receive a pension at the age of 45. or 55 years, it is sufficient when the worker was active for three quarters of his service in one of these occupations. For the workers in the mines, it is sufficient if they had spent half their working lives underground in order to obtain the pension of the first category For example, if a miner of a chrome mine who has worked 10 years underground, changed at his own request to a work in another place, say as a mechanic in a metal processing plant, where he will work another 10 years, then he was entitled to a full retirement pension at the age of 50 years because he had spent half his service underground. For some special categories of workers pensions are provided at even more favourable conditions.

     These, for example, include mothers with many children, the blind, deaf and persons with congenital physical damage. The former – the mothers with many children – may retire after 15 years of service and at the age of 50 years, if they gave birth to six or more children and raised them till the age of eight years. Blind, etc., receive pension after 15 (men) or 10 (women) years of service if they are 50 or 40 years of age.

     There is also a pension "for special merits." This pension goes to persons who made an enormous contribution in the great anti-fascist National Liberation War, or who decorated themselves in the field of science, technology, culture, in public or social branches of the economy.

     In the period of socialist construction not only the workers from the city, but also those of the village received the benefits of the pension. The pension was for the working people of town and country alike, it was 70 percent of their salary. For the calculation of this pension the worker had the right to pick the highest wage he received for three consecutive years in the last 10 years.