[Abstract Title:] Location of industrial plants as a means to curb labor militancy : Tobacco trading in Greece, 1880-1980
Part of : Πόλη και περιφέρεια : έκδοση μελετών του χώρου ; No.13, 1987, pages 133-134
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133-134
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Location of industrial plants as a means to curb labor militancy : Tobacco trading in Greece, 1880-1980
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Περιλήψεις συνεδρίου
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Regional Planning Advisor, Prefecture (Nomarchia) of Thessaloniki The paper is a study of the location of tobacco trading-processing firms in Greece during the past hundred years. It points out the increasing importance of tobacco processing workers' (kapnergates) trade-union movement in influencing the location of tobacco tradingprocessing firms' warehouses (kapnomagaza), as well as on how these firms used the location of kapnomagaza to manipulate the demands of their workers. The paper is divided into three main parts each of which analyses one period: 1880-1922, 1922-40, 1940-80. At the outset of the first period the Kapnomagaza were quite evenly distributed within Peloponessos, Central Greece and Thessaly. Later on (1913-22) with the liberation of the country important tobacco processing centres (kapnoupoles) were created there and soon became the most important in the country. The enormous profits of tobacco traders permitted them to be conciliatory towards their workers and hence there was no need for a location policy so as to avoid the kapnergates' movement. However, in the next two periods the situation changed. In the 1922-40 period the importance of kapnoupoles increased further. There was a reduction of tobacco traders' profits which led them to a significant conflict with their workers, in an attempt to minimize their costs. One of the means that they used to this end was a spatial shift of a handfull of kapnomagaza to some villages. Though this was a phenomenon of minor importance it was heavily advertised by traders as being their reaction to kapnergates' militancy, so as to scare them away from further such activities. In the 1940-80 period the importance of kapnoupoles declined while other centres, mainly that of Thessaloniki increased. A further reduction of tobacco trading firms' profits occured. The main reaction of tobacco traders was again to reduce their costs, primarily by minimizing labour costs (eg.simplification of tobacco processing methods used and intensification of work). Once more one of the means that traders used to suppress workers' militancy, which was essencial in order to permit them to reduce their costs, was a major spatial shift of kapnomagaza, this time mainly away from kapnoupoles.
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Περιλήψεις των παρουσιάσεων στο συνέδριο της ΛέσβουAbstracts of papers presented at the Lesvos conference
