TRADE UNION MOVEMENT IN THE FIRST CHECHOSLOVATSKIY REPUBLIC IN THE PERIOD FROM 1918 TO 1924

Abstract

The economic development and political structure of Czechoslovakia after the end of the First World War are analyzed. The attention is focused on the peculiarities of the functioning of trade unions in the republic. Specific features of the trade union movement are defined - fragmentation and influence of political parties. The process of implementation by trade unions of its direct functions - mediation between large capital and workers, improvement of the status of employees - is highlighted.The methods of Czechoslovak trade unions' implementation of these functions are described, which can be divided into three groups: direct actions, instruments of social reconciliation, auxiliary measures. It is noted that the influence of trade unions during 1918-1924 as a speaker of the interests of the workers increased significantly. This is evidenced by the statistics of the won labor disputes and successful strikes of employees. However, the fragmentation of trade unions, which eventually intensified, did not allow a dialogue between the worker and the state more rational, which eventually led to a decrease in the intensity of the strike movement and a decrease in the level of trust in trade unions in the working environment.The main cause of this phenomenon was the disparity of the Czechoslovak society due to national, religious and political heterogeneity.