Recruiting labor for the Asturian industry: 1828-1981 - article ; n°3 ; vol.19, pg 259-277

Julio Tascón

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Espace, populations, sociétés - Année 2001 - Volume 19 - Numéro 3 - Pages 259-277
During the 19th and the 20th centuries, the most relevant aspects concerning recruitment refer to the coal mining and steel and iron industries, around which the Asturian industry was built. While the role of the Principality as a source of energy was key for its own economical development, the iron and steel industry would be no less important, specially from the foundation of ENSIDESA in 1950 until the present day. It is worthy of note that the recruiting of both labor aristocracy and the less qualified labor, was helped by the State. Since the beginnings of its industrialization private firms were predominantly based in the Asturian basin (1828-1950). It seems they didn't help a lot in reducing mass migration. In fact foreign human capital and a paternal recruiting policy did not stop mass migration. However protection for coal encouraged a relative de-industrialization in the region, and it did not create industrial infrastructure, capable of absorbing the surplus population. The State owned enterprises -HUNOSA and ENSIDESA- couldn't prevent migration to Europe in the 60's. By and large, recruitments didn't prevent Asturian migration because it was neither a private firms' goal nor a public firms' goal.
Le recrutement de la main-d'œuvre industrielle dans les Asturies : 1828-1981.
Durant les 19ème et 20ème siècles, les aspects les plus significatifs du recrutement concernent les industries houillères et sidérurgiques autour desquelles l'industrie asturienne s'est construite. Si le rôle de la « Principauté » comme source d'énergie fut la clé de son propre succès économique, la sidérurgie ne fut pas moins importante, spécialement depuis la création de l'ENSIDESA en 1950 et ce, jusqu'à nos jours. Il est à noter que le recrutement à la fois de l'aristocratie ouvrière et des travailleurs moins qualifiés fut aidé par l'État. Depuis le début de leur industrialisation, les firmes privées furent principalement localisées dans le bassin des Asturies (1828-1950). Il semble qu'elles n'ont pas beaucoup contribué à réduire l'émigration de masse. En fait, le capital humain étranger et la politique de recrutement paternaliste n'ont pas stoppé la « migration de masse ». La protection dont bénéficia le charbon a encouragé une relative désindustrialisation dans la région et ne créa pas d'infrastructure industrielle capable d'absorber le surplus de population. Les entreprises d'État - HUNOSA et ENSIDESA - ne purent empêcher la migration vers l'Europe dans les années 1960. Dans l'ensemble, les recrutements ne limitèrent pas l'émigration asturienne, car ce n'était ni l'objectif des entreprises privées, ni celui des entreprises publiques.
19 pages
Source : Persée ; Ministère de la jeunesse, de l’éducation nationale et de la recherche, Direction de l’enseignement supérieur, Sous-direction des bibliothèques et de la documentation.

Sujets

• Sociologie, société et politique

Informations

• Publié par: ESPACE-_POPULATIONS-_SOCIETES
• Publié le: 01 janvier 2001
• Nombre de lectures: 9
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Julio Tascón
Recruiting labor for the Asturian industry: 1828-1981
In: Espace, populations, sociétés, 2001-3. Les populations des bassins d'industries lourdes. pp. 259-277.
Citer ce document / Cite this document :
Tascón Julio. Recruiting labor for the Asturian industry: 1828-1981 . In: Espace, populations, sociétés, 2001-3. Les populations
des bassins d'industries lourdes. pp. 259-277.
doi : 10.3406/espos.2001.1997
http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/espos_0755-7809_2001_num_19_3_1997Abstract
During the 19th and the 20th centuries, the most relevant aspects concerning recruitment refer to the
coal mining and steel and iron industries, around which the Asturian industry was built. While the role of
the Principality as a source of energy was key for its own economical development, the iron and steel
industry would be no less important, specially from the foundation of ENSIDESA in 1950 until the
present day. It is worthy of note that the recruiting of both "labor aristocracy" and the less qualified labor,
was helped by the State. Since the beginnings of its industrialization private firms were predominantly
based in the Asturian basin (1828-1950). It seems they didn't help a lot in reducing "mass migration". In
fact foreign human capital and a paternal recruiting policy did not stop mass migration. However
protection for coal encouraged a relative de-industrialization in the region, and it did not create industrial
infrastructure, capable of absorbing the surplus population. The State owned enterprises -HUNOSA and
ENSIDESA- couldn't prevent migration to Europe in the 60's. By and large, recruitments didn't prevent
Asturian migration because it was neither a private firms' goal nor a public firms' goal.
Résumé
Le recrutement de la main-d'œuvre industrielle dans les Asturies : 1828-1981.
Durant les 19ème et 20ème siècles, les aspects les plus significatifs du recrutement concernent les
industries houillères et sidérurgiques autour desquelles l'industrie asturienne s'est construite. Si le rôle
de la « Principauté » comme source d'énergie fut la clé de son propre succès économique, la sidérurgie
ne fut pas moins importante, spécialement depuis la création de l'ENSIDESA en 1950 et ce, jusqu'à nos
jours. Il est à noter que le recrutement à la fois de "l'aristocratie ouvrière" et des travailleurs moins
qualifiés fut aidé par l'État. Depuis le début de leur industrialisation, les firmes privées furent
principalement localisées dans le bassin des Asturies (1828-1950). Il semble qu'elles n'ont pas
beaucoup contribué à réduire l'émigration de masse. En fait, le capital humain étranger et la politique de
recrutement paternaliste n'ont pas stoppé la « migration de masse ». La protection dont bénéficia le
charbon a encouragé une relative désindustrialisation dans la région et ne créa pas d'infrastructure
industrielle capable d'absorber le surplus de population. Les entreprises d'État - HUNOSA et
ENSIDESA - ne purent empêcher la migration vers l'Europe dans les années 1960. Dans l'ensemble,
les recrutements ne limitèrent pas l'émigration asturienne, car ce n'était ni l'objectif des entreprises
privées, ni celui des entreprises publiques.AI IONS. S()( II.
Julio TASCÔN l Université d'Oviedo
Département d'Économie, Unité d'Histoire économique
Campus del Cristo, s/n
33006 Oviedo
Espagne
[e-mail]
labor for the
Recruiting
Asturian industry: 1828-1981
INTRODUCTION
region would attract more than 100.000 The workers who emigrated during the
immigrants (Matos, 1986). This is a large 1960's to Europe, mostly to Switzerland,
portion of the rural migrations moving Germany and France, came from the mining
and general industry sectors, whereas the towards metropolitan areas like Bilbao,
migration to America had been predomi Madrid and Barcelona. The movement
nantly agricultural, at least in two thirds2. towards the cities affected mostly the central
The population losses, leaving aside those part of the region. In the 1970's, more than a
third of the Asturian population lives in the attributable to the Civil War of 1936, were
urban concentrations in that area3. In the due to a relative population surplus. They
were also due to protectionism, demanded 1980's, specially after 1983's white paper on
both by industrialists and workers' unions. re-industrialization, conversion will not
Protectionism, by the way, has never lost yield the expected results, leaving, mostly in
importance in Spain as a tool for economical Gijôn Langreo and Mieres, a tremendous
policy planning, and it has been employed depression, after a failed steel and ship
specially for the protection of industrial building conversion. Between 1981 and
activities like mining in Asturias. 1985 as many jobs were lost in Asturias
(6,072), as immigrants the region had
Internal migration was mainly directed accepted in 1991 (6,282). towards coal mines and steel and iron indust
During the 19th and 20th centuries, the most ries placed in Asturias. The trend reached
its peak in the 1950's. From then on, the pull relevant aspects concerning recruitment
of those two areas placed in the center of the refer to the coal mining and industrial sec-
2 The miners and industrial workers who migrated to 1 This paper was shaped during my stay as a Visiting
Scholar in the Department of Economics, at Harvard Europe between 1960 and 1975, added up to 11.507
University, and Complutense Fellow at the Real which are 74,01% of the total of 15.547 (Ojeda, 1978;
Colegio Complutense (Harvard). The Spanish Ministry Vaquero, Fernandez, 1981).
for Education and the Vlcerrectorado de Investigation 3 More precisely, those in the central are a with more
of the University of Oviedo awarded grants that sup than 10.000 inhabitants.
ported this research. 260
place in the region. I will leave aside all the tors, around which the Asturian industry was
built. While the role of the Principality as a processes related to consumer goods indust
source of energy was key for its own eco ries, such as the food and agriculture, or the
textile one, and I will concentrate on mining nomical development, the steel industry
would be no less important, specially from and steel and iron. The fact that the consumer
the foundation of ENSIDESA in 1950 until goods industry, such as cider, tobacco, pre
the present day. serves, and so on, attracted mostly feminine
and child labor seems to have supplied a difIt should be pointed out that the recruiting of
both "labor aristocracy" i.e. the most indi ferentiating factor, although that does not
seem to respond to active policies on the part spensable workers for the industry, and the
of industrialists. The consequences brought less qualified labor, was helped by the State.
The intervention of the state is decisive in about by this behavior still has a wide field
explaining the recruiting processes that took of study ahead (Tascon, 1994).
FOREIGN HUMAN CAPITAL AND A PATERNAL RECRUITING POLICY
DID NOT STOP MASS MIGRATION
Observation of the migration process in the will be slower than those for other European
Asturian region confirms Hatton and countries. Protection for coal encouraged a
Williamson (s.d.) thesis, which states: "as relative de-industrialization in the region,
and it did not create industrial infrastructure, soon as industrialization or modern econo
capable of absorbing the surplus population my begins, so does mass migration"4. This is
(Tascôn, 2000). supported by evidence available for the sec
ond half of the 19th century, which, besides, The study of the most essential industrial
grants Asturias the first place among the activity among those carried out in the
industrial regions in Spain, mostly because Principality: coal mining, underlines the fact
of the seriousness of the social cost of its that neither foreign specialists, nor the local
trans-Atlantic migration5. A rural nature has workers trained by them, or the paternalist
predominated in this migration trend, which recruiting carried out by the big concerns
finds its main cause in a relative population until World War I, were capable of stopping
surplus. Yet, demand for protection on the the traditional mass migration, or that pro
part of mining industrialists, and even on the duced during the first third of the 20th centur
part of workers, for the Asturian coals must y. It is obvious that this recruiting process
be taken into account as one of the factors was loaded from the beginning with compa
that reinforce pressure to encourage the ny policies which did not lead to an enlarge
aforementioned surplus to migrate. The gov ment of the industry, but, rather, tended to
ernments answered favorably to the petition restrict the expansion of industrial activity in
of protectionist tariffs, and this, on its turn, Asturias. This recruiting, given the rural
encouraged industrialists' lobbi