Page:Sergei Ilich Kaplun - The Protection of Labor in Soviet Russia (1920).pdf/23



In every country of the world there are a number of individual groups of the proletariat who are not subject to labor protection laws. In reality in such countries the law includes only the industrial proletariat of factories and works which is best organized, most class conscious, and therefore most dangerous to the bourgeoisie. At the same time, there is everywhere a large mass of disjointed, unorganized, and backward workers working under bad conditions, with whom State protection of labor in capitalist society has no concern.

In Soviet Russia such a state of things is of course inadmissible. There are no pariahs in our midst; we are all one closely connected single labor family. General inspection of labor, usually consisting of the skilled workers of large industrial enterprises, cannot embrace all the small home industries, and disjointed enterprises, as well as those forms of labor, the conditions of which are distinguished by certain peculiarities.

For this purpose in Russia there has been established a so-called Interlocal Inspection, These Inspectors are part of the general system of State Inspection of Labor, but at the same time serve the needs only of workers of individual branches of industry, and are elected directly by the corresponding trade unions. In this manner the following special non-district inspections have been organized of the railway and water transport workers, builders, employees of the post and telegraph, radio and telephone services, agricultural workers, shop assistants, and also the workers engaged in supplying food in the capitals. For separate districts where the peasant home industry is greatly developed, and also in large towns, where there is a large