Silva Fennica no. 96 | 1958

The state of Finland had to intervene in the forest wages after the wages had dropped very low during depression in 1932-33. Even able-bodied workers were forced to resort to communal poor aid. Therefore, the Ministry of Communications and Public Works imposed in winter 1932-33 a study on the level of forest wages. Based on the investigations it was decided to develop control and guidance of forest and floating wages. A committee was appointed to follow the development of forest wages and to promote the formation of the wages on a reasonable level.
The country was divided into 14 wage districts, and for each district was confirmed an own norm of wages in accordance with the costs of living in the area. Inspectors controlled the wages primarily in such work places that were complaind of. Consequently, the earnings increased yearly in the 1930s.
During the Second World War, the main objective of economic policy of the government of Finland was to prevent inflation. The regulation of wages strived to compensate workers for the war-time rise in the cost of living. The Econimic Powers Act issued in 1941 was the first legislation that concerned regulation of wages. The Wages Commission prepared from the winter 1942 onward the wage tables per unit of forest works for employers. During the war, the employers were prepared to pay higher wages than the wage authorities considered possible.
Right after the war the main concern of wage control was that because of labour shortage forest and floating wages rose too high. From the end of 1948 onward, however, the principal task was to prevent paying of too low wages. Regulation did not succeed in preventing inflatory rise in wages in postwar conditions, and it was necessary to rise wages continually.

The Union of the Finnish Forest and Floating Workers was founded in 1946, and it concluded a collection agreement with the Employers’ Association of the Finnish Woodworking Industries in 1947. After 1949 the forest workers were represented in the Central League of Finnis Trade Unions (SAK). The regulation of wages ended in 1955, and after that the level of wages were negotiated by the labour market organizations.

The article includes a summary in English.

• Hellén, E-mail: eh@mm.unknown
• Blåfield, E-mail: gb@mm.unknown
• Havukkala, E-mail: mh@mm.unknown
• Sajama, E-mail: os@mm.unknown

The article is a summary of a presentation by W. Wittich, held in the University of Helsinki in 26.4.1958.
The significance of fertility of the site in tree growh was known already for over 100 years ago in Germany, but after the First World War the view was abandoned in forestry. According to the Dauerwald system of managing forests that was introduced at the time, the type of site was considered relatively insignificant in forest management. Therefore, similar practices were used in all kinds of sites. The opposition against the use of this method resulted in new research on the site factors.
Knowledge of the relation of the site types and vegetation makes it possible to improve productivity: in regional planning the production that is considered to be necessary is assigned to the sites that have best conditions for it. For instance, in Niedersachsen county about 6% of the forest lands are reserved for cultivation of oak.
Another line of soil science studies the root causes behind the hands-on experiences of forest management. The aim is to abandon rigid approaches in forestry. Studying the effects of forest management practices on soil has been targeted, for instance, on effects of clear cutting on decomposition and vegetation, how the soil affects choice of tree species, and decomposition of litter from different tree species. Knowledge of soil and the trees’s demand of nutrients helps to mend disturbancies, such as nutrient deficiensies. Consequently, fertilization has become a new tool to improve productivity in forestry.
The article includes a German summary.

• Wittich, E-mail: ww@mm.unknown

In Finland, the wage norms of forest wages have been defined by the government since 1935. However, no official tariffs have been drawn for mechanical bundling in water for floating in bundles. The aim of the investigation was to find out the correlation between the bundling result and the size of logs to be bundled, and how it affects the differences observed in earnings between the different types of devices used in the work. The aim is a more equal bundling tariff in cases where the log size is not the variable. The investigation was based mainly on diaries of bunders of Enso-Gutzeit Oy.

A tariff was formulated based on the results of the investigation. A unit tariff was obtained for bundling of timber differing in size by dividing the earnings of bundling an average timber by the unit number of logs differing in size from the average and bundled in a corresponding period. The tariff was not able to produce even earnings on all bunching machines, but a tariff that takes account log size may be recommended when the aim is an equal wage payment.

The article includes a summary in English.

• Roitto, E-mail: yr@mm.unknown

The aim of the study was to find out if it is possible to use Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) seed from Central-Finnish origin in Northern Finland to supplement supply of local seeds. The principle has been to limit transfer of seeds to 200 km. According to this study, it seems possible to permit 300-400 km transfer of seeds at the same height above the sea level, not including the timber line area.

The author’s observations indicate that the trees originating from seeds of Central Finland at 20-35 years age withstand damage caused by snow and pine blister rust as well as the local provenience. However, the seedlings seem to be more susceptible to snow blight. Spraying of 2-3% sulphurated lime in the autumn before the arrival of snow proved to be most effective way to prevent the damage.

Southern proveniences have been found to grow faster than the local proveniences in Northern Finland. The stands of Tuomarniemi (Central Finland) and Rovaniemi (Northern Finland) provenances had no distinct difference in the summerwood percentage, and the volume weight of the Tuomarniemi provenience was higher than the weight of the provenience of Rovaniemi. The Tuomarniemi stand also gave largest yield, but the difference was probably due to partly at age difference of the sample trees. The naturally regenerated local provenance showed the greatest volume weight.

The article includes a summary in English.

• Sirén, E-mail: gs@mm.unknown