著者

三鍋 太朗

出版者

Business History Society of Japan

雑誌

経営史学 (ISSN:03869113)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.45, no.1, pp.1_52-1_78, 2010 (Released:2014-05-23)

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This paper aims to illustrate recruitment, wages, and the working conditions of ship's officers with a special reference to Mitsui Line, the shipping division of Mitsui & Co. in the 1920s.There were thirteen mercantile marine schools in Japan in the 1920s. Mitsui Line hired the new graduates of these schools as officers and engineers. Every year for the first half of the 1920s, Mitsui Line employed many new graduates. Consequently, approximately 50% of the officers and engineers comprised young employees with less than five years of service.Employees' monthly income comprised three parts : base salary, extra salary, and additional salary for sea-service. In the wake of First World War, the Japanese economy experienced inflation and there was a rapid increase in wages. Mitsui Line had to take adequate measures in response to this new situation. The company introduced the component of “extra salary” after controlling the base salary. This extra salary component continued even after the war. The officers' bonus was equivalent to the total monthly income for five or six months. Additionally, the company paid a large sum as retirement allowance to its officers. In the case of employees with 25 years of service, the retirement allowance was equivalent to the base salary for 135 months, which constituted approximately 20∼30 thousand yen.However, the working conditions of officers and engineers were very arduous. They were required to have onboard experience for about 300 days per year during the interwar period. In the case of officers, the working hours per day were about twelve. Apart from being on watch daily, they had to manage rnany desk tasks such as cargo planning. In those days, cargo planning was a tedious task. The living conditions in ships were severe, especially in the engine rooms. Mitsui Line provided high salaries and retirement allowances in exchange for long-term, rigorous labor. Compared to the white-collar staff of other large Japanese enterprises, it can be said that Mitsui Line's treatment of the employees was not particularly good.