Every day, each person at their workplace thinks and works out what they can do to increase production, and to improve the prospects of their department, enterprise or institution. This concern, further stimulated by the tasks set out at the 11th Plenum, is spreading to every cell of production and of life in general. This is natural, because every new task, every new objective, calls for new concern and action, for solutions—some familiar, others as yet unknown. Talking with workers at the NPV in Elbasan, they tell you that, just from a 10–20 percent increase in low wages, by rough calculation they will gain 50 thousand lek a month. But doesn’t this increase require more production, and especially better quality? Of course. If the latter is not achieved, neither can personal interests be brought into harmony with those of society. Or, among other things, don’t increased labor productivity and enterprise revenues also require a high level of training for every employee? In the carpet department, of 336 women workers, only around 20 have a high level of training, while the rest also have a low professional and educational level. Here, then, is a mismatch between the grade of the job, which is higher, and the workers’ personal grade. Meanwhile, under the latest decisions, workers will be paid according to the grade of the job. - After this reality is laid bare, a worker rightly asks: - In this case, might there be less interest in further training? This raises a problem that calls for solutions. - Workers have the right not only to complain about our shortcomings and weaknesses, but also to decide to dismiss us! It is certainly a good thing that responsibility is understood to such a degree, but first we must also think about what will be done about sources of supply. When workers receive only 80 percent of their wages because of a shortage of raw materials, this situation will weigh more heavily than anywhere else precisely on the work of this branch. Until now, the state has borne the cost of paying wages even when no work was done. From now on, the enterprise itself will bear it. But the more days work stops because of a lack of supplies, the more workers will receive 80 percent of their pay without working, and the enterprise’s economic results will suffer a shock. This will be felt by workers and managers alike. Some managers will blame the lack of material resources. Indeed, this may be the legal responsibility entrusted to some managers, and it may also be raised at meetings with workers. But we ask: Why should discussion focus only on the «shortage» of material resources, and not on ways to find them, expand production capacity, and extend the enterprise’s activity into other sectors that prove profitable? Do administrators turn to the ideas of innovators? If the enterprise ends the year with a deficit and the managers tell the workers, «we had no materials», the workers will not like it. On the contrary, it is their incompetence that they want to cover up with such excuses. We will show you and want to ... this year ... and the workers’ personal [interests]. to the category of their workplace. “Having set out this reality, a female employee rightly asks: ‘In this case, might the incentive for further training be lost?’ A problem emerges here that needs an immediate answer, since it could hold back production, especially its quality. Meanwhile, this is a subject for discussion and debate in which, naturally, workers as well as economists and administrators are involved. Is there a solution? Certainly. And one of them, as the discussions show, is to strengthen quality control more than before, right down to the simple rule: anyone who produces poor-quality goods should not only receive no pay, but should also compensate the enterprise for the losses caused. ‘In the garment department, we can now see the production norms too,’ says another female colleague. ‘We have highly qualified workers here who carry out difficult work processes that the other women cannot do. The latter perform only one work process and do not have the professional level needed to move on to other operations. So, in terms of pay too, they tell us these workers should be differentiated rather than treated equally, specifically by revising some of the norms.’ And what is the administration’s position? ‘We have no one to complain to,’ they tell you in the enterprise’s supply department. But do the administrators turn to the innovators for their views? If the enterprise ends up with a negative balance and, at the end of the year, the managers tell the workers, ‘we didn’t have a material supply base,’ that does not justify them. On the contrary, it is their lack of accountability, which they want to conceal behind such excuses. In the second quarter of this year, the NPV exceeded its costs, even “eating up” the reduction recorded in the first quarter. For the quarter that has begun, the financial indicators must absolutely be improved so that earlier deficits can also be offset. Given the situation, this objective is justified, but the main thing is that weaknesses should not be tolerated anywhere or under any circumstances on the assumption that they can be made up for in the remainder of the year. Let no week leave shortcomings for the next week, nor one quarter for the next, and so on: this motto must become a rule and a habit for everyone, especially in preparation for next year, when the enterprise will enter the new economic mechanism. We encourage such discussions further, with the help and involvement of the workers. What these discussions have in common is that the workers’ problems have no one else to solve them but the workers themselves; therefore, there is no reason to wait and then lodge complaints or engage in debate after debate. Every debate has a solution. These solutions are found within the collective itself, in the opportunities and reserves available to every enterprise. SEJDIN CEKANI

- Today at the porcelain factory in Tirana, around 50 percent of the workers are receiving an average of 70 lek more per month solely because they are being paid according to the grade of their job - The 19th is customarily payday for the employees of the porcelain factory. Everyone has such a day. But today’s is unusual: around 360 workers employed in jobs with a higher grade, but who until now have been paid according to their personal grade, are receiving an additional amount in their pay for the same amount of work. And it is no small increase. For the factory, it amounts to around 9,059 thousand lek more, withdrawn from the bank. For each worker, that means about 70 lek in additional monthly pay. This is a benefit granted by the Party at the 11th Plenum; a benefit that values and encourages work and working people, that values and encourages sweat and real production, not «theoretical» personal grades, sometimes obtained unfairly through the equalization of commissions and outdated rules. We were at this factory yesterday. We met workers and managers. Everywhere people spoke optimistically about the tasks of the 11th Plenum and the Government’s decision. They spoke with gratitude and affection for our Party of Labour. We were there while the payrolls were being prepared. The offices of the timekeepers and the directorate departments were busy with people coming and going. Every now and then someone would come in and check their pay once again. Had it really been increased by as much as they had been told? - All right, we were told, but is this really going to happen? - That was a question we heard here and there in the days before, Maqo Bleta, the factory director, explains to us. It must be said that a few days ago production fell. We met the June target, but we did not get off to a good start in July. We have had difficulties with material and technical supplies, but what can we do? Cross our arms? - We owe everything to the Party. And this «everything» does not simply mean a wage, whether small or large; to put it plainly, it means the power that we workers own and will continue to own. We spoke with Feride Begteshin, a worker who loads the rail wagons. She has worked for 19 years, has several children, and there are few wages coming into her household, but she has great gratitude toward the Party. - The 180 lek being added to my pay fills my heart with joy, because six extra lek a day is no small thing. The main thing is that if we work more, there will be no limits telling me: «Stop, we won’t pay you more than 700 lek, because you’ll catch up with the supervisor or the technologist». - My sister at the «Enver Hoxha» Auto-Tractor Combine, although she is younger, brings home about 700 lek a month. Now I can tell her too: «Just you wait, my pay has gone up as well, even though I haven’t finished secondary school yet», says Valentinë Ademi, who works tirelessly, making more than 1,000 plates a day in the turning shop. For every 100 percent fulfillment of the quota, she now earns about twice as much per day. - The truth is, I used to take things rather easy at work, says Berti Dyrmishi. - But now I’ll be someone who won’t leave the lathe without earning 22.7 lek a day. That may sound like little—until yesterday I was getting 6 lek a day less than I can get now. Today wages are being distributed at the porcelain factory. This much we know: mistrust has been left behind, along with the question «is this really going to happen?». The axiom has once again been proved: when people are made conscious, when the strength of their minds is mobilized, what is said gets done. We could not hear from all 360 workers who are signing for their pay increases on the payroll today. But we bear in mind that workers on the toughest jobs—the furnaces, the drum, the turning shop, and so on—those who work fast, «have earned little even up until this decision. They have received as much as 1,000 lek or more a month. They deserve it. Anyone wondering how their incomes can be increased further, and how they can also be given an extra 5 percent in pay for the difficult conditions, should go to this plant and see what temperatures people work in inside! We will not be there today, but we believe what Suzane Xhemali, head of the planning department, told us: «Now the administration’s problem will not be absenteeism or requests to leave the difficult jobs, but increasing material and technical supplies. Already there is pressure, a «drive» for more raw materials, for more products for export. These days there has also been a considerable increase in quota fulfillment, above 110 percent. In June alone, when pay according to the job was tested in the turning shop, production rose from 30 thousand plates to 70 thousand. The same is true in the other departments, where everyone’s contribution will be rewarded more fairly. We are not there today, but surely everyone at home, with their family, in conversation or over a drink with friends, will say: «This is the first pay increase. Tomorrow, in the future, higher pay as an expression of greater work will be a normal, natural thing». But the unusual nature of the 19th, that first day, will not soon or easily be forgotten: just 7–8 days after it was announced, the Decision of the Council of Ministers was put into effect, implementing the decisions of the 11th Plenum of the Party’s Central Committee! AVDUL DULE

A moment from work at the Various Products Enterprise in Përmet. (Photo: N. Xhufka) A moment from work at the Various Products Enterprise in Përmet. (Photo: N. Xhufka)

- Experience from Sarandë - Service enterprises in Sarandë, such as the NRSH, municipal services, and the trade enterprise, have extended work under separate accounts to their own cells, units and departments.

- Experience from Sarandë - Service enterprises in Sarandë, such as the NRSH, municipal services, and the trade enterprise, have extended work under separate accounts to their own cells, units and departments. to their own cells, units and departments. This form of organization is revealing several advantages. To see them concretely, let us hear from the artisans, painters, carpet cleaners, coppersmiths, salespeople, managers and specialists of these enterprises themselves. What experience does this form of organization offer? Let us visit a few units. - Before this system was introduced, says Ladi Sulo, a shoemaker in the shoe-repair unit, if even the smallest thing was missing, we had to wait for the foreman to arrive; the supply department, the technician or the supervisor had to think about the raw materials. Had they even calculated it? Today, however, things work differently in units with separate accounts: the shoemaker or painter is also the foreman, while the carpet cleaner is the accountant and economist, just as the salesperson is the supplier. - I’m not saying we had no interest in raw materials, but, to be honest, I used to leave my work to do something else. A citizen would come and say, «Sew up this shoe a little, put in a nail», and I wouldn’t turn them away. Today I do the job, but I also issue an invoice. You may ask why the cash register is needed, but the money goes into the state treasury. This benefits me, and I am also square with the citizens. Income increases and expenses are saved. How many service units with separate accounts have been established in the NRSH? Chief engineer Thanas Voda explains: - So far, 30 units have been established. Although this form of organization began only a few days ago, its progress is already evident. How is this reflected? Bedrie Marjani, head of the finance department, says that the units with separate accounts have brought finance staff directly into the work. Whereas previously expenses were recorded by sector, and it was impossible to tell who saved and who overspent, now they are calculated by department and individual. New registers have also been introduced. Thus, in addition to income, expenses and profits are calculated, as well as the specialists’ pay, which is neither the same for everyone nor fixed. After visiting some of the units organized under separate accounts in the service sector in Delvinë, one learns what is new about this system. First, in the coppersmiths’ department: the coppersmith is Rasim Çepa, grade 6. For some time now, he has been examining expenses very closely. Electricity, coal and water, as well as other materials, are all carefully accounted for. The benefits of this kind of work are evident. Ingenuity has been encouraged and the range of services expanded. Until now, nobody would touch copper vessels, and this tradition had been forgotten; now they are being worked on very successfully. The same is true of bronze, bells, cowbells and several items needed by citizens. What was holding things back? At times, it was the price, which had to be set from above; at other times, the lack of material resources; but above all, a lack of interest. What advantages does the new mechanism bring to this unit? In services there is an increase in pri- (Continued on page 2)

As part of the revolutionary movement, «As the youth are today, so they will be tomorrow», the youth organizations in the economic enterprises of the district of Kukës are spreading the example of the young miners, geologists, builders and sawmill workers who have distinguished themselves in fulfilling and surpassing their planned commitments. At the «Sali Vata» chrome mine in Kalimash, the young workers, by using working time effectively and implementing a series of measures for mechanization, reducing quotas, carrying out work by agreement and according to task plans, etc., exceed the daily quota for chrome ore extraction by 5 to 7 percent. The young workers of the leading brigades «16 Tetori», «29 Nëntori», etc., stand out as they work toward the targets for the last days of July. (According to ATSH)

Yesterday, the Plenum of the Party Committee of the Tirana District met to consider the tasks arising from the 11th Plenum of the Central Committee of the PLA. Yesterday, the Plenum of the Party Committee of the Tirana District met to consider the tasks arising from the 11th Plenum of the Central Committee of the PLA, PLA. It reviewed the situation and tasks concerning cadre issues, and made several changes to the composition of the district Party Committee secretariat. It elected Comrade Xhelil Gjoni, member of the Political Bureau and secretary of the Central Committee of the Party, as First Secretary, replacing Pyrr Kundi, who remains secretary of the Party Committee of the Tirana District. These days, the Plenum of the Party Committee of the Durrës District also met and analyzed several issues concerning the situation in the district. To improve its work, it elected Comrade N. A. Skuka as First Secretary, replacing Comrade Muho Asllani, who was appointed director of the Sukth Agricultural Enterprise. (ATSH)

For today, but also for tomorrow - POGRADEC - The greater part of the cultivable land in the Pogradec district, too, is gripped by a prolonged drought and high temperatures. Faced with this situation, the water enterprise’s directorate has taken immediate measures, coordinated through close cooperation with the cooperative chairmen to determine precisely the plants’ water needs. This has made it possible for about 5,312 ha to have been irrigated in the district to date, of which around six hundred and some hectares were irrigated using the agricultural enterprises’ own resources. Director Pirro Deti tells us that a schedule has been drawn up, to be implemented along two main lines: allocating the number of hectares to be irrigated each day, while at the same time conserving water, since the drought may continue. Consultations have also been held with agronomists about the plants’ needs. For these reasons, irrigation is progressing at almost the same pace in all the district’s agricultural enterprises. Buçimasi stands out, however, recording more than 1,000 ha irrigated on July 18. The cooperatives of Slabinjë, Leshnicë, and Hudënisht are also doing good work. At the forefront are the irrigation specialists, particularly Seit Çinari and Izja Alliu in Krickovë of Mokra, and Adelina Ndo at the center of the state agricultural enterprise. To carry out this campaign, the enterprise’s entire staff and workforce are on an emergency footing these days. The Party Committee has also set up work groups to monitor this difficult situation closely. Meanwhile, by making good use of experience, wasteful water consumption has been avoided, and the inspections carried out have found no cases requiring compensation, which indicates that the situation is being assessed properly. XHEZAR MOKRRA

- MIRDITË- “The rugged terrain itself has taught the people of Kaçinar to think things through and be sparing in their use of water,” says Ndue Beqiri, chief specialist of this cooperative. Experience has now taken the form of a technology. What does it consist of, in brief? Reducing the slope of the land to prevent harmful runoff, by spreading fern, wheat chaff, or decomposed forest humus. This practice not only protects the soil and plant roots from erosion; as the water flows, it also preserves the soil’s porosity and increases its moisture. We did not come here simply with the aim of generalizing this experience, but rather to report specifically on an agricultural enterprise that ranks among the leading ones, almost across all the district’s lands. What is the situation? High temperatures and winds have increased the plants’ lack of moisture. Irrigation has therefore become more urgent. This is also “measured” by the 30 percent increase this week in daily irrigation levels across the district, which are highest in Ndërfushaz, Fang, and elsewhere (about 2,000 ha have been irrigated with maize, vegetables, fodder crops, etc.). Irrigation has begun for a second time in Kaçinar and in some other enterprises. “It is time to use water, so to speak, drop by drop,” says Agim Molla, chief engineer of the water enterprise. “I say this because we have taken the condition of the reservoirs into account. Moving from one enterprise to another, day and night, he keeps the situation under control, both for the enterprises and for ‘himself’ as an enterprise.” While attention is being paid in Kaçinar, Spac, Klos, and Zajz, in Bardhaj, which naturally needs more water, there are cases of wasteful distribution. But there is also coordination in Perlat, Prsec, and Ndërfushazh, as well as in a sector of the state agricultural enterprise. What happens? Is it similar? If there is no irrigation in the morning, then from around…

“Having set out this reality, a female employee rightly asks:

● The productive work and higher quotas achieved by the collectives in the industrial system in the district of Fier enabled them jointly to exceed their targets by more than 10 million lek in production for the period from January to July 10. ● The collectives of the transport system in Region 2 of the capital have achieved and surpassed their set objectives. Since the beginning of the year, 29 million tons of goods have been transported, completing a volume of work of 20 thousand ton-km above the plan. These achievements are based on more productive work and higher quotas. They have fully achieved the set objectives. Nearly 2 million lek more have also been secured, 30–35 percent of which are benefits for the enterprises themselves and will be used in their interests. The bitumen miners in Selenicë have supplied the foreign market with refined bitumen above the plan, worth more than 300 thousand lek. ● In the district of Korçë, wheat has been harvested on more than 6,500 hectares, equal to 36 percent of the area. Every day, this process is carried out across 700–800 hectares in both the plains and hilly areas. Barley has also been harvested on 1,500 hectares. (According to ATSH)