Tag #136325 - Interview #78490 (Katalin Kallos Havas)

The company also had a trunk-making workshop. There were four people working there, and the company asked me to take that over, too. I didn’t want to, of course, because I was already working twelve hours a day, but in the end I accepted. One day one of the city leaders had to travel abroad and we had to make some trunks for him. He got the raw materials from Herbak factory, and we had to manufacture it, of course, for free – that was the way it worked then. I said I wouldn’t do it. The comrade had a higher salary, so he had enough money to pay for our work. I would have it made, but I’d have to pay my men for it. I’d hand over the finished trunks to the warehouse, with all the official documents, and from then on they could do whatever they wanted with them. My employees had a small salary, and I wasn’t willing to put them to work just because the comrade needed some trunks. I had a real argument with the manager over this issue, because he said the comrade’s request couldn’t be refused. So I told him, ‘You know what, you have already loaded me with all kinds of stuff, and I can’t take it anymore, so I’m leaving.