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In 1948, Pierre Schunck (1906-1993), stemming from a family of weavers and son of the builder of the famous Glaspaleis in Heerlen, the Netherlands (see Schunck), arrived in Bonaire to set up a clothing industry (Kledingindustrie). This clothing manufacturing would become Bonaire's first real industry, providing employment—and health care—for a large part of the young women who were left behind when many men had left as sailors or to work for the oil companies on Curaçao and Aruba. Preparations for the operation of this company would also result in better electricity and water supplies; eventually it would account for half the exports of the island. ==Development of industry on Bonaire== Schunck had previously visited Curaçao and Aruba, but the conditions of employment were less favourable there. The government for the "ABC" islands had planned large scale industry, trade and tourism for the two larger islands, and smaller industries for Bonaire, especially for the women. So Bonaire appeared to be a better choice. Since the existing salt processing and ship manufacturing were small scale, this was to be the first significant industry in Bonaire. Because of this lack of development, there were no facilities or expertise to exploit, and workers had to be educated first. Schunck asked the government for the same perks that the industries on the other islands, including the rich oil companies, received (no import tax for 25 years), but he received no help there. So he turned to governor P. Kasteel, asking him to provide the basic necessities, most importantly water and electricity. This was granted, but the supply of electricity remained unreliable for the next few years. Another problem was that everything had to be imported, from machines and building material down to the simplest screws. And all products had to be exported because there was barely a local market for them. This was problematic due to the long supply lines and the then obligation to let all shipping go through Curaçao. After half a year of trial production (in the later Zeebad), the new buildings (400 m² in Kralendijk, which would grow to 900 m² during the first expansion) were finished on 17 August 1948. For this, Bonaire's first waterpipe had been constructed, from Pos Calbas to the airport, passing by the factory, with a hydrant in Rincon. For the people of Bonaire, the new electricity grid meant that refrigerators became an option. But to save diesel, the generator wasn't kept running after midnight. As a warning, the lights started blinking at 23.30 h. Production focused on company clothing for large companies like Shell (a major employer on Curaçao) and uniforms for police and customs officials and the initial production capacity was 700 overalls, 300 trousers and 400 shirts, with a 45-hour work week. Work was organised by the bundle-progress specialisation system, which the women favoured because (unlike Dutch workers) they preferred not to rotate work. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Schunck's Kledingindustrie Bonaire」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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