Wages are the compensation paid for a regularly performed work activity. In a production site (Factory) organised with the division of labour, those performing work activities are paid di_fferent wage amounts depending on their profession, the work performed, age and sex. A difference is made between a time wage, which depends on the number of hours worked, and piece or task wages, which depend on performance.

Conflicts relating to pay and working conditions remain a universal theme in our industrial society. The fight for a fair wage often leads to strikes and lock-outs as a means of waging industrial conflict. This handbill, printed in Leipzig in 1912 reads: “The market assistants and fledgling workers in the Leipzig book trade are involved in a difficult struggle for a one-pfennig raise. The business owners, mostly very rich millionaires, have rejected this legitimate demand”. This is followed by the closing demand: “Take a stand against this disgraceful impertinence and steer clear of these companies.”