Tejo Power Station (working conditions)

The operation of the Central Tejo and the gradual electrification of the city were only possible thanks to those people who thought the whole plant day and night running and ensured that the power plant never came to a standstill.

As the city consistently required power, the steam boilers were never allowed to rest. Therefore, a labor regime was introduced around the clock, with three alternating layers: 0:00 to 8:00; 8:00 to 16:00 and from 16:00 until midnight. The continuous performance improvements and extensions of the current power plant required more and more workers, especially in wartime. In the forties, the number of employees amounted to about 550, from technical staff to the great majority of unqualified employees who indeed did all the simplest but also the most difficult tasks.

Work management

The steam power plant " Central Tejo" was an extremely complex industrial plant. Due to the large number of workers required a hierarchical functional structure, divided by the respective factories, where it was said to do besides hard work and physically lighter activities. The workers at the boiler it had, for example, heavier than those who attended these from the control room.

There were about 45 tasks in the current headquarters, in the production chain, such as the so-called " Alcochetanos " when unloading, to the artisanal jobs in the workshops and the electricians in the substation.

Functional areas of the Dampfzentrale:

• The coal storage: here the employees have been for unloading and distributing the coal. The " Alcochetanos " were responsible for the transport of coal from the barge to the storage area. It was specifically this time salaried workers, mostly men and women of Alcochete, a town just across the river Tagus. They came to the coal store, transported them ashore and piled them, depending on the country of origin to different clusters.

At the coal storage, referred to as " Praça ", " Homens Praça da " ( warehouse worker ) took over the so-called transportation of coal through to the conveyor system of the burner system. On a normal production day was a layer of 16 men, including foreman, responsible for the maintenance of machinery and the control of the conveyor blades and Kippvorkehrung.

• Boiler room: most workers were needed: ninety people 8:00 to 17:00, thirty during the remaining time. Each position was instrumental in the proper functioning of the boiler.

The chief engineer supervised the boiler with the help of two accomplices who were directly under him. At the command control the boiler stood the Kapo Heizmeister ( Portuguese: " fogueiro " ) which controlled from the control panel steam generation, while the second heater called down from above statements from the boiler. The unburned carbon from behind back inside to burn and not to block the Schürrost: While the boiler heater controlled the quality of the firing, the slide ( " chegador " port.) pushed.

• The liming ( Portuguese: " cinzeiros " ): in the ash bunker under the kettles, the competent workers were for the disposal of ashes. Their task was to empty the ash from the silos and to ship out.

• Engine room and auxiliary drives: one was the more qualified plant personnel employed, without wishing to diminish the valuable contributions of those workers who were subjected to the most severe working conditions. Nevertheless, there is an enormous difference between the start of a boiler and the control of steam turbines, turbo- alternator units and all the additional auxiliary drives. During the day, worked here as a 15-strong workforce, from technical engineer to machine operators and technical personnel for water purification, cleaning and maintenance column.

• Sub-station: here was the application range of the electrician who had the substation under its supervision, its electrical equipment such as transformers, circuit breakers, etc.

• Mention should also wärem some additional activities such as the laboratory, the workshop, the art room and the warehouses. The electricians workshop took over the maintenance of the entire electrical infrastructure at headquarters, the carpenters and the smiths the molds, furniture and a variety of spare parts for the repairs of the power plant here. About 50 employees were here 8:00 to 17:00 working.

• In addition, there was a security service ( four guards per production shift ) as well as clerk in the administration area.

Employment

The work in the Dampfzentrale " Central Tejo" (as in all thermoelectric power plants at the time) was in fact no easy: the extremely harsh conditions were the reason for the poor quality of life of the workers. The worst tasks in the factory were the Kohleabladen, the work on the boiler, the ash disposal, cleaning of cooling systems and slag tank.

Before the combustion chambers of the heater, which regulated by appropriately moving, and opening of the coal bunker fuel quantity and their uniform distribution on the traveling grate, but also the rate stood. Behind the steam boiler was the place of " slide " which transported the unburned carbon in the center of the combustion grate. This was one of the hardest tasks in the work, not only because of the extreme heat which rose at the opening of the chamber at high temperatures, but also by the continuous inhalation of combustion gases, fumes and slag.

Even greater, however, was the plague in the basement under the kettles, the area of ​​" liming ", where even higher temperatures prevailed. The removal of the ashes was the most arduous task of all, in an atmosphere of exhaust gases, slag and still glowing ashes, often collected by hand, was carted on wagons for coal storage to be emptied there in the ash container. The huge temperature differences complicated the work of the removal of the ash out all the more.

These three occupational categories deserve our special attention because their effort and their use, sometimes at the risk of his own life, the production of energy allowed, they could not afford themselves. You and all your colleagues, it is thanks to them that the Lisbon factories were supplied with electric current, as well as the more noble residential area of ​​the city.

Social Aspects

As one of the largest companies in Portugal, with thousands of employees nationwide, " Companhias Reunidas de Gás e Electricidade ( CRGE ) " has (United gas and electricity works ) implemented social policies in favor of its employees. Among the most important were:

• Establishment of workers' settlement Camarão da Ajuda, the late forties;
• Establishment of schools for the children of employees, but also for the employees themselves, with lessons for children, as well as literacy and technical training for adults.
• Creation of primary care centers for employees' families.