Real Wages and Labour Inequalities in the Río de la Plata’s Meatpacking Industry (Uruguay, 1890–1928)

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This study offers new evidence regarding industrial wage dynamics in the Río de la Plata region during the First Globalization era (1890-1928). We focus on Uruguay’s meat-packing industry, particularly Liebig’s Extract of Meat Company (Frigorífico Anglo after 1924), a key supplier of meat extract to European markets, and analyse original wage data extracted from company employment records. The nominal and real wage series we construct reveal two significant patterns: persistent real wage stagnation and widening gender-based pay disparities throughout the period. These findings provide important insights into labour market functioning in settler economies and contribute to comparative studies of industrial wages during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.