HARMONY.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 30, 6 February 1928, Page 9

HARMONY.

WORKERS AND EMPLOYERS.? i , PROVIDENT FUND SCHEMES, f I ,GAS COMPANY EMPLOYEES AND CO- t OPERATION. 1 t ' In late years it has been generallv '*■ recognised that the interests of eninloveiv * It and employees should be harmonised. c jand many attempts have been made byL jco-operation, profit-sharing and other-'# : wise to achieve this end."' said Mr. J. H.p Upton, chairman of directors of the'^ i _ j Ij 'Auckland (las Company, at the annual., [meeting to-day. !<1 j "In the 50 or 00 years not less! 1 'than 500 schemes have been tried in' J [Great Britain alone, but most of them j, jbave passed awav leaving only a comparatively few bright examples of success. But no way has been found free ifrom difficulties, and no plan has 'met with general acceptance from employers and employed. There seems in 'be no royal road to success; it depends ultimately on the old-fashioned \ivtneof industry and thrift. To a large exItent the old system of the individual employer with a staff of helpers liaspassed away, and has been succeeded jjbv the joint stock system where often' .large numbers are employed in a single'] enterprise, and an organisation of ex-i; pert direction tak«> the place o: the'i time honoured system of our fore-'t fathers," said Mr. Upton. , "Every industry has its own special,' [characteristics," he said, "and no scheme|' 'for the betterment of the workman can;' |succeed that does not take account of j ithat fact, and that does not receive thei | cordial assent of both employer and eni-i jployed. It was, therefore, with «reatj ipleasure in 1912, fifteen years ago, that |we'received the proposal*from a number 1 {of our workmen for the formation of air (association of employees for the pur-| jpose of acquiring share interest in the 'company. ' ' The directors welecomed the proposal ' ,and responded to the overtures made to' [them in such a manner that the Auckland Gas Workers' Provident Association came into existence. The Provident Association has been functioning now for fifteen years, and it has been the' .means of adding to the register of share-' 1 [holders the names of 270 individual em-' ployees who at the present time hold in i (the aggregate 30,000 shares. The value! of these shares represent the extent to! which the members of the association jhave improved their position by saving., jand I hope it has given to all a feeling jof pleasure that thev are our co- 1 ''partners in business. ••

"Any employee of the company may join the Provident Association, the ob-; ject of which is to acquire for its mem-j bers shares in the Gas Company. One! of its rules is that its operations are' for periods of five years. At the end' of every period the shares acquired, held in the meantime by trustees, are transferred to the share register of the company into the names of the individual! owners in proportion to their contribu- ] tions to the funds of the association.! The company makes a contribution to Ihe association of a sum equal to loi per cent of its investments in shares at j current market price. ; "Starting with 112 members in 1912 'the association is now at the beginning of its fourth five yearly period, and their secretary informs u< that its membership is now 403. so that you see ownership of the company's shares by the company's employees is becoming a thing of magnitude and the eii.l is nut yet in sight. Need I say that T and my c-o----direetors are more than pleased to see the success of the Provident Association, as we think that the employees of the company are the best co-partners we can have."' Mr. Upton concluded.