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BUSINESS AND HUMANITY.

WELFARE WjDRK IN AMERICA.

There are many people who think only of (business as a hard, grasping, soulless accompaniment of, human nature. They do not see exactly how we can get along without business but still regard it, like original sin, as something which must just be borne with. This view of business is, of course, a narrow opinion-, the outcome of hasty generalisation from very limited knowledge. Business must be hard-headed for it has desperately hard problems with which to. deal. . . That does not prevent it from being humane in its purposes and ultimate ends. America is a ■country of big business and it is also one where the worker is finding a greater measure of prosperity than is probably to be found in any other.

Industrial welfare work is going ahead in the United States at a very rapid pace. The Research Director of the Pennsylvanian Old Age Com-, mission writes on it as foljows: “The writer has recently had occasion to examine the welfare practices of over 1,500 of the larger concerns in the United States. Eighty per cent, of these corporations, employing more than 4,000,000 workers, have adopted at least one type of industrial welfare work, while almost half the firms have inaugurated comprehensive schemes of service activities for the protection of their employees against various emergencies. About one-fiftieth only ot the total had undertaken no welfare measures. ’

“Employees welfare activities are not new in this country. But the earlier efforts along these dines were decidely act’s of philanthropy and paternalistic in character. Modern welfare activities however, are studied economic practices based on the recognition that production is far more a matter of cfTifcient men than of improved machinery. BENEFITS BY INSURANCE.

“Only fifteen years ago group life insurance, i.e. the attempt on the part of employers of labour to protect the dependents of deceased employees by insuring the. lives of their workers, was hardly known. The first of such policies was not written until 1911. In 1912 the total amount of insurance written under these policies amounted to 13,172,198 dollars.

“The complete figures for the year 1925 are yet unavailable. But figures obtained from seven insurance companies, which in 1924 had written over 90 per cent, of the business, would indicate that the total group insurance written by the end of 1925 amounted to approximately four and a-half to five billion dollars, representing an increase of about 3,500 per cent, in 13 years. These seven insurance companies had covered by the end of 1925 a total of 3,051,281 employees. This would make the total for the entire country, in round about 3,500,000 workers. “Group insurance against illness of employees was practically unknown before 1919; but of the 1,500 concerns studied eighty have already adopted group-health insurance for their employees. The seven insurance companies, already referred to, had by the end of 1925 covered 383,995 employees with this insurance.

“In 1900 there were but 4 schemes providing industrial old age pensions. Noav there are over 200 such concerns operating. “The number of workers covered by these various formal and informal plans amounted in 1924-1925 to approximately 3,500,000 and" at this writing is probably nearer 4,000,000.

BECOMING REAL PARTNERS. “The rapid growth of employees stock purchase plans is also largely a product of the last few years. While there are no exact figures indicating the extent of employee stock-ownership, it is estimated that about 0,500,000 manual workers own about 0,000,000 shares of stock of the companies by which they are employed, representing a total value of approximately 5,000,000,000 dollars. “The mere enumeration of the multifarious welfare activities established largely during the last decade demonstrates the enormous advance of this policy. Employers no longer limit their welfare work to better sanitary conditions, safety, the workmen’s compensation, but are also adopting extensive recreational programmes comprising a variety of athletic activities, social clubs, libraries, musical and dramatic entertainments, noon concerts, dances, picnics and the like. “Employers are even beginning to provide medical attendance for the wives and dependents of employees. One shoe company, for instance, maintains a staff of 33 physicians and surgeons, 05 permanent nurses,, and gives complete medical and surgical services as. well as hospitalisation when necessary to all woikeis and their families without charge. This company spent a total of about 1,200,000 dollars on its welfare work, representing about 6 per cent, of its total annual pay roll'.” WHY IT IS RONE. The American employers are hard headed yet they push these schemes —why? Well, they say “Welfare work makes industrial .peace and stability.” They find that “the big family feeling” prevents disputes. It probably is correct. For all industrial disputes decreased from 4,450 in 1917 to 1,227 in 1924. Another reason given is that they prefer to do the job themselves rather than have the legislature do it,

very often more costly. It pays to be humane. Further, it brings the mind back to the first principal that business exists for service and ser- ; vice for humanity. (Contributed by the N.Z. Welfare League).

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/MH19260828.2.31

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 3530, 28 August 1926, Page 4

Word count
Tapeke kupu
840

BUSINESS AND HUMANITY. Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 3530, 28 August 1926, Page 4

BUSINESS AND HUMANITY. Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 3530, 28 August 1926, Page 4

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