78

III.—CO-OPEKATIVE  SOCIETIES.

months’  continuous  service.  The  objects  of  the  fund  are  “  to
make  provision  for  the  retirement  of  its  members  through  old
age,  or  incapacity  caused  by  infirmity  of  body  or  mind,  the
encouragement  of  thrift,  and  the  creation  of  a  bond  of  interest
between  the  Society  and  employees  which  shall  be  mutually
advantageous.”  Contribution  to  the  fund  by  employees  is,  with
certain  exceptions,  on  a  basis  of  3|  per  cent,  on  fixed  wages  of
over  40s.  and  2£  per  cent,  on  wages  under  40s.  The  Society
contributes  to  the  fund  on  the  basis  of  2J  per  cent,  on  the  wages
of  those  members  whd  earn  30s.  per  week  and  under,  and  1J  per
cent,  on  the  wages  of  those  earning  over  30s.  per  week.  The
accounts  of  contributions  are  kept  under  separate  heads  and
owned  separately  by  the  Society  and  the  employees  respectively,
until  such  time  as  the  benefits  become  withdrawable  at  the  age  of
60  years,  or  earlier  under  certain  contingencies,  or  on  termination
of  service.  The  management  of  the  fund  is  in  the  hands  of  a
committee  of  eleven,  six  directors  of  the  Society  and  five  elected
employee  members,  who  become  trustees  for  the  investment  of  the
fund  with  the  Society.  At  the  end  of  1910  the  amount  invested
with  the  Society  was  £88,398.
The  Scottish  Wholesale  Society,  which  carries  on  similar  undertakings ­
  to  the  English  Society,  and  which  employed  1,859  persons
in  its  distributive  and  5,752  persons  in  its  productive  departments
at  the  end  of  1910,  adopted  Profit-sharing  in  1870.  The  scheme
then  adopted  provided  that  its  employees  (all  of  whom  were  at
that  time  employed  in  distribution)  should  receive  a  bonus  on
their  wages  at  double  the  rate  of  dividend  paid  to  members  on
purchases.  In  1883  the  Society  commenced  production,  and  in
1884  the  old  arrangement  as  to  bonus  was  replaced  by  a  new
scheme  which  established  a  differential  rate  between  workers  in
the  distributive  and  in  the  productive  departments.  Under  this,
the  distributive  employees  received  a  bonus  at  the  same  rate  as  the
rate  of  dividend  on  members’  purchases;  while  the  rate  of  bonus
to  productive  workers  was  determined  by  the  net  aggregate  profit
made  in  the  manufacturing  departments  only.  This  arrangement
was  again  revised  in  1892,  when  the  Society  decided  to  pay  to
all  its  employees,  whether  employed  in  its  distributive  or  its
productive  departments,  a  bonus  on  wages  at  the  same  rate  as  the
dividend  on  purchases  paid  to  members  :  it  was  required,  however,
that  one-half  of  each  worker’s  bonus  should  be  retained  and  placed
to  his  credit  in  a  special  fund  called  the  Bonus  Loan  Fund,  which
receives  interest  at  the  rate  of  3  per  cent,  per  annum.  Except
with  the  consent  of  the  Committee,  deposits  in  this  Fund  are  only
withdrawable  after  the  expiration  of  three  months  from  the  date
of  the  employee  leaving  the  service  of  the  Society.
Since  the  establishment  of  Profit-sharing  with  the  employees,
and  up  to  the  end  of  19.10,  a  total  sum  of  £197,071  had  been
allotted  to  the  employees,  of  which  £57,892  remained  in  the
Bonus  Loan  Fund.