40 | XX | THE HOUSE OF PERNOD AND SONS | XX | XX |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
and heads of industry concerned with the material interests and |
moral of their workers.
|
xxxx
The heads of the House of Pernod and Sons did not wait |
to display the benevolent feelings that animate them with regard |
to their personnel, the explosion of sympathy which has |
occurred these last few years for the working classes.
Indeed, |
Mr. Bernard Lavergne, senator from Tarn, in his book The |
Social Evolution
published in 1893, notes, in speaking of the |
House of Pernod and Sons, that "sympathy for the workman is |
traditional in that establishment."
|
xxxx
This sympathy was illustrated in 1871 by an important fact |
in the history of the House of Pernod and Sons. Without |
knowledge of what the state of the matter was elsewhere in the |
country, Mssrs. Louis and Fritz Pernod spontaneously |
introduced their personnel to participation in a benefit plan and, |
after careful consideration, they decided that the best form for |
that plan to take was that of a retirement fund. They wanted to |
create a savings plan so that when the workers could no longer |
work due to age or infirmity, they would find themselves in |
charge of a small nest egg by means of which they could either |
face urgent needs, or start a small business; these savings were |
also to constitute an invaluable resource for families deprived of |
their breadwinner by death.
|
xxxx
The proposed goal has been fully attained in the 23 years |
the plan has functioned to the complete satisfaction of everyone |
concerned.
|
xxxx
The retirement fund consists of a share determined by the |
operating profits, contributed each year
|
(Translated by "Artemis" for your pleasure.) |