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Insurance Agents Demand Plebiscite.

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Insurance Agents Demand Plebiscite. TO DETERMINE ON DOWN TOOLS POLICY. MERTHYR MEETING AND THE AGENTS' POSITION. The Insurange Agents of South Wales. as presumably of other parts, are feeling the pinch of war-time prices, on top of decreased war-time work and those who are in the Ln- ion are agitating for a "down tools" policy in connect ton with their business. The Alerthyr district ma;s meeting of the assurance agents was held on Friday in Bentley's Hall, when several well-known Trades Unionist speakers, including the Mayor, addressed a good gather- ing on Industrial Unionism a,nd its possibili- ties and Mr. B. Brooks, General Secretary of the National Union of Life Assurance Agents, and others inside the movement dealt with the particular aspect of the agitation. In the absence of the Mayor, who was detain- ed over the Coal Settlement in Cardiff, the chair was taken by Mr. J. Jones, Aberdare, who emphasised the need for organisation am- ongst the Life Assu.range Agents. Whatever else was done that night, let it be a determi- nation 011 the part of all present that every man engaged in the work should come into the Union. If fair means and words were in- effective, then they must use coercion to bring in the non-Unionist. (Applause.) Organise. 1 1 U U Mr. Wm. Harris (Secretary ot t-ne -V-te I thyr Borough Trades and Labour Council) said that the first word he desired to utter that night was Organise." The position they found themselves sii that day was due to their own roilY, and was not the fault alto- gether of those who wore outside the Union. Following an interesting epitome of the mate- rial gains that Trades Unionism had meant m different specific instances, from teachers to boiler makers Mr. Harris applied himself to Life Assurance. He hid, he said, made a, close study of Mr. Sidney Webb's supplement to the Now Statesman." dealing with the ques- tioTi or life assuraiieo, and he fo;,ud that the chief method of getting bigger dividends and reserve funds for the capitalist societies was to issue new tables with reduced commission for the agents. This meant that while other workers were holding their own through their Trade Unions, the Assurance Agents must re- lativelv he gomg bacK at a terrific pace, since owing to the decline in real wages due to the increased cost of the necessities of life, the tl to-day was worth only 15 j- as compared with pre-war days. The assurance agents, instead of standing still, had been going backwards; and they were not going to alter this condition of affairs until they had got the greater number of tho agents in the union. When that was accomplished, they would have the strongest Trades Union in the country. Owing to the ra- mifications of the business, and the absolute dependence of the officers on the agent,s, they could dictate their own within reason. If they were so well organised as they ought to be. they would not waste time asking for war bo- u:i v. s:<i .1- for increased wages. (Cheers.) Helpful Organisations I ?- 1 hey in the Union had got to do tnis organi- sing, and there was no reason why- they should no- do it at once. Take the position locally. They had the Trade. Councii organised from Dowlais Top to Treha: ris, with all the Trade Unions, with only one or two exceptions, affili- ated. It was not a paper Trades Council, but was seriously inclined to business, and it was about time the assurance agents took advant- age of the Trades Council, to which they were affiliated by applying for assistance. The whole history of Trades Unionism dur- ing the black passages of its 180 years of ex- istence was that in apparently black crises it had been saved by the 5mail Unions. Trades Unionism to-day was passing through a very dark period; the Munitions Bill har suspend- ed the rights and privileges that represented countless years of hard industrial struggle, and it might be that things which were so easily wiped away would not be so readily re-placed. It was not easy to -ay what would happen, and maybe it was that the Assurance Agents woulci li'avc tu :-aH the situation. He was glad of one thing, and that was that the South Wales' Miners had saved the situation within. the past few weeks. They all read the daily papers, and they would, therefore, know the feelings which the capitalist class regarded the $outh Wales miner. They said that he should be taken out and shot; that he should be hung, drawn and quartered,, and they who lived amongst these miners knew that those statements about the miner and his attitude were not true statements. The truth was that the men had real grievances, and had been played with by the masters and what had bperied in the press in the case of the miner would happen in the case of the Life Assurance Agents when they were ready. Organised Spending Power. I They must remember that all the time they were organising industrially to get more money they must be organising to spen I their mo- ney as well. What was the use of organising the earning power if the spending capacity was left open as an easy way of getting back the increased wages ? So long as they went 'and spent their money with the private trader and the controller of the capitalistic press, they merely threw hack the money into the weil from which they had laboured so ardu- ously to draw it. He meant they should all be Co-operators. (Cheers.) If the Co operative So- cieties of to-day had commanded three-quar- ters, instead of one-eighth of the nation's trade, they would hav been 111 the position to set the prices far the whole of the nation. True the State haQ. iried to step in and tac- kle sugar, and an awful mess tbey had made of it. They had tackled it off. the market for lump sugar was unobtainable to-day. They ought to have tackled the bread question and the flour question, and all the necessaries of life, which were quite as important as sugar. If the co-operative societies had beet strong en- ough to settle the price, there would have been a State within the State settling prices for us. (Cheers.) Turning to the assurance question again, Mr Harris asked what had created this de- mand for a war bonus? Incidentally, of course, it was the war, but f<omhis observations he' was as satisfied that there was as a great a need for the increase in June, 1914, as to- day for he found that from 1900 to 1914 the wages of the assurance agents had not gone up except as they added new business to their books; indeed, so far as commission was con- corned it not only di,- not go up, but. if any- thing. it came down: yet all the time the cost of living was steadily advancing, and so their position steadily got worse year by year. And that increased cost of the necessities of life had been accentuated by the war, which had X done more in 12 months than ten years of peace had done. Yet the agents were in A posi- tion that they could not get a war bonus, be- cause they were not organised. He supposed he would be correct instating that not one- quarter of the agents in the country were in the Union, and, therefore, what they had to do to his mmd was not so much to demand the war bonus, as to recognise that they had to suffer a little more the while they organis- ed every man into the Union. That was the se- cret ot it. And in the meantime they had to get some corners rubbed off, and one of them was a too great belief in the capitalistic system of Government. They could not become thor- ough Trades Unionists until they had got it into their heads that the system under which they were working wa.s absolute' wrong. It did not matter how J-ard they worked, how many advances they gained, they had to pay in the end providing rhe command of the pur- chasing prices was left in the hands of pri- vate individuals. The Plebiscite Resolution. Mr. Thomas (S'eeretaiy of tile Merthyr Branch of Assurance Agents) then moved the following resolution — That this mass meeting of East Glamorg- an and Monmouthshire Assurance Agents re- quests, the Executive Committee to take a plebiscite of South Wales Agents without de- lay to ascertain if the members are prepared to "down tools" ;f the various companies are not prepared to a war bonus within a period to be agreed on by the E. C. He also dwelt on the urgency of the need of a consolidation of the agents in the Union. If the Executive wouid grant them permission to "down tools," they would then learn exactly the position they were in. Already a number of people in South Wales were prepared to stake their all to see that tibey not only obtained a war bonus, but also that they obtained stand- ing as a Union for the first time. The last time, and the only time they had met the Pearl Directors here, they had been told with a nice smile that they would never think of tolerating any suggestions or any- thing else from the out-door stafff; that they were there to govern, and intended to remain there, and the agents were bluntly told that if there, did not like their decisions they might they go and seek pastures new. Yet if the agents willed it, they could make those directorates not only willing to heed their counsels, but ac- tually to remain on their own terms, and not on the terms dictated from headquarters. (Cheers.) It was not only the increased costs of com- modities that had told in their case but an ac- tual and substantial decrease in their ability to earn what they used to. Naturally, under th? present conditions, they would not collect with the same ease md they could not obtain the same amount of new business. They were hit on both sides; less earnings and increased prices. When they asked for more money they I were met with the reply that if they wanted more they could easily get it by collecting more, and making new business. The Opportune Time. Mr. J. C. Williams (District Secretary), in seconding, declared that now was the opport- une time for the agents to force their demands, for the war bonus and recognition as an orga.' nised body of workers. The posidon was such at the moment that they could, any moment they made up their mind, demand and obtain the same recognition as other bodies of organ- ised workers, to deal through their officials with the officials on the directorates of the various companies. Mr. Brooks, in supporting the resolution, said the Union regarded the proposed action as a means to an end, and they should certain- Iv in the first case .start with the lowest paid workers, since not only was he the man most in need of the money, but he was also the greatest danger to his higher paid colleague in the trade. He was quite prepared to take tli > lead in this matter, and he would not do that unless he was sure of the strength of the position that the men occupied. No Trades Union leader would go into a strike unless he knew that he had the weapons with which to fight. But they would never have a strike in the insurance business. As soon as ever the a- ents refused to work the companies would be forced to give way. Jt would never come to a strike. The whole nistory of Trades Unionism went to show that wherever men were well organise there, the wages and conditions of life had gone np. The greatest magnates, men absolutely soaked in ndividualism. had had to forego their opinions and meet the Unions as the recognised media for the adjustment of the men's differences and demands. The rail- way magnates had refused recognition of the men's Unions until the men had declared that they must and had struck work to enforce their demand, and what was true of the rail- waymen was true of all the big Unions: the magnates had been compelled to bend the knee and recognise the Unions. And these people had been in a far more advantageous position to tight the men than were the insurance com- panies. The agents, as they had already been told, were absolute masters of the situation di- rectly they cared to exercise that mastery. In the coalfields the masters owned the coal and tho machinery necessary to work it, and that was true of practically every other business, with the one exception of the insurance busi- ness. The insurance societies did not own. any- thing. They as agents were on the field work- ing, and it was their field. Moreover, when a strike occurred in a coalmine or a factory, the blacklegs were in the mine or factory and were protected by the police, but imagine, in the event of a strike in the insurance business, the police shepherding an agent on his collecting round, the while their pickets walked behind with a label "Blackleg. It was impossible to bring blackleg labour into their business, the men were absolute masters of the field, and when they, as agents, had full confidence in Trades Unionism and in their fellow men they would be able to take over that mastery. But they must take the opportunity that now of- fered itsetf. for the present was an unique time, otherwise they might find that the close of the war would give the companies a splen- did opportunity of being patriotic by brining in partially disabled warriors to take the place of the agents. Therefore, they wanted them to take action now, and not to leave it to suc h time as they would discover it to be too late, and that they had mad e a mistake. The Sole Source. He wanted them to see that they, the wor- kers, who found every bit of business that the companies did, who collected every halfpenny to build the palatial offices and ouild up the huge and vaunted reserve funds were abso- lutely and completely masters of the situation and that they could have better remuneration for their labours, and enjoy a higher standard of life direc-cln- the-v, had made up their minds. Moreover, when there was a coal strike or a strike in connection with any industry. the employers knew It was coming, and they held over stocks against the strike; but the insur- ance societies and companies could not accumu- late stocks to tide them over the fight with the men. They were absolutely dependent on the premiums from the agents which came in from week to week, and from that income they met their claims and met the charges ag- ainst them. Continuing, he referred to the fact that the Directorates did whatever they could to dis- countenance the Union, but in view of their oft-expressed contempt for the little Union it was significant that two of the leading direct- ors of one company were in the vallies because of the mass meetings which were being held. That looked as though there was moire fear than contempt for the Union in the minds of tho companies. For if they were not afraid, they would also have treated the mass meet- ings with contempt; thcrefor the inference was obvious. The truth was that the companies knew the men's strength; they knew that their attitude was hopeless directly the men cared to challenge it. They were afraid to stand before the working classes as the persons who had denied the rights of the men to form themselves into a Trades Union, for their busi- ness was mostly transacted with Trades Un- ionists. Fuily 8U /„ of the houses which the agents visited were the homes of Trades Un- ioa members. The societies and companies were as weak as any body could be. It was for the agents to have faith in themselves, and it was here that the companies and societies played on the men. All the agents were go- ing to be assistant superintendents, then sup- erintendents, and they even they might be- come directors. They might. (Laughter.) He knew one company that encouraged their ag- ents to work up a £ 6 into a £ 12 book, and then it made iiim an assistant superintendent, dividing the book into two 1:6 books for two other agents; then when the assistant superin- tendent had served a few months, it found some excuse for reducing him to collector ag- ain with a £ ti book. He had known that to happen. And yet the agents went on trust- ing them; these companies who boasted of their wealth on the wails, and yet would not give their agents proper conditions; nay, who absolutely would not. give them any conditions at a.11, but who robbed the agents who created eveiy halfpenny of wealth that. they boasted. if the agents would only be courageous and join together into the Union they could have the same conditions as the friendly society man firom these great companies. But the Union could not do this until they had the majority of the agents in the Union. When they had to of the men inside, then they could do all this, and more. The companies asked the men to alter their whole character, the agent had not to be a man, lie had to transform him- self into practically a devil. Were they pre- paied to stand that. If they wü: 0, they were very foolish, when they could make for them- selves proper condtions and re-mould the whole scheme when they so willed. He appealed to the man who bad an inter- est in his own book in some friendly collecting society to take their stand with the company men in this; if they did not, then they were in danger of losing what they had, for the under- paid hard-driven worker was always a menace to the better situated man. The condition of the book-holders would inevitably be lowered sooner or later if the men did not decide to take this matter in hand, and he therefore appealed to the book-holders to stan d shoulder to shoulder with the company agent irv this. If 3 men out of 4, or 10 out of 15. or 25 out of 40 in any office would stand resolutely should- er to shoulder, they were entire masters of the position, and they coucl defy the compa- nies and force them to accept their own terms. The Union, he pientioned, was in a sound po- sition financially, aiidtall That was wanted was united action on the part of the whole of the mer. altogether. Dissipate Your Apathy. I I n, Guardian Harry liivans, or the oaiters un- ion. also appealed to -t,ie assurance agents to dissipate their apathy and realise that their own Union was the only weapon that could be effectively used in the prosecution of their demand for better terms and conditions. It had taken the agents 13 months after the out- break of war to even begin to agitate for a war bonus, whereas the other Unions, almost without exception, th t hada gained a strong position had been enjoying it for some months now. He believed that the assurance agents were just as entitled to the war bonus as any of the other organised trades. He trusted that after that meeting every non-Unionist pre- sent. would join the Union, and also that the Unionists present would see to it that they did all that was possible to bring in the non-Un- ionists of the district. Mr. Bert Brobyn (Chairman of the Trades and Labour Council) said he had no sympathy whatever with the man who would not join his Trades Union. Such a man deserved all he got in the way of bad conditions and little pay. He also dwelt upon the organisation of the Trades and Labour Couniel, which, he said, was prepared to assist the assurance agents di- rectly they asked through their agents for that assistance. The Council was perfectly or- ganised from Treharris to DowLÙs, and were, therefore, in a position of power. So long as th-j agents remained unorganised they could expect nothing, but directly they were organ- ised for the fight they could frame their de- mand with the expectation that that demand would be promptly met. He wanted to say that from a Trades Council standpoint the Merthyr Borough Council was in a position to do a great deal of damage to the non-Unionist, thought he did not like to employ that met-hod until conciliatory methods had been tried and failed. He therefore appealed t.o non-Union- ists to join in at once and help win better con- dl*t,ons f or all. The Mayor on Trade Unionism. I.- I The Mayor here made an appeut-aiiuul U<H- ing hurried from Cardiff on the settlement of th business there, and was (Tiven a great g ception by the men gaUiered in Bent1y's. He responded to vo? of thanks £ the ^ers, passed on the motion 0 f 1\h. Harry Morris; awl sc-condefl bv Prior to this the resolution had been put and carried una- nllüously, Hi Worship dcalt wit'} thc practi- cal benehts that Cadle ùO the individual from association with In. fellows in a Trades Union -benefits not restricted to ? ? safeguarding of wage. and  :?,_ ??er nts in 0f wages and protection, and other cases wt!f here ?ew?e?tn of the Unions provided the worker with his only chance to ?.? the ex- pensive lltl^t^0" employer. He mstanc- ed many well-?nown CaSeS that the mine.s had  \Von after long and cost- ly ilght5, t? the -f4ou?c, of Lord,s and urged thc? assurance agents to avail themselves f ^rlves  one of the disadvantages of the as."urance arrenís' work was that it was looked upon av\  in wh;ch a disabled  dustrialist could alwav, seck remuneration and dustrialist ? ?but t?h?at \w?ouulld d have to be com- recuperation, the busincss would have to be !??. and ?e?usmessw?h?? the batteudc, ted 'in a ^n^niollist, "S matter what cond  jn. to rally Tound tll¿ other Unionists, for real Trades Unionism  but brotheriy ?- efit as weU. (Cheen.) m ?742?. L ?,. o  .0 I

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