THE ARBITRATION COURT.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 19851, 12 February 1930, Page 10

THE ARBITRATION COURT.

EMPLOYERS' REPRESENTA-

TIVE.

MR W. CECIL PRIME NOMINATED

Mr W. Cecil Prime, secretary of the Canterbury Employers' Association, has been nominated by the executive cf the New Zealand Employers' Federation, as employers' assessor on the Arbitration Court, which office will be vacated shortly by Mr L. J. Sehmitt. who has been appointed commercial representative of the New Zealand Government in Australia. The nomination will now be referred to tho industrial unions of employers. Mr Prime has had a varied experience of commercial and agricultural interests and in recent years has been in close contact with the work of the Arbitration Court and Conciliation Council.

Born at Napier in 1883, he received both his primary and secondary education there, and thehi joined the staff of the Hawke's Bay Farmers' Co-opera-tive Association. He was later connected for a time with the firm of Williams and Kettle, Ltd., and then entered the service of the National Tusni-ance Company at Napier. In !!},% Mr Prime was attached to the staff of the State Fire Insurance Office at Wellington, and the next year was transferred to the branch at Auckland, where he remained until 1910.

Tl-eturning to Hawke's Bay, Mr Prime entered a wholesale business with his father, Mr W. L. Prime, but became interested in secretarial work, which he combined with fire insurance loss adjustment. He was . appointed secretary of the Nabier Chamber of Commerce, and in 1918 became secretary of _ the Hawke's Bay Employers' Association and of the Hawke's Bay Sheepowners' Fnion. There besran his study of industrial matters. Exnerience in this field was widened when Mr Prime was appointed secretarv of the Canterbury Employers' Association_ in 1924. During his term in he has continuallv represented the emoloyers in Conciliation Council arid as secretary Of the Master Painters' Federation and Master Plumbers' Federation, has conducted disputes of Ddfhinioh-wide scope.