Otago Employers.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 15, 12 October 1907, Page 4

Otago Employers.

ANNUAL ; MEETING OF THE ASSOCIATION. ' GROAVTH OF SOCIALISM.' By Telegraph—Press .Association. i v Duncdin, October 11. Tho annual meeting! of the Otago Employers' Association; was hold' thisafternoon, Mr.-- J. -K. Thomson (President) occupying tho'ohair. •' Tho annual ropo'rtT stated that the ; Association can now Claim''to repreuent practically the whole of the employers in tho various trades throughout Duncdin and suburbs.. It',is' tho largest, ' best organised, and most vigorous association of employers that'Otago has yet seen. So far its this part of the Dominion is concerned. the Conciliation Board is practically dead. "It has not 6at more than five or six days during the past five" years, and not once during the past twelve months, although tho number of disputes .shows'no sign of lessening. ' ';' The Arbitration Coiirt is fast overtaking its work, and by the end'of .the 1 year will have pretty well, brought it up to date. : 'This is' np doubt owing to the Court, recognising that most of the trades,' .whose conditions have been •inquired ' inio nrid adjudicatod upon, are now working undor standard awards. n »- r -

The Labour Party. • '■j '■' ' Now that the Labour. Party havo laid themselves .out to organise all tho country workers, and to,', bring thera within' tho Arbitration Court awards, tho employers' associations and farmors' unions would probably find that something more than the present entente cbrdialo will' be necessary to protect the interests of both from being 1 jeopardised by organised - labour. One enomy which, threatens tlio interests of the Dominion generally, and . the employers in particular, is the growing Socialism .of the Labour Party. It is manifest that bofore long an independent Socialistic /Labour I'iEirty, whose aim will bo to oxploit Parliament, in the ': interests of' one class, to the, exclusion of all others; will have to, bp contended with. It therefore the employers to strengthen their organisations, and maintain their finances, so that they may bo ready to meet all emergencies..

The Arbltratjon Apt. ;i l , The ohaiman, in moving the; adoption; of the annual report,' mentioned the excellent work done,by Mr. Pryor and emphasised the - debt of .'gratitude they were under to the Parliamentary Committee, of the New Zealand Fed-, eration for the valuable and arduous work ; tliey v performed in dealing' with the Arbitration Act; The speaker said ho had always affirmed,'and still maintained, that the' Act could never fulfil the purposes for which, it was created. It iyas to be'used for 'intervention ,when a strike was imminent.'. They knew too well,; to their cost, that it had never been used in that way, but in a totally different direction' to the demoralising of the working classes, and the'weakening of tho friendly relations iliat should exist between employers and employees. Ho held that an. Act which could not. be forced absolutely .should not long, cumber our Statuto books. It ; had been .a very oxpensive experiment, and should be condemned as a failure. He was of opinion that tlio less thoy had of legislative interference with our industries and commerco tho better. ' The present Position. The position reached to-day Was that porsistent methods Sfere made to prevent young people from learning trades and to provoiit elderly men and thoso unablo to claim first-class rank, from earning a livelihood, to seriously rcducii tho efficiency of labour, to lower effort, to ambition, to repel Capital, and to widen tho breach between capital and labour, instead. of promoting their working in. harmony. Tho widening of the broach was being steadily increased, and was: being accentuated by tho tactics of the Labour party, and the propaganda of the political Labour league. , Employers see the' necessity for over increasing vigil-

The ...report; was adopted. , Mr. J. C. Thompson was re-olcctcd president, and' Messrs. R. : Cliisholm and J. W.' Hontoii 'wero' re-ajipointcd vice-presidents. Messrs. R. Cliisholm, J. W. Ilcntoii) C.-'W.. lltattmy, and J. C. Thompson wore olccted to tho federation executive. . . Mr. Cliisholm delivered an address 011 the. Now Zealand, employers 1 ; federation, and in'the course of' his remarks ho ougolised tho work dono during tho year, piling a high oomplimeiit to Mr. Pryor for his Slavicea.