FARMERS AS EMPLOYERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13490, 17 May 1907, Page 4

FARMERS AS EMPLOYERS .

L : ■ -:■■ " tmmM „ mil ~ii-iui„ *» < ■>—-.—. I DEPUTATION TO THE ! CONFERENCE. iv : \..;, ■■■■■■'■;■ y: ■- ■" . ■ '''"■^f ; , ; MSs AFFILIATION TO EMPLOYERS ASSOCIATION URGED. A ; deputation from the Auckland Provin* sial Employers' Association waited - upon . : the Auckland Provincial Farmers' Union, at its conference yesterday afternoon, for the purpose of bringing- under the notice of the latter body the advantages to be gained by its affiliation to the Employers' 'Association. The deputation consisted of Messrs. T. H. White, C. Rhodes, W. Atkra, C. On*-' venor (secretary), and Mr. Prior, the 'representative of the New Zealand Employ-: ers' Federation. The object of the deputed tion was briefly stated by Mr. White. ', Mr. Prior addressed the conference, in : regard-to. tho necessity-for tFi© *ttH*«*e» ft be prepared to meet possible' organisation, M and demands by the farm'labourers of the : jS , Auckland district...; The Employers'.' Federation, and the associations affiliated to it, ;V had, he said, a complete set of machinery ready for dealing with labour legislation ? a and Arbitration Court awards. The feder- ' w ation took no part in connection with the land or, tariff "questions, but on other im- , portent;, matters; with which the farmers were : concerned, it would be able to give .:.;,;* them the benefit of its; organisation (if it ; decided upon affiliation }, including the advantage- of the work of the advisory board and the ;: Parliamentary Committee, which were located ' at' Wellington. The work . done by the Parliamentary Committee during list session had been the means of saving > hundreds of thousands of pounds to the employers ;of r the colony. ; ' In other - } | paris of the: colony, the agricultural labour- , ers were beginning to organise and to trottbio the farmers to a considerable extent. ,f. The demands recently made by ' the farm : labourers in Canterbury,, if made in Auck- . land,' would soon arouse the Fanners' Union to the necessity for affiliation with < the Employers' Association: The farming industry was one in which tho hard and fast eight hours a. day principle, could not very. well be applied. After paying regular . m wages through a slack period and bad weather, farmers would not care to have to , pay overtime when a rush of work came on, but a demand for this was what they . must be prepared to.:.meet;;;';.: Speaking of the Arbitration Act. be aaid that the ob- ( ject which' the Hon." W. P. Reeves had in . ' view in introducing it, viz., that of preventing disputes, was a good one, but instead of this, it had been made use of by ; fij certain labour agitators as a means of creating disputes. These people had busied yf|§ themselves in forming unions in various:,:«: trades, had got themselves appointed secretaries, in many oases, and in some instances had actually sat on the Conciliation Boards, when the latter bodies were adjudicating on the-; disputes brought about by ...' such means. . The dairy workers in Ta»- YOO, naki, he said, were now starting to organise, and it behoved the farmers to place themselves in a position of defence. During the coming session of Parliament, some . important labour legislation would, it' was expected, proposed, including a proposal to grant preference to unionists. If unconditional -. preference were granted, the employers of the colony might expect to ;|S| find themselves under the of labour leaders and agitators, and it behoved them to be on the alert. . ] Mr. Rhodes said that what had happened ■ in America, whilst it might not be likely to be reproduced in New Zealand, should serve as a warning to employers to keep a watchful eye on their interests. Mr. J. Borrie (Waihou) asked whether the Employers' Federation was in favour of the repeal of the Arbitration Act. Mr. White said that was impossible, and moreover, it was not desirable, as the Ar- . bitration Act, if properly administered; was a good measure. The deputation then withdrew. , On the motion of Mr. T. W. Wilson, it ' -j was decided to refer the matter brought forward by the deputation to the executive : :o;\ to deal with at their discretion.