The Farmers' Union and Employers' Federation.

Waikato Argus, Volume XXIV, Issue 3799, 4 June 1908, Page 2

The Farmers' Union and Employers' Federation.

The remarks made by speakers at the Wellington provincial conference of the Farmers' Union at Feilding on the subject of affiliation with the Employers' Federation, were brought under the notice of Mr W. Pryor, secretary of the Federation. "In connection with the discussion at Feilding regarding the affiliation of the Farmers' Union with the Employers' Federation," said Mr Pryor, "the speakers who said that the Federation was a protectionist organisation are entirely mistaken, aa the question of protection or free trade has never been dealt with in any way at all. Where I think the mistake has arisen is that the speakers have confused, by some means, the Industrial Association with the Employers' Federation. There is no connection whatever between the two bodies. The Employers' Federation was established solely for industrial defence matters, while the Industrial Association deals with such questions as tariff reform, etc. The functions of the two bodies are entirely different, and those speakers who said that the Federation had dealt with this matter were in error. The gentleman who said that protection was almost the Employers' Federation's sheet anchor was entirely in the wrong. There is certainly an affinity between the Farmers' Unions and the Employers' Associations, as the members of both are employers of labour, and their interests are identical in connection with labour legislation and the administration of our labour laws, and my Federation feels that, having a practically complete organisation of the trading and manufacturing employers of the Dominion, it would strengthen their position greatly, and be of immense benefit to all parties concerned, if the farming employers were brought into conjunction with the work that the Federation is doing."