By W.C. Beeching

REGINA — Angered by the
Saskatchewan NDP govern-
Ment’s support for wage controls
4 Considerable bloc of delegates
Went to the Saskatchewan Feder-
ation of Labor Convention de-
termined to win an open rejection
Of the CLC Manifesto, the seating
of Retail, Wholesale, Department
Store Union (kept out of the SFL

Cause of a dispute), and the
Withdrawal of political support
from the Saskatchewan New

-mocratic Party government.

€ lines of division were drawn
long before SFL president,
George Semeniuk, declared the
2ist Annual Convention of the
SFL “‘officially opened.”’

The SFL Executive met ‘‘in
‘“amera” on the eve of the con-
vention and agreed to run the bus-
Iness of the convention under
Strict control and to propose a
Slate of ‘‘safe’’ candidates for the
M-coming executive.

The struggle between the two
Major factions was reflected in a
_ Struggle around procedural ques-

tions. However, it would be

Wrong to assume that the militant,

t-back spirit, which is a fea-

lure of the trade union move-

| Ment’s reaction to wage controls,
| Was missing, although the split did
_ Steat harm to the convention and
Prevented it from being a conven-
ion which charted the way for-
Ward based on the new gains
Made by labor. The split meant
at a convention which should
have opened with the essential

a hext steps should be, spent
| one first day-and-a-half of a
three-day convention quibbling
ver procedural questions, joc-
€ying for positions on secondary
questions, and- probing and test-
_ 1g each other’s strength,
. 3 The NDP leadership of the
saskatchewan federation ran
_ SCared at this convention and, asa
fousequence, effectively de-
ated the ‘‘good’’ with the ‘‘bad’’
48 one delegate put it. A large
Number of NDP MLA’s and of-
_ Iials attended the convention,
| cluding Premier Blakeney, who
| a Toundly booed when intro-
_ GUced to the convention.
_Ron Ruth, secretary of the Re-

8ina Labour Council, appealed to’

© delegates to occupy. them-
Selves with the main questions
pene the labor movement. .He
aud that undoubtedly all
nlonists are angry because
I's so-called political arm is

debate on the fight back and what -

he Beeching, leader of the Party In Saska
Self in thi 1 tc
Vention, s anc to the Saska

The SFLConvention === ;
Labor and political action

supporting wage controls, al-
though it should not have come as
a complete surprise.

He said, “Labor. is strong
enough to force all governments
at every level to do its wishes.
Not one government will respond
to labor’s needs until it is compel-
led to by labor and its friends. We
would do better to get on with a
discussion of our. program and
tactics, a discussion of how to de-
velop mass movements and how
to develop a united labor move-
ment, a labor movement united
with the teachers, farmers and
other groups for new programs
for the people.”

Some prominent NDPers con-
demned the Blakeney govern-
ment’s support for wage controls,
and called for stronger labor pres-
sure on the NDP. R. Duncan of
the Oil Chemical’ and Atomic
Works, a prominent NDPer said,
“The problem we all have to face
is how can the NDP control its
own politicians.’ Other delegates
called for trade unionists to be-
come candidates for the NDP.

Ultra Leftists were there and
tried to identify themselves with
the reactions of anger and frustra-
tion being expressed at the con-
vention. They joined in the effort
to direct the attention of the con-
vention away from the struggle
for democracy: and people’s
needs, from a discussion of an al-
ternative program to- that of
monopoly and how to get it, to an
all-out attack on the CLC leader-
ship and the Saskatchewan NDP
government. d

The Executive of the Sas-
katchewan Division of the Cana-
dian Union of Public Employees
circulated a position paper among
the delegates entitled ‘‘A Criti-
cism of the CLC Manifesto.”
Saskatchewan CUPE, rejects the
CLC Manifesto in these words,

“Only if labor retains its au-—

tonomy and rejects tripartism can
it continue to represent the needs
of the working people and strug-
gle against.government and cor-
porate attempts to erode the gains
workers have struggled so hard to
achieve...”

The statement continues, ““We
oppose tripartism because it
would be a betrayal of the fight we
have built to retain collective bar-
gaining. Tripartism would be
permanent wage controls by our
own consent. Tripartism would
be used by the corporations and
the government to co-opt the
labor movement into becoming an.

tchewan addresses
hewan Federation of Labor’s Con-

Ron Ruth, secretary of the Re-
gina Labor Council .
‘arm of both business and gov-
ernment to restrain workers.’”’

On the afternoon of the second
day of the convention, the Execu-
tive action resolution — ‘‘Prog-
ram for Fight Back — Year two”’
— was placed before the conven-
tion. It also reflected the “‘fear”’
dominating the: NDP leadership.
Instead of openly coming forward
with a program of action, linked
to the goals the CLC and SFL
have placed forward in this strug-
gle, every proposal was dressed
in vague and ambiguous ter-
minology. Instead of-opening the
convention with a program which
challenged the splitters, the SFL
leadership limited itself to man-
euvering and ‘‘outsmarting’’ its
opponents. It tried to keep a dis-
cussion of a program which would
also be a challenge to the splitters
out of the convention, or so
muted that it got lost in the welter
of resolutions and counter resolu-
tions in the little war between the
two factions.

It confused many workers. It
disarmed them, and it angered
them. It gave no leadership to the
deep-going and well justified dis-

satisfaction among the members __

of CUPE who are on the front line
of battle against government cut
backs. Many young trade
unionists, victims of low pay and
bad working conditions, who
could have been won for such a
program, left the convention feel-
ing that their problems had been
ignored.

Again Ron Ruth, fresh from
running in Regina’s civic election
campaign, appealed for a stronger
action resolution. He called on
the NDP to implement social and
economic programs that the
workers need, for more vigorous
actions by the unions to turn the
NDP position around.

The Executive’s action resolu--

tion called for a campaign of rotat-
ing work disruptions, for bargain-
ing for legitimate wage increases
without regard to the limitations
set by wage controls, for public
meetings and mass educational
work, for the development of a
Common Front, ahd for solidarity

with striking unions.

Ruth called upon the SFL to

| promote active campaigns for the

proposals made both by the CLC

and SFL for social and economic:
reforms, for the SFL to find new

ways to place its legislative prog-
ram before the electors, for a
province-wide educational prog-
ram, for a demonstration at the
upcoming NDP convention, and
for actions to support any work-
ers subjected to sanctions by bos-
ses for participating in labor’s
fight back.

The Executive recommended
that most of the amendments be
defeated, although it adopted
some with modifications.

By NAN McDONALD ;

THE CONCEPT OF SOME WOMEN’S GROUPS and radical
minded elements that men and women should have the same
pensionable age, and that a differentiated pensionable age means
maintaining inequality; simplifies and distorts the question of
equality in the,struggle against exploitation. Further, it plays into
the hands of the multinational corporations who clearly reflect
the drive for maximum profits by cutting into social costs at the
expense of the working class. A case in point is the demand for
pensions for women at age 55 and for men at age 60.

THE CONCEPT OF PLACING MEN AND WOMEN on an
equal basis before the law i.e. in Old Age Security benefits
without defining what is required that will guarantee genuine
equality for women ignores the historical oppression suffered by
women. In addition, it denies that under the capitalist system of
exploitation women suffer special exploitation and oppression.
HOW MEN AND WOMEN can suddenly become equal when
they reach pensionable age under a system which has thrived on
the divisions it creates among workers, and in this case between
men and women is too much. This concept denies the huge
profits that are being ripped off the backs of women workers by
monopoly capital which uses all the instruments of male supre-
macy to create inequality. One must ask the question, who bene-
fits from this idea? Certainly not working-class women who are
burdened either with the double job of going out to work at lower
wages, caring for the family, managing the home, or tied within
the four walls of the home.

* * O*

MOST WOMEN, PARTICULARLY WORKING-class women

. are overburdened because of the lack of special measures that

would protect their labor and health, and their right to mother-
hood'which governments ignore, such as maternity leave at full
pay, say for 18 weeks, compassionate leave to care for a sick
child, adequate access to free daycare facilities, consultative
health centres for mother and child, the right to choose abortion
or birth, free milk and subsidized hot lunches including super-
vised after school recreation facilities, are only some of the spe-
cial measures desperately needed by women as a beginning for
equality.

IN THE MIDST OF THE CURRENT economic crisis of
capitalism, the hard-earned rights of the working class are under
intensified attack. Governménts are waging a war against the
working class in favor of the big multinational corporations; this
can be seen in the legislation that brought down wage controls;

cutbacks in vital social services such as pensions, including other -

social programs that have hit women the hardest.
* OK OK

MOREOVER, UNEMPLOYMENT AND POVERTY place a
heavy toll on the lives of women, particularly young women who
are seeking employment for the first time, but most of all women
who are the sole support of their families. An important factor
used against women who are striving to enter the work force is
their inadequate professional training skills, against the con-
tradiction that the scientific technological revolution with its ever
increasing demands for professionally skilled workers finds wo-
men less and less able to compete with men for a number of
reasons; discrimination in receiving a higher education, difficulty
in improving their qualifications and receiving promotions be-
cause of the traditional prejudicial attitudes they face on account
of their dual work load at home and on the job; for these reasons -
ee are most often the first to be laid off. :

E COMMUNIST PARTY has always placed very clearly i
the fight for full equality for women that Bpkeeomet the cool
exploitation and oppression of women special measures and
rights must be won, as in the case for lower pensionable age for
women i.e. age 55 for women, age 60 for men, basic to the
struggle for democracy and social progress.
SPECIAL MEASURES AND RIGHTS for women are reflected
in the laws and family code of all socialist countries. But in
particular the Soviet Union which has created the conditions for
-women which enables her to reveal her full capabilities in all
spheres of socialist society while at the same time her most
natural and maternal right to motherhood.

: oy

:
E

4
‘

Soviet pensioners have all their needs provided without hate

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—NOVEMBER 19, 1976—Page 9