Plywood meet
states aims

__,Plywood workers in Alberta established a “first” for the

. industry in their province when sixty delegates from the

three largest plants attended a conference in Edmonton, Aug-
ust 9 to co-ordinate their bargaining demands.

Delegates from Weldwood (Canada) Ltd. Edmonton,

Zeidler Plywoods (Canada) Ltd., and North Canadian Forest

Industries Ltd., Grande Prairie found common ground in’

preparing for negotiations which open at different dates later
in the year.

The conference was addressed by Regional 2nd Vice-
President Jack Holst on the possibilities of securing better
contract terms through united and co-ordinated action. Re-
search Director Joe Miyazawa supplied the audience with the
economic facts relating to plywood production in Alberta.

Demands on which uniformity was achieved included, a
general. wage increase above the present base rate (now as
low as $1.55 an hour in some plants); job evaluation; night-
shift differentials; vacations with pay; additional paid statutory
holidays; the forty-hour week; overtime for Saturday and
Sunday work; a Health and Welfare Plan; and proper sen-
iority.

Ontario sets new
minimum wage

NEW MINIMUM WAGE rates in effect in Ontario
since the end of June will reach, in a series of steps over
18 months, a level of $1 an hour throughout the province
for men and 95c for women in general industry and $1.25
an hour in the construction industry. The CLC’s national
goal is $1.50 an hour across Canada.

THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER

ONE
MAN'S
OPINION

By JACK HOLST
Regional 2nd Vice-President

When I urge immediate action by our
Union to introduce industry-wide training
programs in the lumber industry, I speak
from experience. I have been associated with
the training program in the
Quesnel plant of Weldwood
(Canada) Ltd., . formerly
Western Plywood, a pro-
gram which was instituted
in 1957. Since its inception,
various improvements have
been negotiated, and no
doubt further refinements
will be found necessary.
This program deserves ex-
amination by other plants, for it incorporates
sound principles of training on the job.

The details of the program are set forth
in a supplement to the Union’s contract in
the plant. As it has been in effect for seven
‘years, its results give an insight into the pos-
sibilities of such a training program in other
operations on an industry-wide basis.

IMPORTANT ADVANTAGES OF
JOB TRAINING
IWA members will recognize important

advantages in a well-organized training pro-

gram.
1 The opportunity for job training protects
° job security in many important ways.
This is now vitally necessary because of
changing methods of production caused
by new mechanical or automatic pro-
cesses.

2 A comprehensive training program pro-
°

tects seniority when application is made

for promotion to a key job.

3 A training program opens the way to a
° yevision of wage rates commensurate with
each worker’s skills as gained during
training.
4 A training program enables workers to
® qualify for better jobs at the expense of
the industry and without loss of income
during working hours.

5 Training eventually makes qualified men
® available for every key job. This enables

the crew members to take their vacations —

during the summer months, if desired.
The worker next in seniority steps into
the job temporarily at the key job rate.
The same rule applies when a man on a
key job must take sick leave.

6 Job training protects seniority because

® the qualified worker next in line on the
seniority list steps up without any ques-
tion about his competence. In this in-
stance, seniority is on a plant basis.

HOW A TRAINING PROGRAM WORKS

The first consideration is, of course, the
negotiation of such a program. In my opinion,
training programs for IWA members should
be negotiated on an industry-wide basis. This
assures uniformity and the acceptance of bet-
ter opportunities for training as the weight
of the entire membership could support an
acceptable plan. It is important that stand-
ards of training should be uniform as other-
wise, under the integration of the industry
now in progress, some workers would suffer
discrimination. It is to everyone’s advantage
that there should be one standard of qualifi-
cations, with the same tests to determine
qualifications.

The program negotiated should indicate
the time alloted for daily training on the job.

Trainee positions and the classifications
from which bids will be accepted should be
indicated.

A prospective trainee should have the
right to have his shop steward place his name
on the bid in his absence.

The trainee should be given adequate time
to prove that he can develop himself for the
job in view. :

If a trainee is declared incompetent, he
must have the right to invoke the grievance
procedure.

When key operators leave the operation,
it should be specified that the senior qualified
man automatically fills the position.

Rates should be determined in advance for
positions to be filled by certified trainees.

TORONTO (CPA) — The
United Packinghouse Work-
ers of America has reached
agreement on a new 20-month
contract with the industry’s
Big Three. :

The settlement provides
wage boosts of up to 23 cents
an hour, a major improve-
ment in medical coverage,
gains in job category rates
and equalization of rates on
a cross-country basis.

The agreements with Can-
ada Packers Ltd., Swift Cana-
dian Co. Ltd. and Burns and
Co. Ltd. cover more than
11,000 employees of the three
firms in every province except
Nova Scotia and Newfound-
land;

Fred Dowling, Canadian between

rent 3%4-cent-an-hour spread

job classifications

CASNER FELIX, winner of the log rolling contest
sponsored by Local 1-417, IWA, at the Annual
Shuswap Regatta at Canoe Beach, August 9, is
shown here receiving the prize for first place from
ae Michael, Financial Secretary of the Local

nion.

$1.98% an hour in Prairie
plants to $2.03 in Vancouver

S Se British Columbia

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The Right Sized Airline

UPWA director, said the pacts
are expected to form the
basis of agreement with inde-
pendent packers employing
another 4,000 workers. The
Big Three settlement has tra-
ditionally constituted the pat-
tern for the others. ~

Under the new agreements
expiring in April, 1966, work-
ers at Canada Packers, Swift
and Burns plants will get an
11-cent-an-hour boost in two
stages. In addition, the cur-

will be boosted to 4 cents —

adding up to another 12 cents
an hour to the wages of some
employees.

The pacts went part way to-
ward meeting the Packing-
house Union objective of
eliminating geographical wage
differentials. Rates will be
equalized within the individ-
ual companies. The major im-
pact will be in the six Swift
plants where rates for the
same job had varied from

and $2.01% in Toronto.

In another significant
change, the three companies
have agreed to assume the
full cost of the present med-
ico-surgical health plan cov-—
erage and the full cost of an
additional catastrophic med-
ical plan covering chronic
nesses and major surgery.
companies previously had r
55 per cent of the r
plan with employees