Labour Sask. labour backs campaign to ‘win back our province’ The people of Saskatchewan “deserve to get their province back,” said president Barb Byers, opening the 34th convention of the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour in Saskatoon November 1-3. In a hard-hitting speech to over 500 delegates, Byers set the tone for the meeting, emphasizing pride in labour’s accomplishments over the past year, vigilance in the face of a continued big business attack, and determination to make 1990 Grant Devine’s last year in office. Byers listed the achievements, including victories in some strikes, the defeat of ten Tory candidates in 14 Saskatchewan federal ridings last fall, and stalling the govern- ment’s agenda on issues such as privatiza- tion and the “Employment Benefits Act.” Labour’s allies in the Saskatchewan Coa- lition for Social Justice played an important role in these successes, she stressed. But her address, and input from dele- gates, made it clear that the battle against the right wing is far from over. Five groups of workers are now on strike or locked out in Saskatchewan, including Chechire Group Home Employees in Regina and PSAC members in various locations. Employers are pressing for concessions in other negoti- ations. On another level, the federal govern- ment’s Goods and Services Tax and cuts to UI were a hot topic throughout the conven- tion. Speaker after speaker hammered away at Tory taxation policy, which the SFL estimates has cost the average Saskatche- wan family “$2,800 more than in 1984.” Fair taxation is front and centre in the new program document adopted at the meeting, entitled “Freedom — Equality — Solidarity.” Among other major points, the program hits back at growing _ e- BARB BYERS ... labour-community levels of poverty, abuse of governmental and corporate power, anti-labour legisla- tion, and inequality of women and visible minorities. It stresses the importance of solidarity within the federation, the community, and internationally. Action proposals in the document include plans for an organizing offensive, public education campaigns in opposition to the right-wing agenda, conferences on organizing and taxation, a stepped up battle against poverty-causing government poli- cies, expanded coalition building efforts in - rural areas, “and the election of a govern- ment that will listen and respond to working people.” Specific resolutions focussed on- other pressing issues. An “anti-privatization’’ committee of SFL affiliates and the Coali- tion for Social Justice is to establish a research and policy centre and lead cam- paigns. Actions are also to be taken to oppose the GST and the UI cuts. Another question figuring prominently on the agenda, for the first time, was the environ- ment. Delegates strongly backed the fight to prevent an experimental “slowpoke”’ nuclear reactor proposed for the University of Sas- katchewan campus, and agreed to give sup- port to “environmentally friendly” groups in general, amending an executive resolu- tion to single out Greenpeace for labour backing. With a provincial election widely expected next year, there was a strong consensus favouring union support for the NDP opposition, which leads in all récent polls. But Byers voiced the opinion of many dele- gates by noting that the federation would have to work hard for its policies regardless of the party in power. “Tt is not good enough to simply hand over our agenda to a political party and go to sleep for four years,” she told delegates. - Provincial Labour Minister Grant Schmidt faced delegates for nearly an hour on the convention’s second day, trying to display the new “‘kindler, gentler face” of his government. “All of us want something in common,” Schmidt said, and challenged the convention to “come out with, what you’re in favour of.” Raising over a dozen different issues, from the minimum wage to poverty, to VIA cuts, workers compensation and more, delegates did raise labour’s policies, while Schmidt tried to assure listeners of his sym- pathy. But he refused to be nailed down on any topic, except to admit that the Employment Benefits Act is effectively dead, and to flatly reject inclusion of gay and lesbian rights in the human rights code. Schmidt eventually made his expected gaffe and he fired up the convention when he told the delegates that it is “your role to be unhappy, and my role to govern,” in response to a question about the appoint- ment of a new Labour Relations Board chair specifically rejected by the SFL. Delegates rounded out their work with resolutions on a wide range of important questions. They included rejection of the new federal legislation on abortion as a denial of the right to choice; calls for sweep- ing improvements in workers compensa- tion; further action against racism; and solidarity with workers in South Africa, who were represented at the convention by SACTU spokesperson Bafu Nyanga. Reflections of the increased sense of solidarity and unity in the trade union movement here was strongly in evidence. The Carpenters Local 1985 has just rejoined the SFL, with its 300 members becoming the first building trades unionists to return to the federation. A resolution calling for a study of union representation to SFL conventions, which in past years would have been bitterly deci- sive, met some opposition but passed over- whelmingly. Larger delegations from unions such as CUPE, Grain Services, and RWDSU resulted in many young activists with considerable experience in the SCSJ and other coalitions making their first appearance at an SFL convention. : For the first time in years, Communists were elected as delegates, and members of the Green Party also played a larger role. Perhaps most important, delegates uni- ted around the direction and leadership of the SFL. At previous conventions, delegates were sharply critical of the leadership’s fail- ure to carry out resolutions and campaigns. This year, while some noted that action proposals could have been more detailed, most were confident that Byers and her executive will carry out convention deci- sions to the best of their ability. The SFL seems ready for the crucial struggle against the Tories here in 1990. Unionists slam Quebec's Bill 160 More than 10,000 health care workers in 26 centres across Quebec protested Nov. 1 against the provincial government’s draco- nian Bill 160 which takes stern reprisals against public service workers who walked off the job illegally in September. According to reports, as of Nov. 1 about 90 per cent of Quebec hospitals had already stopped deducting union dues at the source, and most had begun to dock workers’ pay. The unions are asking the Quebec Superior Court to suspend application of what they call “fascist” sanctions allowed by Bill 160 until a 1987 constitutional challenge is heard. In Montreal, 3,000 people, some of them dressed in black Halloween masks and car- rying candles and dozens of flickering jack o’lanterns with ‘160’ carved into them, con- verged on the Quebec Hospitals Associa- 6 ¢ Pacific Tribune, November 20, 1989 tion. Gerard Larose, president of the Confederation of National Trade Unions (CSN), vowed to fight Bill 160 to the end, and told the rally that the erosion of the work climate as it is applied will inevitably lead to a deterioration of services in health institutions. He said that “tens of thousands of grie- vances” have been filed by the 95,000- member CSN affiliate, the Federation des Affaires Sociales, adding that hospital administrators “will be swimming in a sea of paper long before the fight is over.” Quebec Nurses Federation (QNF) presi- dent Diané Lavallee also condemned the bill, saying that when the rights of.one group are restricted, “‘the rights of everyone are threatened.” . In Hull, Gatineau Hospital Centre nurse Lorraine Roy, one of the more than 100 people demonstrating against Bill 160, said the loss of more than four years’ seniority could mean losing her nursing job. “If they cut my job tomorrow, then I am on the | street,” she said. “I had six years of seniority and now I find myself with only one year and a few days. You need two years of experience to have job security.” Quebec Treasury Board president Daniel Johnson said the government will persist with the sanctions no matter what. Contract talks between the Federation and the board broke down Nov. 1. The 40,000 nurses signed an agreement at the end of Sep- tember. The QNF received a $100,000 donation and a $500,000 interest-free loan from the Ontario Nurses’ Association to help them meet costs incurred during the strike and other financial needs. Pulp mill condemned Friends of the Athabasca Environ- mental Association have put out a - country-wide appeal to stop the building of the “world’s largest” bleached kraft pulp mill proposed for the farming community of Prosperity, Alberta. Residents fear that the mill, the fifth to be built on the Athabasca/Slave Lake Rivers systems, will lead to wide-scale pollution in the area. A recent Alberta Environment report indicates that water quality is already seriously jeopardized by the two mills already on the river and — next year, two new mills will start up. The project, owned by Alberta- Pacific, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corp. of Japan, will be permitted to lease 74,000 square kilometres of Crown- owned aspen and spruce. The Alberta government is to provide $75 million for infrastructure and $300 million in deben- tures for the mill. Friends of the Athabasca are asking for letters to be sent to the EIA Review Board, Chair G.J. DeSorcy, Standard Life Bldg., 15th Floor, 10405 Jasper Ave. Edmonton, T5J 3N4. New women’s group formed The Ontario Women’s Action Coali- tion was born in Sault Ste. Marie Oct. 29. The project which has been in the works for the past two years, brought together delegates from 166 women’s organiza- tions, who committed themselves to forming a united front to press the pro- vincial government on such issues as housing, child care, violence against women and employment equity. . The initiative, spearheaded by the National Action Committee on the Sta- tus of Women, has the potential of bring- ing some 2,500 women’s organization in the province under one umbrella. NAC, which is designed to lobby the federal government, will benefit from a strong women’s presence at the provincial level, said Barbara Cameron, a coalition founder. “Women are an extremely powerful force,” Cameron told delegates. “If we are organized properly, we can make government feel our presence and respond.” U.S. bill hits Canada A bill before the U.S. senate would impose U.S. foreign trading regulations on its subsidiaries operating in Canada. The Mack Amendment seeks to tighten up what its author, Florida Senator Connie Mack, calls a loophole which allows subsidiaries to do business with Cuba, while their U.S. parents are prohi- bited under the Trading With The Enemy Act. Canadian ambassador Derek Burney is leading a delegation opposed to the amendment. He said it ran counter to the objectives of the free trade agreement. However there is nothing in the agree- ment to cover the Mack amendment. While Canada has largely defied the U.S. trading ban with Cuba, several con- tracts, including an order for 21 locomo- tives, have been sacrificed to U.S: pressure.