'® Recessary to dispel the
Pabout so-called “free”
Pons under capitalism,

Stroy the canard which
WSistently being spread
the effect that the trade

in the USSR and the

“Ocialist countries are not

ig 3 Year the USSR adopted
if Md’ most advanced legis-
§5°Verning the fundamen-
its of labor. The new law
» “l€ Soviet approach to
8 «productivity in a
!Where the working peo-

™ their own masters and -

ePloitation has been

[§ @Pidly doing away with
» Manual work without
© Unemployment, as is
. In capitalist countries
Ss Canada.
ice and technology is
rpon as the main way
| ce labor productivity
@ ‘ighten work duties. No
a tf Speed-up or exploita-
i. labor, with increased
More unemployed and
st ‘e Poverty, which is the
_ Used in capitalist so-
io followng the basic
 Pted last year, there has
Published a Statute of
of the Factory, Plant and
i pede Union Committee.
0 Maye Statute enlarges the
4 ie by the primary trade
i 8anizations, which com-
Mm ° foundation of all
‘fade unions. From now
4 Will fulfill their role
mc ively as a school of
_ ent and government for
Of Soviet working

4 Soviet trade unions af-
® "ore than 90 million
ty 2 this number approx-
4 million workers, en-
‘} technological _ person-
Mig; tPloyees are involved
. St emulation.
a ae statute on the
a the factory trade
fiien® adopted 13 years
ty», Changes have since
ik, An economic reform
: tt Carried out, which has
@. ater powers to enter-
Biac at the same time to
iso, union committees. A
F fit of the new statute
me +2 good many dis-
7s.

et

sf present, the participa-
jy *Ctory and office work-
{ eduction management
gr Y legislatively provid-
A the ' & Clause is included
ny the administration must
iis ~ N€cessary conditions
Pi

Mra 2de union committee
Oetas in the elaboration
Nou . related to new
ent and to the social de-
j Of the collective.
“io rt On all affairs of ma-
Of Race for the opera-
will €nterprise or insti-
ith be decided upon
lg. the participation of
Ne, WNion. These affairs
hy © distribution of the
My tcentives fund, the
Ne aly of new projects,
Ming Ccation of the prem-

‘he
Hnjcctory, plant and local
Mo ne COmmittee has the
; the West progress reports
N, of cutives of enter-
thts Cés or other estab-
Md, the fulfillment of
ecON program, the

“tation of the obliga-

Donbas miners getting ready to go on shift.

tions assumed under the collec-
tive agreement, and measures
related to the improvement of
labor conditions and welfare
and cultural services for the
personnel. The appointment of
people to the executive posts at
the enterprise or institution is
to be made by the administra-
tion with due account to the
opinion of the trade union or-
ganization.

e The new statute devotes
particular attention to measures
concerning protection of wo-
men’s health and the improve-
ment of their working and liv-
ing conditions. :

e Young workers are not for-
gotten either. Now the trade
union committees, jointly with
the administration and repre-
sentatives of the Komsomol or-
ganizations will consider sepa-
rately questions related to the
management of their work, the
distribution of accommodation
and questions relating to sport
and other mass activities.

e Disputes between workers
and the management are taken
up by a labor disputes commis-
sion consisting of an equal num-
ber of representatives of the
management and_ the trade
union.

If no agreement between the
two sides is reached in the com-
mission or if the interested
party does .not accept its deci-
sion, the matter is turned over

‘within a 10-day period for con-

sideration by the trade union
committee. The latter’s decision
is binding on the management
and can only be appealed
through a court of law.

A worker who does not ac-
cept either the ruling of the
trade union or the management
can refer‘his case to the procu-
rator whose duty is to adjudi-
cate the dispute. For example,
should the court rule that a
worker had been unlawfully
discharged, the management has
to pay him compensation for
involuntary idleness. (B.M.)

CANADIAN LABOR IN 1919

At the time of the 1917 Revo-
lution in Russia and after, the
Canadian workers not only in-
stinctively felt sympathy for the
revolutionary workers in Europe
but in their trade unions in the
main understood the world his-
toric process that opened with
the victory of the workers of
Russia. Tim Buck tells the story
in his book “Canada and the
Russian Revolution,” in which
he quotes as typical the follow-
ing resolution adopted unani-
mously by the 1919 convention
of the Alberta Federation of
Labor:

WHEREAS: The war between
opposed imperialist interests has
ceased; the suddenness of its
collapse being due to the social
revolution which, starting in
Russia, gradually found its way
into Austria-Hungary and Ger-
many. Those who were expect-
ing at any moment to be called
upon to don the khaki and face
the ghastly horors of twentieth
century wholesale _ slaughter,
owe a deep debt of gratitude to
those splendid Russian revolu-
tionists. Millions of soldiers on
the battle fronts of Europe owe
their lives to the glorious vic-
tory of the Russian working
people. Are we prepared to re-
pay that debt by extending to
Russia the hand of fellowship
in such a manner.as will frus-
trate the nefarious designs of
the organized international capi-
talists? Throughout the long
years of this brutal blood-fest it
has been unceasingly proclaim-
ed, from press, pulpit, and plat-
form, that “we must crush Ger-
man despotism and make the
world safe for democracy.” Mil-
lions of men heard that slogan
and believed it and today are
rotting beneath the battlefields
of France and Flanders. Have
those men been betrayed? If not,
why are those who are chiefly
responsible for the overthrow of
the German Junker ruling class
being vilified by our government-
controlled press? Why are the
governments of the Allied na-
tions supporting counter-revolu-
tionary armies in Russia? Why
do our government’s spokesmen
mouth much about self-determi-

nation while using every means
at its disposal to undermine and
handicap the Soviet Administra-

‘tion in Russia? The working

class is bewildered by these con-
‘tradictions. While workers are
inclined instinctively to support
‘the social revolution which is
developing so mightily, never-
theless they tend to hesitate
after, reading the poisonous pro-
paganda of the Allied govern-
ments, This unceasing campaign
of calumny can have but one
purpose; namely, to win work-
ing-class support for the deci-
sion of the capitalist class to

- throttle the socialist republic of

Russia and Germany. Hesitation
on our part would be fatal!

The aspirations of organized
labor as embodied in the pre-
amble to the Alberta Federation
of Labor Constitution; namely
“the social ownership and con-
trol of the means of production,
transportation, and . distribu-
tion,” are now taking material
shape under the Soviet Adminis-
tration. We are challenged: eith-
er to renounce our principles, or
to take such action as will save
them from becoming meaning-
less phrases. Therefore be it

RESOLVED, that this conven-
tion-of the Alberta Federation
of Labor places itself on record
as being in full accord and sym-
pathy with the aims and pur-
poses of the Russian and Ger-
man socialist revolutions, and be
it further :

RESOLVED, that this conven-
tion gives the incoming execu-
tive officers full power to call a
province - wide general strike
should the Allied powers persist
in their attempt to overthrow
the Soviet administration in
Russia or Germany or in any
country in which a Soviet form
of government is or may be es-
tablished and be it further

RESOLVED, that this resolu-
tion be forwarded to the West-
ern Labor Conference, to be held
in Calgary, for endorsation and
co-operation in the carrying it
into effect, and be it further

RESOLVED, that copies of
this resolution be sent to all
Central Labor bodies through-
cut Canada.

Que

ec unionist sees

SSR

Our r has already report-
Pegler of Quebec labor
delegates to the world meeting
on social security in Moscow,
but the interview by APN repre-
sentative Maya Toidze with
Jacques Desmarais adds to them
and merits publication.)

“It’s my first visit to the
Soviet Union. Like every other
North American who gets an
invitation to come to Moscow
I was very pleased to accept the
invitation and I can say I was
all eyes and ears from the first
moment I stepped out of the
plane,” said the young Cana-
dian, Jacques Desmarais, who
came to the Soviet Union as a
representative of the Confeder-
ation of National Trade Unions
of Quebec to take part in the
7th international social security
conference held in Moscow at
the end of September. —

The conference discussed
questions of vital importance to
the workers of the world: pen-
sions and sickness benefits, la-
bour protection and health facil-
ities, improvement of working
conditions and the role of the
trade unions in the struggle to
perfect the system of social
maintenance and insurance.

- maintenance

“That the conference was
held is, I think, a significant
fact in itself,” stated Desmarais,
“and it proves the necessity for
such meetings, and exchange of
opinions.”

At the end of the conference
the delegates toured the coun-
try, inspected the Soviet Union’s
Black Sea resorts, visited a num-
ber of enterprises and institu-
tions and talked to trade union
representatives. At the Mosk-
vichka clothing factory they
studied the activities of the
trade union committee and the
work conducted at the factory
to improve the working and
living conditions of the workers.
The factory has its own kinder-
garten and nursery where
mothers leave their children for
the day—or if they desire for
the whole week, and take them
home for the weekend. Parents
pay either nothing or a very
small sum for the children S
in these institu-
Moskvichka factory
sanatoria and holi-
day homes, the trade union dis-
tributes accommodations among
the workers, for which they pay
either nothing or 25% of the
cost, the remainder being paid

tions. The
has several

from the state social insurance

fund which is in the hands of .

the trade union.

“There is one thing most
people never heard of in my
country, that you have such a
social security system,” said
Desmarais. “That is partly be-
cause of the fact that informa-
tion media, like papers, TV, ra-
dio, are controlled by people in
power and they always give a
dark picture of what is happen-

ing around here and a nice pic-

=2

#

JACQUES DESMARAIS

ture of what is happening in
their world.” ~

The organization of free medi-
cal facilities and scale of hous-
ing construction in the USSR
greatly impressed the Canadian
delegate. Describing his impres-
sions of the sanatoria in Sochi
where the conference delegates
spent several days, he said:

“They are great, very comfort-
able, you’ve got everything you
need there. In this respect you
are much more advanced than
we are. We've got a lot of things
in our country, very good medi-
cal experts, nurses, but they are
not organized on such a scale.”

At the end of the talk
Jacques Desmarais said he was
sorry to leave Moscow.’

“Before coming here Moscow
was an abstraction. I knew it
was cold here like in my coun;
try, but I didn’t know, for in-
stance, that Moscow had seven
million inhabitants. By the way,
you don’t feel it in Moscow.
For instance, in New York, Lon-
don or Paris, cities just as big
as Moscow, the streets are al-
ways crowded and you can
hardly move. But in Moscow it
is fun, simply fun, to walk
through the streets.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1971 — PAGE 7