PAGE 4, THE HERALD, Wednesday, October 26, 1977 —{the herald ) Published by Sterling Publishers x General Office - 635-6357 Circulation (Terrace) - 635-6357 (Kitimat) -"632-6209 PUBLISHER... W.R. {BILL) LOISELLE MANAGING EDITOR... STU GUCKLOW Published avery weekday at 3212 Kalum St. Tarrace B.C. A member of Varifled Circulation. Authorized #s second class mall. Registration number 1201. Postage pal. «cash, return Postage guaranteed. NOTE OF COPYRIGHT t The Herald retainz full, complete and sole copyright In any advertisement produced and-or any: editorial or photographic content published in the Herald. eproduction Pub eermittes without ihe written permission af the sher, : Industrial stereotypes Almost every working person in the country knows more about his jbo than his boss does, but does management zonsult him? Not on your life. Joe Cypher, the lowly broom-pusher, probably knows more than anybody else in the whole wide world about his particular trade as it applies to one particular situation. He (or she) could probably bent the ears of the foreman, the - owner of the building and the broom manufacturer with suggestions on how his job could be done faster, safer and more efficiently. It’s generally acknowledged that a work force of skilled professionals is the greatest resource a company can have. We suggest that every person who has mastered any job should be considered a professional in his own right and should be pumped regularly for ideas on how managment could help him perform his duties. To ignore the storehouse of information accumulated by most employees on how their jobs could be done better is to squander hidden wealth. Employers would probably find it a worthwhile in- vestment to pay employees to regularly list their suggestions on improving the work environment. But ask any managament person to even consider the idea, and he throws up his hands in horror. Unions, though generally more repsonsive to such ideas, have not exact] beaten their fists on the bargaining table to have suc provisions written into their contracts. : The idea, for some reason, strikes fear into the hearts of labor and business leaders who seem to see it as a devious plot by revolutionalry zealots seeking to rip to shreds the social fabric of the nation. Actually, it just makes good sense to both sides because it’s aimed at making work more efficient and giving the worker a posiitive role to play in creating a product. It’s a step towards industrial democracy, an ideal that is more of a change in attitude than the implementation of specific changes in the relationship between workers and osses, But for some reason, the eighteenth century caricature of the empire capitalist forcing masses of oppressed workers to produce manufactured goods for slave Wweges still sway the minds of many union leaders. The equally ridiculous propaganda some business leaders use to create an image - of the union worker as an irresponsible oaf who cares about — nothing but money and short working hours is not valid eltner. These Stereotypes serve only to manipulate crowds of people, either union members or stock holders. The sooner we get rid of them, the better. The ststements made by Labor Minister John Munro chastizing union and management persons for their reluctance to experiment with worker democracies are valid. His desire to include workers on the boards of crown corporations should be encouraged. ’ By CATHY McKERCHER ASHINGTON (CP) — Oppo- nents of age discrimination won a victory last week in the form of U.S. Senate approval of a bill to raise the mandatory retirement age to 70 from 665. oo, Details of the legislation will have to be worked out by a conference committee of both Houses, but: it appears certain that a bill will emerge in the next few months making it unlawful for most em- loyers to force people to retire at Although the bill eventually will affect wp to 70 per cent of the U.S. labor ore, i 5 impact on the country is largely unknown, wit yTeaso a that fhe effects it have on the unemployment rate, financing of pension plans, worker productivity and the readjustment in living patterns depend on in- dividual decisions by thousands of workers. At this point, no one knows what those decisions will be. Testimony at Senate hearings on the bill indicated that between five and 20 per cent of people who reach 65 each year will ecide to continue working, at least for a while. ; Taking pictures through the wet windshield of a car is Interpreting the news The range of these estimates makes exact calculations almos impossible. ; PROTECT RIGHTS ' Perhaps the main reason the economics of the legislation have received little public attention is that itis widely regarded as a civil rights measure. Supporters argue that prohibitin someone from working because a age is as discriminatory as barring employment on the basis of sex or race, ” In an era where most people aged 65 have several productive years ahead of them and where the average age of the population is Slowly rising, they bey, forcec retirement interferes with the basic freedom of choice. ; The new hill, by setting another mandatory retirement age, is still discriminatory, but supporters feel they can live with it since it gives PEE AM sree NERE YPM .. B The legislation actually may be a ‘prelude to barring mandatory retirement at any age. That concept as a New York Conference Boar guaranteed te produce a dream-like effect on any . porate executives to stay on street scene. | Gray Lib wins retirement battle survey shows, has widespreac public support. AFFECT EMPLOYMENT Opponents of raising the re- tirement age warn, however, that the move might have adverse effects on unemployment rates, par ticularly among young people, They also say that allowin oF e jo after 65—something the Senat version of the bili opposes while the legislation approved recently by the House of Representatives would allow— slows upward mobility by . younger executives. In some European countries where unemployment among youth is more severe than in North America, some unions are pressing for earlier retirement ages. Such a move might present a tempting option for governments trying to make more jobs available for young people. But the chief factor operating against such a plan is reluctance to pay the increased amount of pension benefits this would entail. Voice of the readers Royal Purple » says thanks The order of the Royal Purple would — like the community of Terrace to know that the painting of the Senior Citizens Residence on Tuck Avenue. has been completed. The funds for this Giaiect were raised at our 0.0.R.P. gargae sale in April and we thank the public for their support. The commendable job of seraping and painting was done under the supervision of Mr. Robert Watts, Probation Officer in Terrace. The principle behind community work service is to offer a means by which offenders canrepat the community in a con- structive manner, This program is designed for adults and juveniles and the work is done by order of the court under the direction of the Probation Office. The focus of the programme is to involve the offender as a citizen in serving his or her com- munity. Mr. Watts informed us the repainting of the Senior Citizens home was begun June 3 and the last pain was completed on August 23. In this time span, 10 juveniles and 7 adults Wor or warying lengths of time. A total of 415 hours were needed in the scraping and painting of these buildings. The type of of- fences though there were algo some driving and drug offences. On the average there were generally 3 in- dividuals working at any given time though there were as many as 5 on a number of occasions. The Order of the Royal Purple would like to thank all who were involved in this project for a job well done. Your truly Shirley Kormendy Secretary Indians help aid communities HALIFAX (CP) — Thanks Chapel Island in Cape to a group of Nova Scotia Breton in preparation for Indians, several provincial communities have new playgrounds, campsites, omes and landscaping. Twenty-five Nova Scotia Indians were part of a national project initiated by the Indian and northern affairs department which provided $5 million in grants to enhance local com- munities, teach employable skills and alleviate severe summer unemployment among Indian and Eskimo citizens. In Nova Scotia, the project provided a com- munity playground for reserve children in Afton, N.8., beautification of the Nova Scotia Summer Games, 4 future campsite for reserve residents in Shubenacadie, N.S., and new homes to alleviate a housing shortage at the Eskasoni reserve in Cape Breton. Nationally the program involved 6,300 students with 600 projects. The Maritimes and Quebec received a greater proportion of the funding because of harsher economic situations. A project spokesman said in an interview the program was created only for summer employment but it is hoped it will become a permanent one in the future. ©1977 Unhanal Pros Sysdeate “Irs the airport! Your suitcase is in Alaska and your brown bag is on the way to Singapore.” ————— Donna Vallieres Picky people in pet Business spotlight Electronics firm branches out . WINNIPEG CP) -— After 14 years in business, Indus Equipment Ltd. is branching: out from its specialty— the design and building of electronic controls for refrigeration and hydro- electric use, The Winnipeg company has begun - producing a heat unit indicator for use with x-ray machines, The firm expects the new product will in- crease its sales to $2 million next year from $500,000 this year. The unit is designed to prevent cathode ray tube failure in x-ray machines. Another feature to be . added within two years will act as a . Monitor of radiation levels from x- ray machines, helping fo maintain safety for the operating staff and ents. ‘ Company president J.G. Johnson says a firm based here has geographic disadvantages tha prevent it from competing in the manufacture of such large items as buses or airplanes. “The only way you can have a — viable manufacturing facility in this part of the world is to have a marketing capability, - throug distributors, with a highly specialized product that is easily transported,” he said. SIX YEARS’ WORK Johnson said the heat indicator unit has taken about six years to develop, including more than four years of testing, and Indus has been - approached" by six of the largest manufacturers of x-ray equipment Elbuits aitho are in res ed dis: The unit was invented by Bob Lafrance, a member of the ra “diology department at the Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre. In tests, it’ has extended the life of a cathode ray tube to three years from six months. These tubes cost between $4,000 and $6,000, while the unit costs $3,-000, Johnson said, Other medical products now being developed by Indus include a device to monitor the volume of air exhaled by a patient and a machine to en- courage patients on respiratory devices to breathe normally for themselves. The transformation from a small- scale to large-scale manufacturer is expected to require at least $750,000 in investment and a new plant. During the next four years, the staff is expected to increase to 100 from the current 23. _ that record’ this ‘year! This simp Don’t sweat at the small stuff, I once read somewhere. Get your priorities together and the rest will take care of itself or eventually disappear. Pettiness — sweating the small . stuff — drives me bananas. This world, this country, and for sure this town is overstocked with petty people who are too caught “up in clocks, timetables, schedules, rules and other picky things. Bureaucrats are common examples of petty people. Lost under mounds of paperwork and govern~ mental directives, the poor bureaucrats have become almost a cliches of pettiness and inefficiency, ‘There are plenty of cther exam- ples around oug . I see them all e time in council, school board and regional district meetings when elected people who are pea ys the n in - taxpayer continually ge the the y8 eads of rules and procedure while losing sight of the problems at hand — pettiness, — Now, [I'm not trying to say I’m above all of this. Ihave my share of pettiness. I turn into a raging maniac if F don’t have any eggs in the fridge for breakfast or somebody swipes my stapler from my desk. (On the other hand, there's a guy in the office who counts paperclips, 501 can’t be too far gone.) I do try, though not to get ulcers over the day- to-day nonsense that clutlers up the edge of my life, threatening to engulf me if I take it too seriously. You can’t escape the control these things have over your life, though. Like an alarm clock, Every moming, Monday to Friday my alarm clock lets out this horrible, inhuman shriek the reaches over and grabs my by the © \ shoulder, wrenching me veri roughly from a very nice dream, The next thing that happens is that 1 ampropelled into the shower, urged on by this little voice in my head that chants over and over, “hurry up! Hurry up! You'll be late!” . After that there’s a mad dash to get out the door without looking too much like I've just gotten out of bed. This takés-place every morning during the bo no matter how long or how lat&al’ve worked the da before beca@e although my wor schedule ters to be quite erratic and flexiblg, the public school system has: tuality and if% don't get my daughter to the school door by 8:45 I will receive in irrate telephone call from the principal inquiring on her (my) tardiness. Mind you, I hate to be kept waiting too. [ really seethe over the tyranny of waiting in dottor’s offices waiting to get my hair cut, waiting for people to return my calls or show up for appointments. Time, like I said, controls our lives and in the working world you cannot escape that fact. ; What I do object to is the strict adherence to the clock which so many people have, leaning on an external power for structure and substance. (I know a guy in college who had. to meditate every day between 3 and 3:30 p.m. or he was a complete wreack.) at I’m getting at is that punc- tuality the powerful influence of the clock, ig a necessary eveil but taken to the extremes in enforcement and expectationit's just obnoxiou pettiness. * isted on exact punc- - ty prisons I was a little disappointed last week to lear that Terrace school board trustees had to consider whether to grant approval fer a field trip planned by Jack Cook school to take the youngsters'to Disneyland. I for one think it's a great idea. The trip will cost about $6,000 and Myles Clay, principal of the school said the money would be raise through school activities and service club donations. In other words, at no cost to the school district or the taxpayers. These kids are really into the Disneyland fantasy thing, Myles explained, and there is absolutel nothing in the whole world which cauld compete with this as a field ane Se why the problem with ap- priving it, I wonder? Not all the trustees were against the idea, but some offered such obstacles as in- surance rates, medical coverage, setting precedents and supervision. All things that will have to be looked into before the 18 children go on the trip, but not enough reason for denying the trip altogether, I hope. * A monor attention the other day: the automatic doors in Terrace aren't. You know, the glass swinging doors that are supposed to magically when you step on the rubber mats. Open Sesame and let me and my groceries through. An informed source told me that for three weeks now she has had to bash and battle her way through the “out” door, and let me tell you, it doesn’t sound like fun. roblem came to my. Victoria Report Cyril Shelford MLA The most disturbing problems facing the province this ¢ week are the slow down on the B.C. RAilroad and the B.C. “ Ferries illegal strike, which cost the economy of the - province far more than most people realize. The ferry strike will not only damage hundreds of businesses on Vancouver Island and up coast communities, but will greatly increase the numbers of unemployed because many motels, hotels, restaurants that Jost the las good week-end of the year, will have to lay off many em- ployees a month or two early because they won’t have the cushion of the good week to carry them over until Christ- mas. Thisis not the whole story because every tourist stranded ‘on Vancouver Island during the strike will do a lot of talking this winter and will discourage hundreds from coming next summer, Qur reputation for a reliable service to our tourists has been damaged for a long time. It takes years to earn a good reputation and one week to lose it. The B.C. Railroad slow down is nearly as damaging as a shut down because those that rely on the service can no longer trust the service and try and find alternative methods of transport. This type of delay and shut down costs the taxpayer of B.C. over $69 million in subsidies to make up the.Jpss of revenue. It now-Jooks like a repeat of . Th means that. many programs: for’‘people will ‘bé held’ batk for anothér year. It not only damages the areas directly affected but the total economy of the province. Society as a whole can not tolerate this type of disruption any longer without greatly lowering our standard of living and higher unemploymentrates. It seems unvelievable that the B.C. Federation of Labor which organizes protests of the unemployed has purposely come out to support strikes such as this and creating more unemployment, the reason was given in my report last week where i outlined the political involvement of the federation. There is no question we have moved over the last 10 years from a system of responsible collective bargaining to a system of collective blackmail in many areas of negotiations. The group that can exert the most invonvenience on the general public gets more than they deserve and those with little or no leverage of inconvenience get less than they deserve. At one time econimics played the leading roll in negotiations but nwo it plays a Secondary roll. It is my opinion the federal government should be directly involved in the ferry strike and a federal-provincial conference should be called as soon as possible to deal solely with this issue as it affects three provinces that rely on ferry systems. I’ve sent this suggestion to Premier Bennett and the cabinet ministers, The reason I think they should become directly involved is for the simple reason they would not tolerate the closing of the TransCanada Highway for any reason, if any group tried they would, and should be in jail, yet the ferry, which is an extension of the Trans Canada Highway, can be closed by a small group for per- sonal gain, inconvenience thousands and bankrupt many ionecent people not even indirectly responsible for the Hany groups candefy elected governments and get away with it, other groups do the same thing and all organized law and order breaks down, Granted wages and working ditions have @ kept in line with other such grou which is not a difficult task, & mS ‘I further recommend to government that after each strike, lock out or plant closure, the government should quickly research the effects and make them public within two weeks while the issue is still fresh in peoples minds. The must make it clear what is happening to all parties. They should first point out how many dollars the worker lost during the dispute, secondly, how many dollars the com- munity lost, thirdly, how much the province lost in revenue and taxes and fourthly, how much the nation lost to its economy, and fifth how many other workder lost their jobs a oat 118 Should be done for one year to enlighten the general public, then plebicites could be called to give all people a ee choice in a democratic fashion on needed changes. Legislation without information auch as this wouldn't work, urther delay and hope nt sees fit to move quickly on this issue, pe the governme Today in hist Oct, 26, 1977 A small force of British and Canadian soldiers—90 per cent of them French- Speaking—defeated ar advance party of 1,500 Americans 164 years ago to- day—in 1813—at the Battle agreeing to grant King Henry VITI his first divorce. 1803~Joseph A. Hansom, cab inventor, was born. 1806-~John Graves Simcoe, first governor of Upper Canada, died. of Chateauguay, This 1904—-The first electric erga ement, successfully New York subway opened, _ I y Col. Charles de ‘running from the Brooklyn Salaberry, halted the march midtown of some 7,500 Americans on Montreal in the War of 1812, 1529—TI'he papal legate left England without Bridge to Manhattan. ; 1905—Sweden agreed to repeal the union of Sweden and Norway,