(Cartoon published in the “UE Voice of the Worker”, official monthly
organ of UE Locals in Canadian General Electric Plants.)

Vietnam war is main
_ cause of inflation

‘Describing the U.S. war in’

Vietnam as the main cause of
inflation, Gilbert Levine, Cana-
dian research director for the
Canadian Union of Public Em-
ployees accused the Trudeau
government. of refusing to take
a stand on both the war and in-
flation.

At a press conference called
last week to announce the 50
percent wage increase and other
demands of over 15,500 manual
and clerical employees of Toron-
to and five Metro-Toronto bo-
roughs, Mr. Levine,. speaking of
today’s
blamed “external causes—about
two-thirds of what’s happening
is in the United States. The main
cause is the Vietnam war. When

our government says it won't .

take a stand on the war, it’s say-
ing it won’t take a stand on in-
flation.” :

The CUPE research director
dismissed the idea that the civic
employees’ proposed wage in-
creases — they would amount
to an average increase of $60 a
week per worker — are infla-
tionary. “The proposed — in-
creases,” he said, “are an ex-

pression of what the members’

need in an inflationary period.”

The workers, mériBer$’ of 21°"

inflationary — period .

a one-year contract starting
Jan. 1: Although meetings to
arrange negotiations are pro-
ceeding between individual lo-
cals and the boroughs and

‘boards of education in Metro-
-Toronto, the demands are the

same for all the locals. “We have
a wide difference in benefits
now,” explained Mr. Levine,
“and we hope. to standardize
wages and conditions of employ-
ment.”

The union’s demands, apart
from the 50 percent wage in-
crease, include 100 percent. em-

~ ployer payment of health and

welfare premiums; a cost of liv-

_ing escalator clause, equal rates _

for the same job classification
regardless of which of the muni-

‘cipal bodies is the employer. Ad-

ditional demands are for three
weeks’ vacation after one year
of employment for all the work-
ers, and collective bargaining of
pension benefits. CUPE is also

‘seeking to end -the: municipali-

ties’ power to punish workers
who refuse to ‘cross picket lines.

_ Caretakers and maintenance
workers, office. workers, anside

and outside workers, bus Crivers
-and a number of library em-

on

fronting ‘the

At a press conference called
by the Communist Party of Can-
ada upon the return of its

New workers’ gains

forecast for 1970's

relationships between the two
countries. This would involve a
resumption of trade and the links
of communication, such as the

national. leader, William Kash-—aitroad, telephone and other

tan, from Moscow, where he had

a series of conversations. with
leading members of the Com-
munist “Party of the ‘Soviet
Union, Mr. Kashtan said that the
Soviet: Union was decidedly in-
terested in Canadian trade, in-
cluding buying Canadian wheat.
But, he said, the Soviet Union
does not see any permanency in
the kind of trade there has been
up to now. Trade is a two-way
street, and if Canada wants to

secure permanent markets, it.

must begin buying as well as
selling.

Mr. Kashtan said that he was
certain from his talks with the

Ambassador of the Democratic
Republic of Vietnam to the

U.S.S.R. in Moscow, that the
D.R.V. was decidedly interested
in establishing trade relations
with Canada. To establish such
trade with both countries, he

said, would be an assertion of —

Canadian independence, and a
blow to the domination of our
country by U.S. monopoly.

Mr. Kashtan said he was op-
timistic about the future, parti-
cularly because the internatio-
nal conference of Communist
and Worker’s parties had reach-
ed agreement on the main poli-
cies at the recent meeting, and
that this agreement was having
far-reaching consequences in the
struggle to secure world peace.

He hoped that the future
European . Security Conference
would include Canada, because
Canada has a stake in the peace-
ful settling of differences and
establishment of European se-
curity. Canada, he said, has in
this century twice been involved
in world wars that started’ in
Europe, which makes European
peace imperative for Canada.

He said that the negotiations
between -China and. the. Soviet
Union . were encouraging,..and
could-lead. to an easing of inter-.
national: tensions. The main hope

ployees HS AROS UNSEE, CON 5 was, that the borderequestion

SiX tre -Loronto

Joents- OF CUBEM Bre askihe PoP!’ Municipalities in nego-iations.
PACIFIC TRIBUNE—-JANUARY 2, 1970—Page 4

would be settled, with a return
to normal trade and diplomatic

communications... ,

He said that the Chinese had

wanted to have a declaration
' from the U.S.S.R. that the trea-
ties of previous years were un-
equal, That, of course, could not
be agreed to, no more than we
could agree “to hand Canada
back to the Indians.” The only
reasonable approach is to resolve
the border conflict on the basis
of justice for both sides, to re-
sume normal state relationships,
and to recognize that there are
ideological differences that will
remain for some time. It is not
necessary, of course, to settle
differences of opinion by war,
he said.

In answer to a question about
events in Czechoslovakia and
the Canadian Communists’ posi-
tion, Mr. Kashtan said that the
Communist Party of Canada
supported the action of the War-
saw Pact countries, that he had
met Dr. Husak in June, and that
Dr. Husak had invited the Can-
adian Party to send a delegation
to see for itself. In fact, said
Mr. Kashtan, he has extended
that invitation to all Communist
parties in the world.

In discussing the question of
national sovereignty, Mr. Kash-
tan pointed out that under the
provisions of the NATO pact,
which had been opposed by the
Communist Party from the out-

__set,. there were agreements.that..

gave NATO countries the right
to intervene in the internal af-
fairs of a member state. The pur-
pose and character of NATO, he
said, includes the right to inter-
fere in the internal affairs of
other countries. |
Asked. what. the. Communist
Party would. do if it were elect-
ed, and. how it would prevent
.U.S. intervention, Mr. Kashtan
said that the Communist Party
would immediately. take steps
. to establish friendly relations
with all countries, including the

USA... BHT gg (Gd.

The Communist Party would
take steps to nationalize US-_

owned Canadian resources in-
dustries. It would, under some
circumstances, consider com-
pensation for such nationaliza-
tion, but not the kind of com-
pensation incorporated in estab-

lishing the CNR, which saddles

Canadians. with a great debt
burden. :

He believed that the U.S. im-
perialists would not find it pos-
sible, or certainly not easy, to
attack Canada under those cir-
cumstances. ‘We rely on the
working class of the United
States and Latin America,” he
said. “The world has changed
and is changing. Big events are
shaping up. in France: and Italy.
which will even further shift the
balance against American impe-
rialism.”

He said that the Communist
Party thinks the initial steps to
social change in Canada may be
taken through a democratic al-
liance and a national anti-mono-
poly government that would un-
dertake democratic reform meas-
ures. Such a government would
adopt measures to secure Cana-
dian independence and to curb.
the great power of the mono-
polies.

Under such a set-up a wider
democracy would give the Cana-

‘dian people a say in the running

of their country, in how the
technological and scientific re-
volution would be used to bene-
fit everyone. Such a government
would reflect the rights of the
working people, the farmers and
the youth, he said.

Mr. Kashtan ended on the

note that the 1960’s had been
fraught with significant class
struggles, and that the 1970’s
would be marked with further
gains for the working class of
Canada.