A10 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, July 8, 1998 Lomak drivers walk ou Teamsters say firm is using rival union By ALEX HAMILTON LOMAK TRANSPORT Corp. truck drivers here are on strike in support of 30 fellow drivers who have been laid off in Prince George. ; At issue is what drivers here say is the company’s move to funnel work from Lomak Transport — which is organized by the Teamsters — to sub- — sidiary Lomak Bulk, which is organized by the lower-paid Christian Labour: Association of Canada (LA. The Teamsters claim CLAC’s mem- bers at Lomak Bulk are working for $4 less an hour once benefits are fac- tored in. i And that, they say, has resulted in contracts formerly won by’ Lomak © Transport shifting instead to Lomak Bulk, and throwing Teamsters drivers out of work: . ~ ; ‘Terrace shop steward Wes Patterson said the 30 Prince George drivers were laid off June 30 after Lomak Bulk won a contract to haul fibre for Prince George-based Northwood. Laid off employces, he said, were told they could: apply for work with - Lomak Bulk, But according to Patter- son, that means doing the same job, | with the same trucks, under the same mandgement, for four dollars an hour less. : Patterson said truck drivers here are picketing to support employees in Child death rate twice as high _ children in the Northwest were higher - BY ANITA DOLMAN CHILDREN IN northem B.C. are twice as likely to die as those living in some southern communities, accord- ing.to dala collected for the provincial health officer's report for 1997. The mortality rate for children -be- tween the ages of 0 and 18 was 9.5: per 10,000 in the Northwest between 1987 and 1995, _ B.C.’s overall child mortality for the same period was 6.6, while some communities on the-lower mainland, such as Richmond and the North Shore, had rates as low as 4.4. “‘Most of the variation is duc to a ‘tion level! attained,” Prince George, since they are part of the same bargaining unit. And he said drivers here are worried most of Lomak’s bids for new work will come from Lomak Bulk to get cheaper labour, and that the practice will spread to this arca. “If it happens in Prince George, it will happen here,”’ Patterson said. combination of the poverty’ rate, employment rate and the education level attained,’ says provincial health “Most of the variation Is due to a combination of the poverty rate, employ- ment rate and the educa- ' officer, Dr. Jobn Millar. Millar says that mortality rates for “We're trying-to hold onto the jobs that we’ve got at the rates of pay that we've got.” : The Teamsters have mch of Lomak’s trucks and trailers tied up behind picket lines in Terrace, Prince © George and Williams Lake, Lomak president Ron Gilbertson did. not return The Standard’s calls. for every cause of death. The report shows a correlation be- tween child mortality and the percent-_ age of the population that is unem- ployed, is on income assistance or has less than high school graduation. Overall, provincial rates for child health have steadily improved and the - gap between the North and other areas in B.C. has been narrowing in such | .. areas as infant mortality. The report says that regional dif- ferences in the child death rates are... not explained to any significant de-— gree by access to health care services. Reformer won’t take $1m pension SKEENA MP Mike Scott says he will once again turn down a pension that would soon be worth at least a mil- lion dollars to him. © He was responding to the Liberal government’s ta- bling in the House of Com-' mons of a bill that will in- crease MPs’ pay two per cent a year every year. until the next election and allow MPs like Scott to opt back in to the MP pension plan. Scott ‘and most other Reformers had opted out of the plan 1995, which they had lambasted as ‘“‘gold plated” in the 1993 elec- tion. , “J do not intend to opt back in to the pension plan,” Scott said. “I don’t seé how J could took voters in the eye and opt back into i BRITISH COLUMBIA 1-888-223-3366 Himuerseeisrse Puy Bl ee, ani IMPROVING Terrace, B.C. . Major Credt Gants Connetit ) vO yi dag ——-Aevenled ODDS .° a 7 counse ng NM [acansr Anne Evans Your donation Is at no charge. |: || mesron | cass ~ ggg.yggg —™ ceductble ©)" LROUNBATION | #1 KILLER we, oe mo Your In Memoriam gift is a lasting tribute. Please send your donation to the address above; along with the name and address and the name and address of the naxt-of- EPILEPSY SQCIETY © For.Alore Jnjormatt COLORFUL SCENES Buttery blondes. Edgy reds. _. Bittersweet brunettes. ___ Ask us to personalize _a-Redken haircolor for you. Pr eore GALLERY 47110 KEITH AVENUE, 635-3729 kin, for anacknowledgement card. “ Xie, ewan oe, It’s NotA No Time Limit On 30 Calls Every Month. 2... Free airtime on your first.30.calls every- gga Mike Scott it at this stage.”’ Scott would pass the six- pension plans. ‘year mark and “become ’ eligible for his pension in 1999, At that point, he said, it would be worth about $1 million. , Scott-says that by holding out the option.to rejoin the pension plan, Liberals are atlempting to create con- troversy in the ranks of Reformers. ot “The Liberals have put it in specifically as a means of attempting to divide Reform MPs by dangling what they think is a big carrot in front of onr noses,’’ Scatt said. Under the plan, the government contributes about $4 to the pensions for every $1 putin by the MP. Scott and other Reformers have always: said. that’s far more ‘generous than private Also irritatiig, Scott says, ‘is the Liberals’ contention that the government won't make public which:MPs opt back in to the pension plan, raising the spectre that some Reformers, could sneak back. in,” me “That should be some- thing that’s wide open,”’ - Scott said. “The taxpayer is © paying the bill, they have a right. to know who is col- lecting these pensions and who isn’t.”’ As for the salary increase, Scott says it’s not a huge change, working out to about $70 to $80 per month. MPs currently make about $64,000 0 year, But the value of expenses ‘MPs can claim if they have receipts doubles — from $6,000 to $12,000 a year. Sou every weekend KEITH AVE.MALL GITY. MasterCard “month - no matter how long you talk.’ -@ “+ Unlimited free calling each and ~» First 20 days of usage free - “* Just 30¢ per minute . 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