Public Outcry Wins levy roliback | of Faved with the anger and resistance — me 45,000 British Columbians | th ho withheld $5.30 a month from B.C. Hydro bills — both the Ven! government and the Greater . Ouver Regional Transit Com- levy 10N moved to roll back the special 1% “armarked for B.C. Transit, Aug. OH: Th yy 4), © COmmission, comprising region- al vig and aldermen appointed by Unani TOvincial government, voted | cent ; Ously to roll back the 231-per crease in the levy imposed last » Tetroactive to July 1. aby nmissioners meeting in Bur- ei} algo y Municipal council chambers la “ee unanimously to co-sponsor lic review of the structure of the “i the ission and the formula whereby i Whil TOWn transit company is financed, | brew delegations of citizens groups testing the levy attended. follo € vote was taken immediately Sion Wing a two-hour in camera ses- aay a press conference by new Cipal Affairs and Transit Minis- = SS NR SSS = 2S Ae SS ee —— Ss = mista Johnson, during which the “op ter acknowledged that public fj Position to the monthly surcharge fa In the Social Credit govern- be a8 S decision to urge the levy hike Trcinded. Ty. the various seniors, community, Mens, anti-poverty and_ similar nizations gathered at the meeting | for cluding the umbrella Citizens fight stordable Transit, formed to the the levy hike — the rescinder of ay) Otly contested increase signalled Haha tt OY for people’s organized thet it was equally evident that, Bie the timing of the announce- » the levy hike withdrawal was ble With an eye towards a possi- ae Provincial election, and the J ag municipal races. 45 Onsen, who acknowledged that he} rf British Columbians had with- the transit levy payments, staged Uleg ess conference in the few min- from, Ore the commissioners emerged Meet un Camera portion of their Ing. Saying it was hard to ignore the pany protests, the minister said | as “recommending” the appoint- | ing ™missioners roll back the | form aA and review the financing —_——$$<$_—_____— | ti Johnson Claimed that the increased genie of the Skytrain rapid transit $i9_0 by Expo visitors will create a Mey On surplus which the govern- Uefigi 2 apply to this year’s transit tat Special levy was imposed sev- Ras peat ago, along with a surtax on | %by3 ae The funding formula, wher- ftom Per cent of the costs are funded 1 Split the fare box and the remainder is Re: between the province and | Yea, 810n, was slated to change next | ing geeith 42-per cent of transit fund- | Come from fares. See TRANSIT page 4 _ Lill nM (ALT LUANDA lll! A To |_| | |_| _ Jd September 3, 1986 40° Vol. 49, No. 31 BCGEU wont touch S. African products yf? ME C6 LE FO! pAaALZ OC AE HOU WERS HO EY PANDIAPPED ‘programming; and to use all wage saved by companies during the lock- out to provide free service for senio and handicapped. Four cable com- — panies have locked out employees. Storypage4. — The president of the B.C. Government Employees Union, John Shields, declared Aug. 30 that as of Labor Day, all BCGEU members would be asked to stop handling South African products. “Our union and our membership. are strongly opposed to the apartheid policies and the denial of basic human and workers’ rights of the South African government,” he said in a statement issued Saturday. “We are committed to joining with fellow trade unionists in Canada and round the world to bring pressure on the South Afri- can government to end the injustices in that country. “J am asking our members to refuse to handle South African products, whether it be wine or spirits in liquor stores or food in institutions, until the day comes when apar- theid has ended and all people are free in South Africa,” he said. The union’s stand, part of the trade union movement’s continuing campaign of action against apartheid, is of major significance and will have an impact far beyond the province in which the boycott will be effected. The Social Credit govenment is the only government in Canada still carrying South African products on liquor store shelves and union members’ refusal to handle them will effectively empty the shelves where the government has refused to do so. The B.C. Federation of Labor is also expected later this week to intensify the boycott campaign against apartheid when federation officers and the executive council endorse a program of civil disobedience to underscore the demand for sanctions. B.C. Fed communications director Tom Fawkes said Tuesday that the program would be going to the officers Thursday and to the executive council Friday for endor- sement and action. He added that the campaign “had some new twists” but said that details could not be released until the federation bodies had discussed and endorsed the campaign. “It’s part of the trade union movement’s campaign that has been building as the vio- lence against the people of South Africa grows,” he said. Earlier this year, on March 13, several unions in B.C. took the unprecedented step of refusing to handle South African pro- ducts and halting mail, telephone calls and flight bookings to and from South Africa. see BCGEU page 4 Free trade: labor mounts opposition — page 6 — ree! aT biases ieee cecal jal