The abortive right-wing coup
‘in Portugal, smashed on March

11 by armed forces loyal to the
people, reeked of the same fas-
cist elements, domestic and for-
eign, who raped Chile on Sept.
11, 1973. Early reports of the
attempted coup state that Lis-
bon’s airport and military bar-
tacks were bombed. :

Since the ousting of a half-
century of fascism on April 25,
1974, and during the campaign
leading to Portugal’s first elec-
tion, April 12 this year, the de-
mocratic forces of Portugal have
more than once had to resist po-
litical attack. ’

Alvaro Cunhal, general secre-
tary of the Portuguese Commu-
Nist Party, noted in an interview
less than a month ago, a com-
mon thread running through a
Series of crises in the govern-
mental coalition.

“The two ministerial crises
(July and Sept. last year) were

as

Pro-government demonstration in Lisbon, June 23, 1974

the result of attempted coups
d’etat by the reactionary and
conservative forces supported by
elements in very high places,”
he said.

“The recent campaigns of the
two parties in the coalition, the
Socialist Party and the PPD

TULUM UEEUEUOCRCGEEEEDE ERE GE CEEUE CRETE CCC EET
See:
NATO's Portuguese

Strategy— page 7
PU

against the mythical danger of
a ‘Communist coup,’ a lie from
start to finish, have objectively
been at the basis of a new and
vast offensive by reaction,
strongly supported by interna-
tional reaction, and seeking to
stifle the revolutionary forces
and orientate the structures of
power towards the right,”

ut

4

Education Minister Thomas

ells’ accusation of Ontario
teachers that they are “holding
a gun at the head of the people”
and “guilty of blackmail” in
their demands for wage in-
Creases which reach a high fig-
ure of 40%, is utterly irrespon-
Sible, William Stewart, Ontario
leader of the Communist Party
Said in a statement to the press

is week.

“If Mr. Wells, and the Ontario

80vernment were interested in
Teaching an equitable agreement

With the teachers of this pro-
Vince, as the teachers are with
ne government, they would be
Sitting down and bargaining in
800d faith, not. making inflama-
tory statements in the public
Media,” Stewart said. “These
Statements are not designed to
Ting about any accord, but on

© contrary, make any agree-

Ment more difficult.

“It is hard to escape the con-
Clusion that Mr. Wells has some-
wing else in mind in his televi-
Slons antics, rather than negoti-
ating with the Ontario teachers
M good faith.

Looking for Issue
“Faced with falling fortunes,”
_ € Ontario Communist leader
Said, “and almost back to back
th an election campaign, On-
aoe Tories are desperately
Ooking fora favorable issue on
Which to face the electorate. Mr.

ells, and the government, may .

Ink that such an issue lies in
€ negotiations with Ontario
€achers,””

Stewart charged that with

mounting taxes, prices, rents
and interest, “working people
are frantically trying to stretch
their pay cheques to meet their
payments. The threat of further
monumental increases in taxes
and rents to pay the cost of
teachers’ wage increases is now
being pumped at them from
every pore of the -communica-
tions media.

“The teachers, themselves vic
tims of galloping inflation, are.
being presented as the guilty
party and Mr. Wells and the
government as the great saviors
of the public purse.

“Ontario teachers make two
quite valid points,” Stewart
stated. “First that their wages
have progressively fallen be-
hind increasing living costs and
wages in.other fields for the
past four years. Secondly the
quality of education is being
steadily eroded by increasing
classroom size.

Cynical Gambit

“The answer of the govern-

ment to these legitimate obser-
vations,” he said, “is that they
cannot afford either the wage in-:
creases needed to bring teachers
into line with the needs and de-
mands of their profession, nor
can they afford to sustain class
sizes geared. to the education
needs of the students.
- “A grim admission indeed for
a system that claims to be the
best of all possible worlds,” the
Communist spokesman pointed
out. ‘

- “What a cynical Seales by the

ing To overnment.
si The aimee of the people of
Ontario must be loud and clear,
said Stewart. “We reject both
these proposals.

Cunhal said that, “A series of
grave provocations, such as the
violent incidents which stopped
the congress of a right-wing par-

‘ty, the CDS, and an unbridled

anti-Communism, must result in
a climate of disorder and anar-
chy enabling the reactionary con-
servative forces to regroup and
act, united in a new holy alli-
ance.” :

Cunhal warned: “Unfortunate-
ly there will certainly be more”
such manoeuvres, “we must al-
ways be ready to face them with
resolve.”

The military attack by enemies
of Portugal’s fledgeling democ-
racy is evidence of the accuracy
of the Communist Party evalua-
tion.

In his interview the Commu-
nist leader saw a danger in the
fact that the government “is
more to the right than the demo-
cratic forces which are taking
part in the revolutionary pro-

‘cess, the Movement of the Arm-

ed Forces included.”

He charged that the Socialists
were lending themselves to ef-
forts “to put a brake on the re-
voluntary process’ ’ through
their anti-Communist campaign
and the raising of doubts about
the Armed Forces Movement.

Cunhal defended the right of
the Portuguese people “freely to
choose their destiny,” and said:

“We are certain that the peoples |

of the world are with us and will
be with us.”

ALVARO CUNHAL, General
Secretary of the Portuguese
Communist Party.

Ottawa threatens use

of back-to-work law

TORONTO—“First, the government
comes into negotiations with a wage
offer that is less than its previous ones,
then it threatens the PSAC with back- -
to-work legislation for turning down
the government’s offer,” Mike Lyons,
the Toronto representative for the Pub-
lic Service Alliance of Canada told the
Tribune in an interview last week.

SAR ES

In December 1973, 40,000 Ontario teachers marched on Queen’s
Park to protest the repressive Bill 274, introduced by the Tory govern-
ment in an attempt to squash teachers’ demands for salary increases
and increased educational spending. The government was forced to
withdraw the Bill, which imposed compulsory arbitration and refused
to recognize the teachers’ right to resign as a method of backing
up-their demands. But one Bill was replaced with another, Bill 275,
which imposed binding arbitration. : oe

Teachers are now demanding a 40%) salary increase to catch up
with the rise in living costs, and education minister Thomas Wells is
resorting to the same type of action as he took in 1973. Instead of
bargaining in good faith with the teachers, he is denouncing them
with cries of “blackmail”.

Last weekend, the union representa-
tives, angered by the government’s ap-
proach to the negotiations for the
18,000 general trades and labor workers
of the PSAC who have been on rotating
strikes for three weeks, withdrew from
the negotiations.

“The offers that the government
made were ri

Ontario teachers’ demands are valid

diculous,” Lyons said, “the
first offer was for 20 months with
an increase of 15.14% over 12
months and 7% over the remain-
der. The second offer was 17%
over 15 months. Both offers were
bad — worse, in fact, than their
previous offers.

“The government,” Lyons said,
“and especially Chretien, the
president of the Treasury Board,
is trying to hold the line on
wage increases by going back-

_ wards in negotiations. The only
reason Chretien appeared to be

interested in talking was to save
himself. some embarrassment in
the question period.”

After the talks broke down,
Chretien seemed to take a back
seat and it was Acting Prime
Minister Mitchell Sharp who
came forward with the govern-
ment’s “‘get tough”’ line.

Sharp told the Commons that
the “government will take ‘other
measures’ to settle the strike by
federal blue-collar workers if
collective bargaining does not
work.” Sharp did not elaborate
what “other measures” meant,
but outside the Commons, Chre- ~
tien, parroting Sharp’s lead, said
“back-to-work legislation might
be enacted if bargaining fails to
settle the strikes. We are not
treating the matter lightly.”

“It really isn’t that surprising” ’
Lyons told the Tribune, “to hear
MPs and members of the Cabinet
talking about back-to-work legis-
lation. But what must be remem-
bered is that the same people
who are talking about forcing us
back to work are the same peo-
ple who are talking about a 50%
wage increase for themselves. _

“We are in a strange ‘bargain-
ing position. The PSAC is bar-
gaining with the rules maker.
Whenever the PSAC starts to
win, then the government says
‘We can’t let you win, so we'll
change the rules.’ We’re win-
ning, so the government is plan-
ning another rules change,” Ly-
ons said.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 1975—Page 5