THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER BROTHER CLAYTON JOHNSON of Local 1-405 IWA displays the plaque presented to him by his Local Union on his retirement Clayton Johnson a long-time and active member of Local 1- 405 IWA, was honoured at a banquet October 13 in Golden on his retirement from Crestbrook Forest Industries after 21!» years of service. Brother Johnson, who spent 43 years working in the forest industry, was presented with an inscribed radio by C.F.1. from the forest industry after 43 years. and a plaque from his Local Union inscribed with the words “To Our Retiring Brother Clayton B. Johnson For His Services.” Local 1-405 Secretary Lyle Kristiansen also presented a letter on behalf of the Local Union wishing Brother Johnson and his wife a happy retirement. FRYER CONDEMNS DIRECTOR’S ATTACK B.C. Government Em- ployees Union general secretary John Fryer, recently accused the director of the Department of Health's . Oc- cupational Health Branch of mounting a ‘malicious and deliberate attack’? on BCGEU members who are exercising their rights under their col- lective agreement to take sick leave. ’ Fryer charged that Dr. Lee Kornder has been ‘“‘unfa.irly attempting to portray union members as malingerers and abusers of the sick leave system.” Fryer was responding to remarks made by Kornder to an Occupational Health Con- ference in Seattle where he presented statistics showing a greater incidence of sick leave usage among BCGEU mem- bers than licensed profes- sionals or managerial exclu- sions. “Union members in govern- ment naturally use more sick leave because of the types of jobs that they perform. It is patently dishonest to compare on-the-job conditions of bridge crews, highway workers and tradesmen with doctors, lawyers and Deputy Ministers,’ Fryer said. “The fact that those same licensed professionals and managerial exclusions not only keep their own sick leave ‘records as well as those of union members, makes Dr. -apheeeeg ’s remarks even more “Dr. Kornder jn his pre- tion conveniently failed to el the fact that during Same year (1978) that he ted sick leave figures for, it “ t taxpayers of this province over 6.7 million dollars in work related injuries and diseases for government employees. This does not include the ad- minstration fees for the Workers Compensation Board, or the costs of temporary replacement for injured workers,” he said. “In our opinion the Occupa- . tional Health Branch and Dr. Kornder would be better serving the taxpayers of B.C. if he and his colleagues came to grips with how to make the workplace a safe place instead of concentrating on mounting a witchhunt for union members who they feel are taking a day or two excess sick leave. They should be looking at cause rather than effect,’ Fryer said. *‘He conveniently ignores the fact that five BCGEU members have been killed on the job so far this year.” Dr. Kornder also said that his Branch has received permission to study the medical] diagnosis of absent - workers and sends a monthly computer printout to each department listing employees who have taken sick leave. ‘As usual management's medical mouthpieces have missed the target completely. They are still mounting cam- paigns against the working people who are the victims of the system rather’ than defending them. They should be cleaning up their own act rather than punishing the victims of it. In view of Dr. Kornder’s blatant anti-union attitude, the union will now have to seriously consider a complete boycott of all ac- tivities involving the Occu- pational Health Branch,’ Fryer said. Financial . Six members of Local 1-324 IWA, Russel, Manitoba, are still fighting to win a first agreement from their em- ployer, Glue-Rite Products, whose parent company is the Western Arch Rib Company of Calgary. The fifteen-man crew voted to strike the operation last August 23, when contract talks broke down following refusal of the company to agree to a union security clause. The company insisted that its employees should have the choice of joining or not joining the IWA. The strikers have received financial support from other Locals in the Regional Council plus a number of members from British Columbia and Saskatchewan have helped man the picket line from time to time. The remaining six strikers are determined to hold out un- nmoh ~ te %) orev a> s i BS Sy anata alcatel Ra IWA MEMBERS OF LOCAL 1-324 IWA, employed by the Glue- Rite Products, Russel, Manitoba, are shown on the picket line on the first day of striking the company in an attempt to win a first agreement. til they win an agreement. The recent Regional Convention authorized an increase in the strike pay for the Russel strikers and with this as well as the donations from other Local Unions, the consensus is that they will be financially able to’ endure more months of strike if necessary. } CONGRESS HAS RADIO PROGRAM pone ey Over the past few years, the Canadian labour movement has launched a number of campaigns to explain to its members and to the public what trade unionism is all about. In another attempt to explain its case, the Canadian Labour Congress has gone into the business of radio pro- gramming, and it already seems to be a booming success. Last year, the CLC de- veloped a radio package which would run for 13 weeks with each segment lasting 15 minutes. The program, called “The Workplace,’ would, according to plans, be broad- cast on at least 25 radio stations from coast to coast. Currently, the CLC has a definite ‘‘yes’’ from 21 stations that will run the show this fall, while another 15 are still con- sidering it. Already the program seems to be a success if the air times and the listening audience are any indications. Designed to both improve labour’s image and to inform the public about the labour movement, the program will examine issues that rarely make the press. Among other things, the package will include segments on union organizing drives, concentrating on the current organizing drive at Michelin Tire in Nova Scotia. Radio listeners will also hear the other side of the federal goy- ernment’s ‘proposed 60,000-job cut in the civil service. As well, the labour movement’s _in- volvement with Nicaragua will be the subject of another program. If the program gets good reviews, there is every reason to believe the CLC will con- sider moving ahead with another series for the new year. CHILD LABOUR A WORLD PROBLEM Child labour as a persistent evil is the subject of. a book published by the Inter- national Labour Office. Although child labour is dis- appearing in the industrially developed countries, says the study, it is alive and flourishing in the developing world, especially in Asia. According to recent ILO estimates, there are today at least 52 million workers less than 15 years old, of whom more than 50 million are in the developing countries. Commissioned by the ILO as a contribution towards International Year of the Child, the book is based on ten country monographs covering different parts of the world. It reveals close links between poverty and exploitation of children, while at thé same time pointing out the need for legal reform and_ social change. Lack of adequate schooling is seen to be a key factor in the ~ sending children to work. How- ever, many urban children, as the survey shows, are sent to school not only to give them an education but also to keep them away from home and the streets. The book stresses the need for ratification of an inter- national labour convention adopted in 1973 which. sets minimum age of admission to - employment. The long term objective of the ILO to be achieved pro- gressively, is total abolition of child labour. Meanwhile, there are many ways in which working conditions of children can and should be improved. But children, the study says, are not ‘‘adults in miniature.” Their premature labour, because it spoils the chances for proper physical and mental development, and for adequate job training, is the worst in- vestment society can make in its future. COUNCIL BANS PRESS The Winnipge Labour Council has banned the Free Press from covering its meet- ings as part of a _ boycott against the newspaper for buy- ing newsprint from strike- bound Boise Cascade Ltd. The move follows a Manitoba Federation of Labour decision last month to support striking woodcutters in Kenora and Blue Cross is prepared to lose more than $30 million worth of business rather than back down on a labour dispute with the United Auto Workers Union, says the company’s senior executive. Blue Cross clerical workers, members of UAW, have been on strike for a first contract Fort Frances, Ont:, by calling for a boycott of the company’s customers. , The woodcutters have been on strike against Boise Cas- cade for more than a year over a plan to switch them from hourly wages to piece-work rates. The Labour Council said the Free Press will also no longer be given news releases from the organization. General Motors of Canada Ltd. confirmed that during its recent negotiations with UAW it agreed to transfer its health insurance from Blue Cross to Green Shield and Metropolitan Life at the union’s insistance.