THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER STRACHAN WRITES ON LABOUR 1972 53% of our work force were “members of trade unions in 1954. To-day, little more than 40% of our workers have any trade union affiliation. Under a Social Credit Government, trade unions in B.C. have been declining in relative strength, but we seem to have more than our share of management-labour strife and discord. Why? Who is respon- sible? Who has caused or allowed the present situation to develop? Labour and management are still filling the same roles, and doing the same things as they always have. In this last 20 years, the only difference has been the government attitudes and policies. The government | has been in charge. They have written the new labour laws. They have created the climate of discord, distrust, friction and strife ‘between management and _ labour. Government spokesmen have made the corrosive attacks on trade unions, which indicated that the government was on the side of management against the workers. . What changes has the government brought about that created this situation? Four _ times in 20 years they have brought in labour legislation, which they promised would bring labour-management peace. With each new law, matters didn’t improve. They got worse. The fact that the situation got worse with each new piece of labour legislation is a clear indication that these new laws pushed through by the Social Credit government were a factor in making the situation worse. Things got worse because with each new law against labour, the govern- ment was leaving .a distinct impression that they were loading the scales in favour of management. The government has not been an impartial and fair participant in labour- management affairs. Each new law made it more difficult for trade unions to organize the unorganized — to help the low paid workers in the service industries. This was designed to lessen the strength of the trade unions - and create resentment among the lower paid workers of the province, to turn them against trade unions. These new laws also made it more difficult for unions to adequately represent their members. This, in turn, left the membership dissatis- fied with their trade unions and made many of the workers im- patient with the negotiating procedures and their results, hence, the growing chaos of walkouts and wildcats by the men refusing to wait for union * action and rejecting the rec- ommendations of their elected leaders. Each new labour law left less and less freedom for labour and management to settle their differences as it laid down more and more barriers in formalized inflexible procedures. Each new law created more distrust and suspicion between labour and management. This downhill process started in 1954 when the then Minister of Labour (Lyle Wicks) amended the Labour Relations Act. Until then we had a full time Labour Rela- tions Board, who were free to act almost as they pleased in © their efforts to bring agree- ment between management and labour. Mr. Wicks said they had gone beyond their responsibilities. (How any Board could do too much to bring labour-management agreement I don’t know). _ Wicks told the Legislature that the Province would save $65,000 per year with the abolition of the full time Board. That was the most expensive $65,000 we ever saved. As I stated earlier, with each successive change in the law, matters got worse. In some cases the new legislation al-- lowed management to act ina manner outlawed to the trade unions, Mr. Bennett must accept responsibility for our present troubles, He created them. The problem will not be resolved until we create a different labour-management climate in B.C. Justas government action created the present climate, so only government action can change that climate. In recent weeks, the Socreds have been promising more of NEW WAGE CURVE AT CELGAR By TONY VANDERHEIDE Evaluator The IWA Southern Interior Negotiating Committee — assisted by the Regional Evaluation Department — in this year’s negotiations with Canadian Cellulose Company Limited has established the principle of a job evaluation wage curve based upon per- centage labour grade incre- ments. The negotiated Sawmill Job Evaluation Plan and its related wage curve become effective on July 1, 1972 and will cover production workers at the Company’s sawmill and planermill in Castlegar (B.C.) JOB TITLE Clean-up Man Green Chain Puller Planer Chain Puller Forklift Operator Carrier Driver Gang Sawyer Planer Grader No. 1 Planerman No. 1 Sawyer FORCED BIDDING bidding”’ clause. former higher rate. CONCLUSION Point Labour Ranges Grades O0- 60 1 61 - 80 2 81 - 110 3 111 - 150 4 151 - 200 5 201 - 250 6 251 - 310 7 311 - 370 8 371 - 430 9 431 - 490 10 491 - -550 11 551 - 620 12 621 - 690 13 691 - 760 14 761 - 830 15 831 - 900 16 901 - 970 17 971 - 1040 18 1041 - 1110 19 1111 - 1180 20 The Plan provides for 20 labour grades with related point ranges and the monetary values between these labour grades are calculated on fixed percentages of the base rates as per the following examples: (a)the monetary difference between the base rate and labour grade No. 1 equals 1 percent of the base rate of $4.08 effective July 1, 1972 or $0.04. (b) the monetary difference between the base rate and labour grade No. 11 equals approximately 16.26 per- cent of the base rate of $4.0814 effective July 1, 1972 or $0.66. Percentage Grade Resulting Rates Effective Increments July, 1972 July, 1973 Base Rate - $4.08'2 $4.45 1.00 4.12% 4.49 1.14 ° 4.17% 4.54 1.28 4.22\% 4.60 1.42 4.281% 4.66 1.56 4.3415 4.73 1.70 4.411% 4.81 1.83 4.481% 4.89 1.97 4.5614 4.98 2.11 4.6514 5.07 2.25 4.74% 5.17 2.39 4.841 5.28 2.53 4.9415 5.39 2.67 5.051 5.51 2.81 5.16% 5.64 2.95 5.281% 5.77 3.08 5.414% 5.91 3.22 5.4515 6.05 3.36 5.6814 6.20 3.50 5.821 6.35 In order to show the effect of this plan we have selected several standard sawmill and planermill categories and will list them with the resulting rates: CANADIAN CELLULOSE COMPANY LIMITED Rates effective July 1972 $4,081 $4.1714 $4.17 $4.414%4 $4.41 $4.48 $4.741 $5.05 $5.8214 Another example of the realistic attitude of Canadian Cellulose Company Limited towards job evaluation is the removal from the old contract of the objectionable “forced Effective July 1, 1972, if a job has to be down-graded as a result of a change in job content, the job holder will NOT be forced to bid on another job in order to protect his Examination of the above rates clearly indicates that a job evaluation plan based - upon proper percentage grade increments will continue to maintain monetary relation- ships between evaluated categories. July 1973 Increase $4.45 $ 0.3612 $4.54 $ 0.3644 $4.54 $ 0.3642 $4.81 $ 0.3912 $4.81 $ 0.394% $4.89 $ 0.40% $5.17 $ 0.4215 $5.51 $ 0.4542 $6.35 $ 0.5212 . (c) the monetary difference between the base rate and labour grade No. 20 equals approximately 42.7 percent of the base rate of $4.081, effective July 1, 1972 or $1.74 When the base rate rises as aq result of contract negotiations the monetary difference be- tween the labour grades will rise automatically in line with the negotiated percentage ° labour grade increments. Following are the negotiated point ranges between labour | grades, the negotiated grade increment and the resulting labour grade rates: the kind of legislation that led us to our present disastrous situation. It is obvious there will be no improvement and no change for the better until we have a new government with a different attitutde. Bennett and company claim credit and responsibility for anything good that has hap- pened in B.C. since 1952 and they must also. accept responsibility for the unsatis- factory labour scene they have created. In the 1969 Provincial Election, Bennett’s battle cry was “‘Strike pay with Berger or take home pay with Bennett’’. The province lost both ways — we got Bennett and strike pay We also got Peterson as At- torney-General and Chabot as Minister of Labour. Right now, we have drug peddlers, drug pushers, sex criminals, thieves, murderers, bank robbers, swindlers, con men and crooks running free. But our Attorney-General has 150 R.C.M.P. constables raid- ing the offices of trade unions and his staff in Victoria invest- igating the legality of the by- laws of the B.C. Teachers Federation. ‘‘Never mind the crooks, get the trade unions” is the policy. Many years ago a United States Commission on In- dustrial Relations said ‘“‘One of the chief causes of social un- rest, is the denial of justice in the creation, adjudication and administration of the law. “There is a denial of Justice in the creation ad- ministration and adjudica- tion of the laws affecting workers in B.C. This denial of justice is creating the social unrest that exists in B.C. today. Today’s labour- management chaos is caused by social unrest created by the denial of justice by 2 government intent on playing” politics with people’s lives. It is not caused by trade unions or trade union leaders. Witness the fallers rejecting their own union procedures and the wildcat strikes 1 many plants. We need a change of direc tion, but there will be no change of direction until we Social Credit labour policies *& have a change of