: ) | | lsvember 11, 1942 THE PEOPLE Page Seven ! Around the Slipways By Charles Saunders W HEN Hon. Humphrey Mitchell returns from his tour of war-torn Britain, he will find sitting on his desk a report which, if accepted, will so far towards solving one of the bigsest war production problems in Canada. The conference of shipyard operators, government repre- sentatives and spokesmen for the unions, under the chairman- ship of Justice S. H. Richards, adjourned last Thursday, after wo weeks of discussion, having arrived at mutual agreement pn all points in the unanimous recommendations of this Royal Commission. The unions also reached unanimity in their presentation of sonditions essential to successful operation of the continuous joroduction plan. Their requests are fair and reasonable. The recommenda- Hons for time-and-a-half for overtime on the whole of the sixth jay and one week's holiday with pay still represent a sacrifice m monetary return when compared with the terms of the original agreements. Ratification by the minister of labor, as quickly as possible, will create a sound basis for maximum production, and the fime and effort expended by all parties concerned will be justified if a harmonious and sound basis for future worl: is established. OX NOVEMBER 7 banners carrying pledges of increased production were flying in all Vancouver shipyards to mark the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Soviet Union. * The task now is to transform those pledges into facts. Ships are a vital necessity te carry supplies and war materials to the battlefronts. Every ship produced brings victory nearer, ‘inspires new hope in the oppressed peoples of Hurope for an end to their suffering and misery and lessens the danger, of ‘such misery being inflicted upon ourselves—a danger that. will continue to exist so long as the second front is not opened and the initiative is left in the hands of the enemy. AW OMEN are taking their place in the shipyards today and it is generally conceded they are doing a fine job. The principle of equal pay for equal work is being observed and the unions are accepting them into membership on the same terms as the men. As offensive action makes bigger demands on our man- power, more and more women will be needed in industry. Many women would be only too willing to do their part, but | for the problems of looking after the children. Nurseries under competent supervision would fill the bill. e BSENTEEISM is one of the biggest bottlenecks in the shipyards. It has reached such alarming proportions in some yards that the management has appealed to the unions to help solve the problem. That the planning and organization of the yards may be to some extent responsible is borne out by the following fig- ures. Sundays Weekdays Saturdays North Burrard 21.5% 13.7% 15.8% South Burrard 14.7% 3.576 8.6% South Burrard is the yard that recently created a record for the launching of a freighter and is one of the best laid-out yards in Vancouver. - 2 [Ee aAUs= South Burrard is a newer yard it has fewer ob- stacles to overcome in instituting modern production methods, but even in this yard, as the figures show, absentee- ism is striking at production, lowering output and creating organizational difficulties. : Undoubtedly much of the absenteeism can be traced to persisting grievances which formed the basis of the recent discussions, and granting of one week’s holiday with pay should go a long way towards overcoming it. Absenteeism is both a collective and individual responsi- bility — collective in the sense that the absentees selfishly hamper and obstruct the team work of the men appearing regularly on the job, individual in the sense that if every man conscientiously. works every: shift, absenteeism is no longer a problem. Housewives League Will Hold Bazaar This Friday will be the culmina- tion of six months’ activity for the Housewives’ League members, who have prepared thousands of articles for a gala bazaar. To be held in the Moose Club auditorium 1021 West Hastings street, the bazaar will be open from 12.00 noon to 12.00 midnight, finish- ing with a dance. Members from fifteen League branches have worked on contribu- tions including knitted goods, fancy work, children’s clothes, aprons, Ghristmas novelties and gifts, home cooking refreshments. Most of the goods will be handmade. Bob Kerr Heads New Committee VICTORIA, B.C—Formation of a Gommunist-Labor Total War Com- mittee waS announced here this |- week by Bob Kerr, secretary of the new organization. Kerr, re- cently released from interment, was formerly commissar of the Macken- zie-Papineau Battalion in Spain. William Shaw, shipyard worker, was elected president, and Carl Palmgren organizer for the com- mittee. Labor Council Seats Many New Delegates In line with constitutional amendments adopted by the last convention of the Canadian Congress of Labor, the number of delegates seated at the Vancouver District Labor Council is being increased by election of new delegates, particularly from the larger unions, which, under the earlier ruling, were limited to two delegates only, regardless of membership. New delegates already elect- ed include: William Stewart, T. McKenzie, Tom Bradley, Lloyd Whalen, and G. Hartley of the Boilermakers Union. J. Dobson, W. J. Robson, F. McNeil, R. Morgan and A. Fris- tupa of the Dock and Shipyard Workers Union. B. Patterson, B. J. Maggs and J. P. Curry of the Moulders and Foundry Workers Union. From the newly-formed local of the International Woodwork- ers of America in New West- minster seven new delegates will attend the council. They are: A. Canuel, J. Lindsay, G. Cohen, A: Gibson,, P. Smith, G. Mitchell and T. Kipp. S eo ‘Nursery School Meeting Called For the past few months, mem- bers of the Housewives’ League have conducted a survey on the need for nursery schools in the city to assist women unable to find a suitable place for their children while at work or in some other war activities. Results so far have been prom- ising, the committee appointed to investigate reported recently, and in order that the problem can be aired publicly, the League has called a Nursery School Conference for Wednesday, Nov. 18, in the Bel- mont Hotel, at 8 p.m. All organizations in the city have been invited to send delegates, and parents interested in providing suit- able nurseries for pre-school chil- dren are urged to attend. Press Drive Ends With 86.000 Raised On Saturday when the central press drive committee officially closed its books the total of money raised stood at $6006.65—a splendid achievement and a record in which scores of committee members share. As will be seen from the figures, honors for the press committee raising most in propor- tion to quota will go to North Burrard shipyard committee, which, under the able leadership of Shelley Rogers, has practically led the drive from the start, raising $704.20, 281.6 percent of its quota, the largest sum turned in by any committee and 20 percent of the set quota of $3500. Second place goes to the Vancou- ver City committee with 233.12 per- cent, a few points ahead of the Mac-Pap committee, to which goes third prize for raising 225.33 per- cent of its quota, Honorable mention goes to Powell River committee, which did ex- cellent work in raising 220.2 per- cent of its quota, leading all other outside points. Undoubtedly there is still some money to be turned in from vari- ous points, but as we already have extended the drive a week, this will be the final tally. The only exception is Fraser Val- ley. This committee weeks ago organized a dance for Nov. 13, be- lieving the drive would end Nov. 15, and its quota will be adjusted to include proceeds from the dance. Credit will still be given other committees who turn in late money, but awards will be made on the basis of this final total. Many small committees have done very good work, among them the Slavish Association in New West- minster, which last week held a concert and raised $26.55. Also the language committees in Van- couver, Russian, Croatian, Ukrain- ian, Scandinavian and others, who under the general quota of $375 came near to winning a. prize. Salmon Arm, highest outside point next to Powell River, also did very well with 1640 percent raised, while the Albernis turned in the excellent percentage of 125 percent. Drive committees are asked to send in names of individual mem- bers of their committees with high totals in donations, subs sold, and donations and subs together. Com- mittees should also send in names of those who have raised more than $40 in the press drive, not forget- ting that subscriptions only count 50 percent of their value, so that book prizes can be awarded. List of books from which selections can be made will be published in our next issue. Press Drive Standings Amt. Per- VANCOUVER Quota Raised centage Mac Paps $ 75.00 $168.50 225.33 City Committee 275.00 641.10 233.12 Wational Groups 375.00 677.30 180. SHIPYARDS Worth Burrard 250.00 704.20 281.6 South Burrard -..... 250.00 405.00 162. West Coast _.... 250.00 411.85 164.6 Salvage 250.00 212.95 85.1 Fishermen 250.00 41.50 16.4 Loggers ; 150.00 181.45 120.6 Carpenters, Piledrivers 125.00 100.25 82. *ARL Miscellaneous 50.06 84.75 161.5 Jewellers 25.00 18.50 74. Transportation 100.00 103.90 103.9 Aircraft 150.00 41.00 27.3 Munitions 100.00 16.00 16. OY Bill 200.00 254.75 127.33 LOWER MAINLAND New Westminster 250.00 255.50 101.5 Fraser Valley 100.00 153.35 153.35 Welson 100.00 22.00 22. Rossland 50.00 13.50 27. FernieMichel =o 50.00 sees OM Veecs Vernon 50.00 52.75 102.3 Salmon Arm 25.00 41.00 164. Kelowna 25.00 1.50 6. Princeton 25.00 10.50 42. Penticton 25.00 eanees sect: Kamloops Bs 25:00 (ee ee COAST Prince Rupert 100.00 133.00 133. Sointula —.. 100.00 72.90 72.9 Powell «River 50.00 110.10 220.2 Gibsons’ landing ——— 50.00 28.00 56. NORTHERN B.C. Atlin - 50.00 9.50 19. Prince George 25.00 20.50 82. VANCOUVER ISLAND Victoria 400.00 455.00 113.75 Courtenay-Cumberland 200.00 225.50 112.75 The Albernis . 100.00 125.00 125. Miscellaneous 214.05 Total 6,006.65 171.61 *Firefighters, Civic Employees, Electricians, etc.