cember 21, 1942 pHE B.C. LUMBER WORKER Page Five When Hi “T have 0 he ii The workers seek no favors; they: , however, insist upon a square and can be expected to give their best only under conditions ensure just treatment by th government and employers.” previous record of the new er had not been one to inspire he confidence of the workers. Ho d been elected to Parliament os tensibly as a Labor member in a Jection held in Hamilton East n 1931; he had failed to cooperate with the spokesmen for Labor in the House of Commons, and he defeated in 1935. Almost im- diately he was given a nominal ition in the Department of La- r, at a good salary, and was un- wd-of until the National Labor jupply Council was formed in ‘July, 1940, when he was made Sec- of that useless body. “THE COMPANY UNION” FORMULA. In June, 1941, the Industrial Dis- putes Inquiry Commission was formed, and Mr. Mitchell was ap- pointed Chairman. In spite of Or- der-in-Council P.C. 2685, of June, 1940, which expressed the principle that workers ‘‘should be fee to or- ganize in trade unions, free from any control by employers or their agents,” Mr. Mitchell tried in at Teast three cases, the Canadian General Electric, the Canada Pack- ers and the Kirkland Lake disputes, to impose a “company union” for- mula upon the employees concern- : Mr, Mitchell was more respon- sible than any other individual for the Kirkland Lake strike, which began on Nov. 21, 1941. Yet, on Dec, 15, 1941, while the strike was in progress, he was appointed Minister of Labor. Tt was anticipated, when the Con- _ gress statement above quoted was issued, that his first task would ‘be to bring about a settlement of _ the strike, but he was so busy try- ing to get elected to Parliament that he paid no attention to it, and Prime Minister refused to take etion because, forsooth, he had ap- inted a new Minister of Labor hhad left the matter in the ster’s hands. The strike was led off in February, 1942, nearly o months after the Minister's ap- ointment, and without his having a finger to settle it or to mt discrimination against the trikers, LICY REQUESTED. When a Congress delegation met Government on February 27 it, three things were asked fo! 1) Adequate representation of on Government bodies, in- industrial council which proposed for the attainment ‘maximum war-production. _ (2) The establishment of a com- nsive Labor policy, under Pi + HUMPHREY MITCHELL MUST G IWA SUPPORTS DEEP-ROOTED DEMAND OF ALL LABOR FROM COAST TO COAST. i The Executive Council of the Canadian Congress of Labor has unanimously decided to demand the resignation of Minister of Labor Hon. Humphrey ‘Mitchell. The conclusion was arrived at only after a careful examination of his record had been made at a meeting of the Executive at Ottawa. An official communication from Congress headquarters states: r y Mitchell was appointed Minister of Labor on December 15, 1941, the following statement was issued by President Mosher: o hesitation in assuring Mr. Mitchell that he will have the full cooperation of the Canadian Congress of Labor in every effort which may be made ha consistent and progressive Labor policy for the Dominion, and wish him every success in carrying on the duties of the office he has assumed. ed labor will judge Mr. Mitchell by his performance as Minister of Labor, however, rather than by his past activities. No one knows better than he does ce of establishing and retaining the confidence of organized labor in the Department over which he, presides, and in the government as a whole. bargain collectively through the union of the workers’ choice would be fully protected by the provision of penalties for infringement of that right, and of machinery for the imposition of such penalties, and (3) The establishment of a wage- policy under which wages and working conditions would be deter- mined by negotiation between rep- resentatives of employers and or- ganized workers, subject to such control as might be necessary by industrial councils. Humphrey Mitchell ‘The Prime Minister expressed general approval of the proposals, particularly with respect to rep- resentation on Government bodies, and requested Mr. Mit- chell to take the necessary action. Over nine months have passed, and Mr. Mitchell has accomplish- ed nothing along these lines. ‘There have been lots of promises, but no performance. The keystone of a Labor policy, protection of the right to organize and bargain collectively has not been provided, and while the Min- ister fumbles around, company unions are being formed at a rapid rate, with the tacit approval of the Department. Proposals for the establishment of Labor-manage- ment production committees and industrial councils have been com- pletely ignored by Mr. Mitchell, in spite of their success in Great Bri- tain and the United States, PROVOCATIVE ATTITUDE. ‘The Minister has hishandled al- most everything he has touched. His attitude in the case of the shipbuilding workers in British Co- lumbia was provocative and dicta- torial; it showed either incapacity or unwillingness to pay attention to the proposals of the workers in- the right to organize and NEW “1 Saw The confessions of Soviet prisoner-of-war, Gefreiter Rudolf Diet- of the 5th Armored Divisio: ‘ist Committee. Articles especi W. NIELSEN, MP. - North Battleford, Sask YULD ST., Rm. 3 ADVANCE presents le to December. issue of New Advance from the Soviet Youth / “Newsstand 10e per Copy — Subscription $1.00 per Year Order a Bundle! volved. The wage-situation in the m Tortured” n of the German Army, by special ially written by HEWLETT JOHNSON ‘Dean of Canterbury shipyards of Eastern Canada is highly unsatisfactory, and is caus- ing serious unrest, but the Minis- ter, who is also Chairman of the National War Labor Board, has done nothing to remedy it. His administration of the wage- control legislation has been a source of continual irritation to the workers. Little or nothing has been done to raise obviously un- fair wage-levels, and protests. against the maladministration of the Regional Boards, particularly in the province of Quebec, have fallen on deaf ears. In the case of steel, which is clearly a basic national industry, the determina- tion of wages was left to the Regional Boards, and their deci- sions aroused such a violent pro- test that a stoppage of work had to be threatened in the effort to obtain redress. Only with the utmost difficulty was it possible to induce the Min- ister of Labor to appoint a Commis- sion to investigate the wage-struc- ture in the steel industry. J. C. Mc- Ruer, K.C., of Toronto, was ap- pointed counsel for the Commis- sion. ‘He has been browbeating the witnesses and acting more as a spokesman for the companies in- volved than as an impartial officer of the Commission. NO IMPROVEMENT. During the past nine months, there has been no improvement in the representation of labor on gov- ernment bodies. Labor has no rep- resentation on boards or commit- tees engaged in determining or ad- ministering price-control, produc- tion or selective service policies— no machinery whatever has been established whereby labor might have a voice in these matters. Worse still, the only independent body on which labor was represent- ed, Commission, has been abolished, and its duties have been trans- ferred to the employer. nominee on the Commission, although the workers contribute a large share of the fund administered, and are surely entitled to representation. The latest development is the resignation of Elliott M. Little as Director of National Selective Service. Mr. Little stated in his letter of resignation that Mr. Mit- chell was chiefly responsible for the virtual paralysis of the selec- tive service organization; he had found Mr. Mitchell’s actions in- consistent with his word, and his own efforts to make selective service work had been increas- ingly frustrated. Although the workers represented by both Congresses in Canada have shown that they had confidence in Mr. Little and no confidence in Hum- phrey Mitchell, our Congress re- gards the resignation of Mr. Little as simply one further indication of Mr. Mitchell’s failure as Min- ister of Labor. Mr. Mitchell is said to carry a union card; if so, it is just another bit of bravado; he has certainly jnot been a Labor man since he was elected to Parliament in 1931. On no occasion has he shown adequate administrative ability; over and over again he has irritated the workers and sown seeds of unrest among them. UNFITTED FOR OFFICE. A year’s record is enough to show how unfitted he is for the job of Labor Minister; actually, the re- lationships of Labor with employ- ers are worse now than when he took office, Labor has done its ut- most to co-operate with him and with the Government, in spite of TORONTO, CANADA / growing loss of confidence and al- the Unemployment Insurance! Congress and its affiliated unions have endeavored to keep up pro- duction, but Mr. Mitchell's antag- onistic attitude toward Labor, the interminable delays in dealing with urgent issues, for which he is re- sponsible, such as the steel situation, and his evident inability to protect Labor's interests, have been serious- ly detrimental to the war-effort, and the situation cannot be toler- ated any longer, ‘The fact 1s that the present Minister of Labor, the Honorable Humphrey Mitchell, has lost the confidence of the organized workers of Canada. Without that confiaence he can- not properly serve his country as Minister of Labor. While the government as a whole must accept responsibility for fail- ing, after repeated promises, to adopt an adequate labor policy, along lines proposed by both Con- gresses, the’caief burden must be placed upon the shoulders of the Minister of Labor, who might have been expected to show some respect for the rights of the workers from whose ranks he came. He has obstructed and frust- rated the progress of the labor movement, and caused widespread dissatsifaction. In the circumstances, there is only one thing to be done, and that is to demand his resignation as Minister of Labor, and the ap- pointment of a Minister who will be not only sympathetic toward Labor, but will be strong qnough to put through and administer a Labor policy which will be satis- factory to the workers and con- ducive to industrial harmony and full production. This is vital in the interests of an all-out war effort; it is essential to the promotion of national unity and the public welf: been given a°fair trial; he has been found wanting in the qualities which make a good minister of labor, and the workers of Canada from coast to coast should make their wishes with regard to him known to the Prime Minister at once, by letter or telegram. Many |unions have already taken action; ‘all should do so. It is evident that Mr. Mitchell’s usefulness as min- ister, if he ever had any, is past; he should be required to resign without delay. In the light of the above con- siderations, the Executive Council of the Congress, at its meeting in Ottawa on Nov. 21, carefully examined Mr. Mitchell’s record, and came to the unanimous con- clusion that his resignation should be demanded. The Trades and Labor Congress is advising its affiliates to follow this course, and all Congress unions should take action now. A SECOND FRONT NOW WiLL SPEED VICTORY! i | Meet Your Friends at MANITOBA HOTEL 44 West Cordova St. Outside Rooms — Elevator Serv- ice — Steam Heat — Reasonable Rates Centrally Located . Mr. Mitchell has; RECORD SERIAL NUMBER OF YOUR TIRES FOR SAFETY (THisistTHE SERIAL NUMBER | the serial numbers. are usually on ‘ONE SIDE only This is the size and may be located NOT anywhere between the serial the tread and the rim number GZ y QI A = — V7 NN Equal Pay For Women Won at Ford TORONTO—More than _. 13,000 autoworkers, members of Canada's largest union, Local 200 UAW- CIO, this week won a struggle for the principle of equal pay for equal work which is expected to have national significance. The settlement, which resulted in the Ford Motor Co. of Canada, agreeing to the principle of equal pay for women, ended a five-day ‘strike in which everyone walked out. While negotiations were in pro- gress, the Ontario War Labor {Board rejected the company’s ap- plication to employ women at 50 cents an hour. The strike began over the employment of 37 women, some of them on jobs formerly held by men. They were paid $75 month- ly, contrary to an order-in-council which provides that method of pay- ment shall not be changed and rates shall not be reduced. By the decision, the company and union agreed to arbitrate the cases of 37 women involved. Those found to be doing men’s work will be placed in other employment. Negotiations will also commence on revision of the existing agreement. PEEL IERERC NCI P PCRS RRR III To All Our Friends. A Happy Yuletide and may the New Year bring VICTORY! 301 West Hastings St. {most unparalleled provocation. Our PA. 0267 N. ‘hompson, Mgr. VENEERS, H H Hi a z a H ‘ | a AANAANARANAMMAMBAWMMANWM!