January 24, 1944 THE B.C. LUMBER WORKER Page Seven British Unions Meet On Production For The Offensive LONDON, Jan. 13. .ALN)—In preparation for the coming full-scale allied invasion of western Europe, the National Coun- cil of Engineering and Allied Trades Shop Stewards has called a nationwide production conference, to be held March 12. The conference, expected to be largest of its kind to be held in Britain during the war, will be attended by 2000 delegates _ representing over a million workers in war factories and ship- yards. The national council, originally formed in 1935 as a coordinating body for shop stewards in the aircraft industry, now represents stewards’ committees in over one thousand plants in the principal war industries. t Explaining the purpose of the conference in a circular to all affiliated committees, the national council says: “The coming second front demands a supreme effort by workers in our key industries—steel, shipbuilding, air-- eraft and munitions. Britain is now mittees, and heavier attacks are an advanced base of operations. We must be ready for a last fren- zied onslaught by Hitler. The task of the factory front will be to keep up maximum production under all circumstances. We will demon- strate to the men in the armed for- ces that their comrades in the fac- tories will meet all the needs of the fighting fronts.” In a statement to Allied Labor News, Ken White, secretary of the national council, said: “We see in the decisions of the historic Teh- eran conference fruition of the policies for which our council has Jong fought. Teheran is.a victory over reaction. Perspectives have opened up for gaining a decisive victory this year, paving the way for social advances by democratic forees the world over. We recog- nize the immensity of the task of carrying out the Teheran decisions, Terrific battles, involving heavy loss of life and materials, will be needed on the various fronts. “Britain will be a supply base in the immediate rear of the front line. We must face the possibility of conditions similar to those of Stalingrad, where production had to be maintained under all circum- stances and difficulties. We must achieve the speediest possible re- placement of materials, thus re- ducing the loss of life. Since the national council’s conference in Oct. 1941, great progress has been achieved in the production of war materials. Nevertheless, we still face certain obstacles to maximum production. Some employers, be- lieving the war to be nearly over, are launching a counter-offensive against the workers and their trade unions. There is increasing oppo- sition to the joint production com- When in town Register at the UNION HIRING HALL e 204 Holden Bldg. (16 East Hastings Street) being made on workers’ conditions. “These obstacles must be elim- inated,” White continued. “That will be one of the main tasks of our conference. In addition, we must discuss how to build up the trade union movement now and after the war. While undertaking the immediate job .of ensuring the speediest possible victory, the con- ference will discuss control of in- dustry after the war for the rehab- ilitation of Europe and Britain. In this respect, we especially welcome the forthcoming world labor con- ference called by the Trades Union Congress, which will immeasurably strengthen the cause of interna- tional unity.” The national council has held two previous conferences during the war, the first in April 1940, and the second in Oct. 1941, At the second conference; attended by 1,237 delegates from 300 of Britain’s largest factories, the main de- mands put forward were: establish- ment of joint production commit- tees in all plants; the removal from the government of Aircraft Pro- duction Minister Moore-Brabazon and War both described as “Munichmen”; and the opening of a second front in Western Europe. Withinx six months Mooré-Brabazon and Mar- gesson had been replaced, and uni- versal establishment of labor-man- agement committees had become the declared policy of the govern- ment, The council is now cam- Paigning for “100 percent trade unionism in every factory,” penal. ization of employers who evade the Essential Work Order, and govern- ment legislation to make recogni- tion of unions and shop stewards’ committees compulsory for all em- ployers, Hastings Steam Baths 764 EAST HASTINGS ST. Government Registered Masseurs In Attendance J. WEPSALA, Prop. Also Agent for ... Norwegian and Swedish American Steamship Lines High. 6240 ALWAYS OPEN JOHN STANTON Barrister, Solicitor, Notary 508 Holden Bldg. 16 East Hastings MAr, 6746 is more to a haircut than off the hair.... Try the Barbers for an up-to- haircut. UNION SHOP BROUGHT We carry a full line tionery. lines such as Arden, Rubinstein, 1 1 | 1 I i i H Ayre. i i i PORT ALBERNI Phone 717 Secretary Margesson,} Of Dollars and Cents, B The following are extracts from a speech on Safety delivered by Mr. A. Whiskers, Safety Advisor to the Provincial Depart- ment of Labor, to the recent Seventh Annual Convention of the LW.A. Safety is a matter of concern to both Labor and management and should receive the closest attention of every member of the LW.A. at this time. “We are engaged in a very dangerous occupation and there is no room in it for slackers. If the result of accidents could be confined to the man who causes them, we could do no better than leave things as they are. In the old days of survival of the fittest, the stragglers were weeded out early in the game, and logging was carried on by a group of men who had proved their ability by the mere fact of living through their apprentice- ship: Workmen’s Compensation was unheard of, and the hours of work of employees was a matter to be handled by the em- ployer. Wages were low, for the most part, and there was no genuine attempt made by Governments or labor groups to study market conditions or cost of production. Those days are gone, and I hope they never return. The present working standards© are based on a condition which is of indefinite duration. This means that high wages are not guaranteed and when peace returns the problem of costs must be faced. You might ask yourself Who's F ault Was This? where these points are connected with Accident Prevention. That is what I am-here to discuss. The average accident in the Jogging industry at the present time results in time loss of 55 days. In 1940, the average was 59 war The above picture shows a logger crushed between two logs. He died almost instantly. This accident could if someone had been MORE CAREFUL, LPOG 9099990999999 99 99999990999 090009 90090900000 CAMPBELL BROS. PORT ALBERNI DRY CLEANING WORKS have been avoided Custom Tailors DYEING and REPAIRING PORT ALBERNI 3rd Avenue Phone 716 “Your PRESCRIPTIONS ACCURATELY DISPENSED WHEN of all Drug Sundries, Office Supplies, Sta- Our Cosmetic Department represents all those- famous Our OPTICAL DEPARTMENT is in charge of a registered Optometrist at all times, You will find our staff willing to attend to your smallest wants at all times. MACDONALD PHARMACY ALBERNI Se 9090000000000 TO OUR DISPENSARY Vita Ray and Harriett Hubbard PORT ALBERNI 3rd Avenue ZEBALLOS Phone 402 655, Safety Measures Are a Matter. e Careful! ot days, so there is no use looking on these figures as was costs. Compensation is paid to injured workmen by the Workmen’s Com- pensation Board and the Board ob- tains its funds by assessing the Pay Rolls of employers on a per- centage basis. At present the fund for logging accidents is obtained by a twelve percent assessment on the logging pay rolls. Twelve dollars is paid to the Board for every one hundred dollars paid to the logger in wages. The em- ployee pays into the Medicai Fund of the Board at the rate of 2c per day, but this fund is not used for the payment of compensation to injured men. When pensions are granted by the Board, a certain sum of money is set aside, invest- ed, so that the returns from it will yield an amount equal to the amount of the pension. As interest rates on money are reduced, more money is required in setting up these pension funds. This leads to heavier assessments on the Pay Roll. Now in wartimes it is pos- sible to ignore certain costs and there is a real market for all the products of the forest. If Com- pensation costs -are increased, these can be added to the cost of the lumber and there is nothing for the buyer to do but pay the bill. As I said earlier, this is a period of war. In peace times, lumber is a-product which must fight for :|its market, and the buyer who is, in our case, the British market, has the choice of the European Products as well as that of British Columbia. This has always re- sulted in keen competition in past years, and I am not going to guess at what it means in the future. What if it again results in price SEE “BE CAREFUL”—PAGE 8 McGarrigle’s Meat Market CHOICE MEAT and PROVISIONS Our Motto: “QUALITY and SERVICE” e Cor. 3rd Ave. & Argyle St. Phone 708 PORT ALBERNI, B.C. $ESPOLS 9099000 0999900000000000000009000000000000G Comfort Shoe Stores “Alberni District Largest Shoe Dealer” HARVEY — PARIS — JOHNSON — THURSTON SLATER — RITCHIE — LECKIE ; « ALBERNI Johnson St., Phone 1056 2PFO90O999O9%099999 9000099909 00000000000000000009