B.C. LUMBER WORKER

i yin do > oF

mite

NEWS DIGEST
‘Items of Interest To
Labor In Capsule Form

New UIC Amendments

OTTAWA — Introducing amendments to the Unemployment
Insurance Act, Labor Minister Gregg announced that $210 million
heen paid out of the U.I. Fund in the first 11 months of the
1954-55 fiseal year. The Fund stood at $869 million on February
_ 28. Amendments to the U.I. Act include: contributions from 16 to
60 cents a week; two new insurance classes with a top class earning
_ $57 a week or more; changes in benefit rates to $23 a week single
and $30 married; benefit maximum and minimum to be 15 and 30
weeks; supplementary benefits to be called “seasonal”, payable for
maximum of 15 weeks.

: Israel Living Space

: MONTREAL—A prediction that Israel would never be able to

find living space for more than about 20 percent of the world’s

Jewish population was made by Dr. E. Scherer of New York who
was attending the third World Conference of the International
Jewish Labor Bund here. Dr. Scherer, a member of the wartime
Polish ggvernment in exile, said that at present some 90 percent of
the world’s Jews were outside Israel and it was doubtful if more
than 500,000 of them wished to establish homes in the new Jewish
state.

Union Faces Discrimination Charge

NEW YORK—Local 1345 of the Teamsters’ Union has been
ordered to face a charge of discriminating against Negroes in hir-
ing procedures. It is the first time in the history of the New York
State Commission Against Discrimination that a union group has
been charged with discriminating.

British Election Issues

MONTREAL—British Labor leader Clement Attlee told a press
conference here that the May 26 British election would be fought
on the issues of Labor’s “fair shares for all” policy versus the
private enterprise policies of the present Conservative government.
Mr. Attlee said that his party “hope” to win the contest.

Grade Crossing Improvements Hit

OTTAWA—Government proposals to increase annual spending
fo $5 million on railway grade crossing improvements were described
by opposition members as inadequate both because it would not
proyide needed employment and because municipalities could not
afford to pay their designated share of such projects.

Mosher Backs GAW

CLEVELAND—The power to control the right of a man to
work should not be in the hands of a small group of coupon clip-
pers, CCL President Mosher told the annual convention of the
United Auto Workers. Mr. Mosher, giving strong support to the
UAW’s objective of the guaranteed ‘annual wage, said that the

purpose of industry was “the meeting of human needs, and it has
no other justification.”

GAW Plan Sound

OTTAWA—The guaranteed annual wage has to come “just as
surely as night follows day”, Stanley Knowles (CCF Winnipeg
North Centre) stated in Parliament. Knowles said that the worker

i had just as much right to year-round maintenance as had equip-
ment. Whether the GAW should be “enmeshed” with unemploy-

" ment insurance was debatable, he said, but the proposal was philo-
sophically and socially sound and justified.

Canadian NATO Costs.

OTTAWA — Training of NATO personnel has cost Canada
_ $271,696,000, Stanley Knowles was told in Parliament. A total of
5,510 students had been trained.

OFL PAC Backed

Moscow Invitation Refused

__OTTAWA—Canada’s three labor congresses turned down invi-
to celebrate May Day in Moscow. An invitation from the
Central Council of Trade Unions was not accepted by the
CCL or CCCL.

Publication date of the next issue of the B.C, LUMBER WORKER

Mey 19th. Deadline for od copy is May 12th and for news copy
13th,

seavat. 5 capt OF QUAIQUER SUETEA DE
Sracanae 9a 8

‘suprno,
* Sernce oir

teary

» PETROLEGM

DULLER

PRESS

“Jiyuroren Shuho” probably conveys very little to the average trade unionist — unless
he happens to be Japanese, in which case it means a very great deal; for him it represents
a link with millions of other workers like himself organized in the free trade union move-

ment of the whole world.
a8 lated into English “Jiyuro:
en Shuho” simply means “ICI.

U Weekly In point of fact if
is the title of the newspaper which
the ICFTU Tokyo Office has

been producing regularly for near-
ly two years and distributing tc
trade union branches throughout
the country.

Powerful Weapon

Carrying news as it does of all
important developments in the
policy and activities of the ICFTU,
its affiliated organizations and the
international trade secretariats, it
has proved to be a powerful wea-
pon in the campaign to bring the
Japanese trade unions into ever
closer contact with the free labor
movements of other countries
through. the medium of the
ICFTU.

‘The ‘ICFTU Weekly” in Jap-
anese is only one of a number of
regular regional publications whick
the Confederation has built up
over the last few years. In some
cases they are bringing the mes-
sage of free trade unionism for the
first time to the workers of the
region concerned. The “West
African Worker”, for instance,
published by the ICFTU West
African Information & Advisory
Center in Accra, is the first and
only printed publication serving
the interests of trade unioni:
throughout the whole of English-
speaking West Africa.

Few Bulletins

Until it appeared in Match 1953
the only trade union publications
in the whole of that region had
been a few mimeographed bul-
letins appearing sporadically and
with a very limited circulation.
Apart from bringing news of the
ICFTU and of trade union acti-
vities in other Continents, the
“West African Worker” has now
established itself as the principal,
and in many cases the only, source
of information on trade union life

‘on:

Cameroons, had no direct informa-
tion of how their fellow workers

in the Gold Coast were solving
similar problems.

UW

BANKING BY MAIL .

The safe way to save
your money is to put it
in a bank. You can do
this best through any
of the branches of the
Canadian Bank of
Commerce -in British
Columbia. Get some
Banking by Mail forms
before you leave town,
or write for a supply to
your nearest branch of
the Commerce.

BANKING | BY MAIL is convenient, easy tn do.
See for yourself—today.

THE “a. BANK —
~OFCOMMERCE

$0 Branches In British Columbia