B.C. LUMBER WORKER

“ROBBED”

A FRUIT and vegetable wholesaler, giving
evidence recently before the Royal Com-
mission on Price Spreads said, ‘‘The public has
to know about this. The public is being robbed.”

He was referring to the business practices of
the chain stores in marking up fruits and vege-
tables.

Consumer interests have corroborated this
evidence and pointed to the fact that they are
being forced to pay higher prices without justi-
fication.

The big business propaganda campaign con-
tinues to deluge the public with assertions that
the higher prices are caused by higher wages.

This campaign is, of course, intended to con-
ceal the price policies of Big Business.

While the Consumer Price Index hovers
around an all time high, the farmer’s share of
the food dollar grows less and less.

Investigators followed a particular batch of
cheese from the original shipment of milk to the
final purchase made by the housewife. The far-
mer received 28 cents for the milk required to
make one pound of cheese (unprocessed) from
this milk.

However, the processor charged 15 cents a
pound for adding water, salt, cooking, slicing
and packaging. The charge for slicing alone
was 10 cents a pound, or more than twice the
cost of making the cheddar cheese. The chain
store bought the sliced cheese for 47 cents and
sold it for 62 cents, a mark-up of 32 per cent.

On the average, the farmer’s share in a half-
pound package of cheese averages in Canada
about 37 per cent.

The facts emerging from the enquiry show:

(1) In most industries, wage costs are a
relatively small part of the selling price.

(2) Because of increased productivity, the
wage cost per unit of production has risen less
than other cost factors, and less than prices.

(3) Prices received by Canadian farmers
for their produce have been dropping while re-
tail food prices have continued to rise.

(4) Prices of many basic industrial prod-
ucts are not based on costs, or on supply and
demand, but are ‘‘administered’’ prices, set by
monopolies and price-fixing agreements among a
few large companies.

The main victims of the profiteering price
policies of the monopolies are the workers, who
see their living costs constantly running ahead
of their earnings, and the farmers, who are get-
ting less for their produce, while paying more
for the commodities they buy.

The assertion that higher wages inevitably
cause higher prices is completely contradicted
by the facts.

‘Now Hold Still—It's the Apple I'm Aiming At’

“AA
In manufacturing wages account for only | Rq@ce Bar

15 per cent of the total factory selling price. In
some industries the ratio is much lower.

A recent issue of

Business Week states,

“Productiviity is reducing unit labour costs,
and with companies doing a bigger volume of
business, is already boosting profits.’

U.K. Abandons
Compulsion

By KENNETH C. RATHBONE

LONDON (CPA)—The Conservative Government has
now abolished the Industrial Disputes Tribunal which was
introduced in 1940 by the late Ernest Bevin, a trade union
leader who became wartime Minister of Labor, and was later

Publication date of the next issue of the B.C, LUMBER WORKER
is November 30th. Deadline for ad copy is November 13th and for
news copy November 14th.

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2nd Vice-Presiden

Foreign Secretary in the post-war Labor Government.

Disputes could be referred to
the Tribunal by either party with
or without the agreement of the
other party, and a decision was
legally binding.

Employers Pleased

The employers have been ad-
vocating the abolition of this Tri-
bunal for some time because they
claimed it operated unfairly
against them. They pointed out
that if an employer disobeyed a
decision proceedings could easily
be taken against him, but it was
difficult, if not impossible, to take
proceedings against the hundreds
or thousands involved if workers
disobeyed it,

There still remains the volun-
tary arbitration through the In-
dustrial Court. Also, Ministers of
Labor will probably continue their
recently developed practice of set-
ting up special Courts of Inquiry,
as in the London bus strike, and
the recent unofficial strike at
London airport.

About half of Britain’s workers
will be affected by the decision
to abolish the Industrial Disputes
Tribunal —- the rest are covered
by statutory wage councils of
various kinds in industries where
organization is weak, and arbitra-
tion procedures and joint councils
which different industries have
developed.

Thirty thousand shareholders of
Dorman Long & Co, Ltd, have

received a letter from their chair-

man, Sir Ellis Hunter, urging
them to use all the influence they
are able to exercise in opposition
to the Labor Party policy of re-
nationalizing the steel industry.

Wrestlers’ Union Formed

Twenty-eight British wrestlers
have formed a trade union called
the Wrestlers’ Welfare Society.
On the committee are personali-
ties called Tiger Shark, Red Cal-
laghan, Roy La Rue and Chic
Elliott.

Their aim is to secure the in-
dependence of members against a
promoters’ syndicate which, it is
claimed, handles most of the fight
promotion in Britain. This syn-
dicate pays fees which members
of the union consider unfair, and
a “measly share” of what the pro-
moters earn from television shows
and other big fixtures,

There is talk of eventually af-

filiating to the Trades Union Con-
gress,

The teacher was questioning her
young class on their aspirations,

“George,” she asked one young-
ster, “What would you like to do
when you grow up?”

George thought for a moment,

“Well, first,” he said, “I'd like
to go to the moon.”

“And after that?”

“Well, after

Another pause.
answer, “I’d like

that,” was the
to travel,”

Hits Miner

SPRINGHILL (CPA) — A
miner saved from death in the
recent disaster here, has agreed
to be segregated when he and
18 fellow-workers go to Georgia
on an expense-free holiday at
the invitation of the state's
governor Marvin Griffin. The
governor offered the vacation to
the men, but said that Maurice
Ruddick, a mulatto, his wife and
12 children, would have to live
apart from the rest.

The other miners agreed to
abide by Ruddick’s decision.
will be the first time Ruddick has
known segregation, The miner
was quoted in the daily press as
saying “There is pressure in that
part of the world and I wouldn’t
want to cause any international
incident.”

It

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