Socred Proposes Ban On Unions Just before his death, B.C. Federation of Labour President Jim Kinnaird received in the mail a plain envelope enclosing the fifth draft of a Bill prepared for Socred Technology Minister Pat McGeer. Section 3(1) of the Bill, to apply to “high- tech” industries, reads as follows: “Labour Code does not apply to certain employees 3.(1) The Lieuten- ant Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the trustees of the foundation, order that any employer who carries on a business of a type described in the Schedule is exempt from the provisions of the Labour Code, R.S.B.C. 1979, c. 212 and where the Lieutenant Governor in Council makes such an order, the Labour Code does not apply to that employer or any of his employees.” A lawyer specializing in representing Employers in labour disputes was asked by the Minister to review the Bill. One of his comments: “T have tried to anticipate some of the political problems which may be inherent in the proposed Bill. Generally, it is entirely predictable that the accusation will be made that the exclusions of the rights provided by the Labour Code is a denial of a fundamental right and that it constitutes “Right to Work” legislation.” A lawyer working for the Government had this to say about the Labour Code exemptions: : “The second part of the new Bill willbe to exempt certain industries from the provisions of the Labour Code thereby removing a concern that exists in the minds of these industries over the state of labour movement in the Province.” The Socreds apparently feel that, without banning unions, these “high tech” indus- tries might have to pay higher wages than their California competitors. Some Silicon Valley employers are under attack for their treatment of hourly production workers. Assembling the circuit boards or inspecting chips is a tedious dead-end job that has attracted thousands of Mexicans, Filipinos and Vietnamese immigrants. Many earn wages of less than $5 an hour, low by industry standards. REAL UNEMPLOYMENT HITS 2 MILLION. While official gov- emment figures last month put unemployment in Canada at 1.5 million Gust under 13%), the real number of unemployed was 2 milion, pointed out GVP Rygus in his special appeal later 4 locals. The increased number takes into account those who hav run out of Unemployment Insurance benefits. Lumber Worker/April, 1983/3