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The provincial government’s
latest attack on welfare recipients
S$ been condemned in’ all quar-
ters as being a totally unworkable,
redneck approach to the problems
of the poor and jobless. Human
Tésources minister Bill Vander
Zalm confirmed reports this week
at social assistance would be

denied to welfare recipients who .

failed to conform to what he called

“suitable” dress. and grooming
requirements.

Norm Levi, the former minister
of human resources in the NDP
government, said that Vander
Zalm’s dress code typified his
“redneck attitude toward welfare
recipients.’’ He said that instead of
concerning himself as to how
people dress, Vander Zalm should

VANDER ZALM EDICT TO JOBLESS:

provide some practical programs
to provide employment.

Vander Zalm’s new regulations
were seen by many as a further
smokescreen designed to leave the
impression that there are jobs
available in B.C., but that they
were going unfilled. February’s
unemployment figures show that
there were 108,000 jobless in
British Columbia.

Bruce Eriksen, president of the
Downtown Eastside Residents
Association labelled the new
regulations ‘‘totally ridiculous. All
of these statements that he’s
(Vander Zalm) been making are
being made to leave the impression
that there is work in this province
but people are too lazy to take it.
That simply is not true.

“They’re trying to divert at-

tention away from the fact that
there are not any jobs available.”

Ericksen said that it was the
height of hypocrisy for the Socreds
to go around “‘telling people to get
a job, while with the other hand
they’re laying off thousands of
people and putting them on the
unemployment rolls.”’

The Vancouver and District

See SOCRED, pg. 12

Story).

SKYWAY LUGGAGE

ne Major luggage manufacturing
si Pany forced its workers out on
= xe this week after years of
ae Wages scarcely higher than
minimum wage.
Uncmbers of the Upholsterers
Dicker Local 1 began setting up
‘ €t lines outside the Skyway
&8age plant in Vancouver

=) ednesday, preparing for what the

or movement expects will b
i nt expects will be a
meeey battle with the multi-
a corporation,
. Tike notice was served last
—VYember while the union sought

RODUGTS

Skyway may provide luggage for the jet set, but for these women workers at the company’s manufacturing
‘Plant in Vancouver, the name has meant wages of $2.75 an hour. They struck the operation Wednesday. (See

’ Portugal,

Wt

mediation in its stalemated
negotiations but the company
refused to alter substantially its
wage offer.

The work force of 95 is
predominantly women, most of
them new immigrants from
Bangladesh. or Hong
Kong, and Skyway has ,exploited
language barriers and lack of
familiarity with labor standards to
maintain wages at levels varying
from $2.75 an hour to $4.00. Few
qualify for the top rate, with most

Tabling of Congress
‘Gmendments sought

, COnt

table

M

Dee of the Vancouver and
eee Labor Council who will be
Sates to next month’s con-

S35
ition of the Canadian Labor

hgress have pledged themselves
Con: port a position calling for the
€ntious amendments proposed
SO Nae @ j a
Const ngress’ Committee on

ae Proposed amendments have
rough considerable fears
" Out the labor movement
demo adopted, they would restrict
~'Cracy and rank-and-file

itution and Structure to be.
d-to a Subsequent convention.

participation in the convention.
(See Labor Scene, March 19 issue. )

Fishermen's delegate Homer
Stevens gave voice to that concern,
emphasizing that, in his opinion,
the amendments ‘would go a long
way towards destroying the rank-
and-file democracy that has
existed in the CLC over the years.”

He suggested that tabling the
amendments would give unionists
time to consider the implications of
the proposed change.

“We need maximum unity in the
Congress,” he stated. ‘“‘This is no
time to reduce democracy.”

“LOCAL |

| ATARIUF

seal! |

—Sean Griffin photo

of the women earning between
$2.75 and $3.00 an hour.

Upholsterers’ business agent,
Penny Gronuk told the Tribune
that a major additional factor in
the low wages is the company’s
Seattle plant where the base rate is
worse yet — only $1.95 an hour.

Gronuk told delegates to the
Vancouver and District Labor
Council Tuesday night that the
Skyway workers were in for a
difficult struggle since the local
union was small and lacked strike
funds and the company has
already threatened to close the
plant permanently.

Canadian Labor Congress repre-
sentative Art Kube echoed her

-appeal for support, emphasizing

that most of the women at Skyway
“take home only $82 or $83 a week”’
while the company does not pay for
a single fringe benefit.

“Jt would be tragic,’’ he added,
‘Gf we let a corporation like
Skyway get away with wages and
conditions like this.”’

Delegates endorsed UFAWU
president Homer Stevens’ motion
calling fora donation of $100 — the
largest amount permitted without
prior notice of motion — to be given
to the local union and asking that
the council secretary send out an

‘appeal to affiliated unions.

The B.C. Federation of Labor
was also asked to provide ad-

‘ditional assistance.

Unions in Quebec
fight repression

Quebec’s common front of
175,000 public service workers
planned a second 24-hour walkout
this week in face of growing
threats by the provincial govern-
ment to take legislative action
against the workers who have been
demanding a _ speedup in
negotiations for a new contract.

Public service workers have

_.been negotiating with the govern- _

ment for the past 10 months with
very little result. This week the
Quebec government again stalled
when it withdrew its negotiators
from the central bargaining table.

Montreal teachers were carrying
out unlit torch demonstrations this
week to symbolize the “‘light which
has been put out for education in
Quebec”’ by the government’s
tough line on negotiations with
teachers.

Last Monday more than 120,000
public service workers walkedd off
the job for a 24-hour period. The
walkout was called by the common
front of Quebec: workers which
includes the Quebec Federation of
Labor, the Confederation of
National Trade Unions and the
Quebec Teachers Corporation.

The April 5 province-wide one
day strike shut down most schools
in the province as teachers walked
out. It also closed most hospitals,
except for essential services, when
hospital workers joined the strike.
The Monday strike was the 10th
major work stoppage since

January when the common front
began its campaign to press the
provincial government to speed up
negotiations for a new contract.

On March 22 more than 100,000
Quebec workers walked off the job
in schools, hospitals and social
services. centres in support of the
Canadian Labor Congress march
on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. On
that day about 10,000 Quebec union
members joined the demonstration
in front of the parliament buildings
in support of the CLC’s fight

against. the federal government’s

wage guidelines.

Recently about 500 English and
French Catholic teachers
demonstrated in front of the
Protestant. school board office to
support Protestant teachers and
protest the board’s repressive
tactics against them.. The police
riot squad which was called out by
the school board, brutally clubbed
the teachers, injuring 10 of them.
The incident has further inflamed
the labor movement in Quebec.

The second major 24-hour
walkout planned for this week
came as Premier Robert Bourassa
hinted in Quebec City that
legislative action is being prepared
against teachers and _ public
workers. The-Quebec cabinet met
Tuesday amid reports that op-
pressive measures against the
unions were considered.

Montreal teachers association
president Don Peacock said that
“with solid support the govern-
ment can’t continue to ignore our
demands”’ and called on English,
French, Catholic and Protestant
teachers as well as parents and
students to join this week’s
walkouts planned by the union.

Montreal police are shown beating up teachers who demonstrated

recently in front of the Protestant School Board offices. Ten teachers
were injured by the club-swinging police riot squad.

‘=