WILLIAM KASHTAN’S LABOR COMMENT

Labor's answer fo automation
fight for shorter work week

Fr his presidential report to the

Canadian Brotherhood of
Railway Employees convention
last month, W. J. Smith raised
a point which is of considerable
importance to labor. Referring
to the trend towards automation,
he declared that the guaranteed
annual wage was not the com-
plete answer to the problems
it created.

“We must begin, to consider
seriously making a demand for
a four-day, 32-hour week and
organizing all the forces of labor,
in and out of the industry, for
such a demand,” he said.

The railway industry has been
particularly affected by auto-
mation and dieselization. Re-
placement of steam engines by
diesels has made _ possible
longer hauls and this in turn
has already forced the closing
down of some towns and sub-
division points.

It is posing a serious problem

for railway workers in larger
centres. There are rumors that
Fort Rouge, Stratford and other

large machine and repair shops
may either be closed down com-
pletely or their operations
seriously curtailed. There is
not a major industry in this
country in which workers do
not face the same problem.

xt xt xt

I have before me a copy of
the ,Guardian, United Auto
Workers” paper in the Windsor
area. President Charles Mac-
Donald of Ford Local 200 writes
how 1,500 Ford jobs have been
wiped out by a combination of
overtime and automation,
pointing out:

“Ford of Canada’s Windsor
plant is just completing its
heaviest production year
minus 1,500 who were laid off
before last year’s Local 200
strike. They were never re-
called whén production re-

OPEN FORUM

Nobel Prize winner

THOMAS BARDAL, Ruskin,
B.C.: I thought it might be of
interest to your readers to know
that this year’s winner of the
Nobel Prize for literature, the
eminent Icelandic author, Hall-
dor Kiljan Laxness, is first
and foremost a champion of the
oppressed. His works are an
expose of the rottenness, the
rapaciousness and hypocrisy of
capitalism.

Everything he writes carries
a message of what our’ society
does to people. His satirical
treatment of a pompous bureau-
cratic officialdom and unmask-
ing of the self-righteousness of
the capitalist class has earned
him the hatred of that class

and his friendship for . the
Soviet Union has_ intensified
that hatred.

In the early forties Laxness
visited the Soviet Union and
then wrote Gjerska Ovintigrid,
a clear and unbiased work on
socialist society.

He contributes to many pro-
gressive publications with his
powerful pen and he is a prom-
inent worker in the Icelandic
peace movement.

Laxness’ name has been placed
before the Nobel Committee on
previous occasions as that of one
of the most eminent writers of
our day, but for obvious reasons
his name has been shelved.

The fact that the Nobel Com-
mittee has been compelled to
acknowledge the place he has
won for himself in world liter-
ature will be hailed as a
triumph by progressive and

things for

peace-loving people the world
over and in Iceland in particular.
It is an indication, and a sig-
nificant one, that the fresh
breezes of the Geneva Con-
ference have pentrated one of
the strongholds of conserva-

* tism.

Thanks for publicity

RAY GARDNER, chairman,
British Columbia Peace Council,
Vancouver, B.C.: On behalf of
the British Columbia Peace
Council I wish to thank you and
particularly, Mr. Hal Griffin,
for the excellent advance pub-
licity you gave to our recent
exhibition of Mexican art.

Elect Effie Jones

J. B., Vancouver, B.C.: Hav-
ing had the pleasure of renew-
ing my sub to your wonderful
paper, I would like to point
out a few things to the civic
voters who will go to the polls

_December 14.

We homeowners have been
notified to expect the yearly
rise in our taxes again next
year. Well, we shall be’ pretty
much to blame for this if we
vote back into office the same
clique that has been running
the past several
years. :

Even the stand originally
taken by aldermen on the Sun-
day sports issue should be
enough to have them thrown out
by the voters.

Speaking from 20 years ex-
perience, I would say Effie
Jones is the No. 1 “must” can-
didate for the 1956 city council.

Te. QDEEDED 1S A WAY OF
Pea AL
[

Se WORKS ES

”

sumed last February — despite
the fact that 1955 saw record
overtime worked.”

The entire labor movement
must give closer study to the
problem as a whole and for-
mulate policies in relation to it,
something which the CCL con-
vention started to do. Nor
should it limit this study to
automation alone.

The fact is that in the guise of
“increasing productivity” and
in the name of progress, big
business in its drive for maxi-
mum profits has been system-
atically increasing the exploi-
tation of the workers and in the
process laying workers off.
While the “boom” has masked
this it is continuously going on.

t Eo x
Workers are not powerless in
face of this situation. One-way
they are striving to meet it is
through the demand for a
guaranteed annual wage which
should more properly be called
supplementary unemployment
insurance, paid for by the
companies. However, this side
of labor’s fight is designed to
meet the problem of temporary

or permanent layoff.

Where it falls short of course
is in the fact that it provides
no employment. It is this side
of the question which labor
must emphasize.

Automation and technological
development generally, increased
productivity and speedup, make
the fight for the 30, 32 or 35-
hour work week with no re-
duction in take home pay the
No. 1 task for all organized
labor. it constitutes an impor-
tant element in the fight for jobs
and expanding job opportunities.

It would be wrong to place
GAW or supplementary un-
employment insurance in op-
position to the fight to reduce
hours of work or vice versa.
Both are essential. Both need
to be won. Both can be won
by the united efforts of every
section of labor.

The time is ripe for the labor
movement to make this issue
a matter of intensive education
and wide public debate.

When the Canadian Labor
Congress is established next
April, it could well be one of
the first items of business the
trade union movement would
unitedly fight to achieve.

In the meantime every ounce
of energy needs to be thrown
behind the auto, railway, elec-
trical and every other group of
of workers who are either on
strike or in negotiations. Their
victories can be the fore-runners
of the bigger issues which need

to be fought for and won in -
it will require a .

1956. But

united labor movement to do it.

“E guess I don’t belong around here.”

‘EMIGRES PIN HOPES'ON WAR’

Polish premier-in- exile
returns to homeland —

Qn September 8, Hugon Hanke
premier of the so-called
Polish emigre government in
London, accepted the Polish
government’s offer to repatriate
exiles and return to Poland.

He was followed on October
4 by Dr. Adam Szczypiorski,
member of the former Political
Council, the Committee for
Control of the National Council
of the Council for WNationajl,
Unity and other emigre organi-
zations. Dr. Szcezpiorski stated
on his return to Poland with
his wife thgt he intended to
devote himself to _ scientific
work.

% be be

This is the statement Hugon
Hanke made to the press on his
return to Poland:

Sixteen years ago, because of
the September disaster (the
invasion of Poland by Hitler),.
I went abroad. As long as the
war continued, I served in the
Polish military formations in
France and in Britain.

After the war, as an emigre
in London I held different fun-
ctions. Among others, I have
been president of the ‘Polish
Christian Trade Union, and
vice-president of the Christian
Democratic party. From 1953
I was minister in the govern-
ment of General Odzierzynski.
Last July I was invited by
August Zaleski (president of
the republic according to the
Polish emigre government in
London) to accept the function
of prime minister. I accepted
this position at the beginning
of August.

I know well the life of our
emigres in the west. I felt
with sorrow, that by our own
fault we are cut off from our
own country, that with every
day passed, we are also more
and more isolated from the’
masses of emigres.

The affairs Berg, Win, and
the trial of Lewszecki (well-
known trials in. which several >
groups were tried for spying
for foreign powers), and several
other facts created a feeling

rve
that our activities do not sé

our country.

I began to see more ©
every day that emigre Pp pes
cians are tying all their he
to a third world wal: ens
didn’t want another “a destroy
which certainly would
Poland. :

The fact that th

dearly

e last Se)
uC.

s é
nce was §* ;
eva Confere leadership

severe shock for the :

of the emigres, showed 2 word
that, outside of a th! ird ‘pat
war, these leaders have @
ticular policy nor any
conception.

ales
The action to sen
emigres, initiated some osities
ago by the Polish auth
showed all Polish emigres: ut, BY
me personally, the way on
returning to our country:

I deluded myself cs om
result of a fiasco of id
ception of a third woOF
and due to the interest
this new repatriation of
awakened in great mé@
emigres, perhaps

able to convince UM 9 SUP”
government in Lon on ° ove”
port the repatriation
ment.

Last August, I abi Po
cial session of the © tri-
discuss the problem of * et ous
ation. In spite of the ‘dst, J
hesitation in their con i a
wasn’t able to obtain f t,
jority. Not stopping @ ae we g-
called another conferePt™ ups
ust 22, of all the pole igp0Z
which form the so-cave antici cipa”
zamkowy” with the par members
tion of. government ™ ced
This conference cone ws
once again how
ceasBore id the mate ° of
those present in the ™
repatriation.

5 J
: ces
Under those eieurdan .
decided to return to caer
land myself, in OF oy
an example to all Ba, ose
still hesitate . .

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — NOVEMBER 4, 1955 —

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