me munity of natigns.

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Perspectives for

By JACK PHILLIPS

Itis asign of changing times that
the Canadian trade union
movement will be more involved in
May Day meetings, marches and
demonstrations in a number of
Canadian cities this year.

For nearly 30 years, the bulk of
the trade union movement turned
its back on the traditions of May
Day. This rejection flowed from
the false concept that May Day
was exclusively a Communist day
of protest. One of the finest
traditions of the international
working class movement, which
originated in North America,
became a casualty of the cold war.

May Day originated in the
‘United States in 1886 around trade
union struggles for the eight-hour
day and was endorsed by the
founding congress of the second,
Socialist International, in Paris in
1889, as an international day of
solidarity for working people.

Big business in the United States
-and Canada, in collusion with the
top leadership of the trade union
movement, established Labor Day
as a public holiday. The aim was to
separate the North American
workers from the international
traditions of May Day, to further
the idea of togetherness between
the capitalists and the workers, in
place of struggle around the vital

_needs of the working people and for
peace and social progress.

In 1975, the May Day meeting in
Vancouver was marked by a sense
of elation because of the victory of
the people of Vietnam over
American imperialism. Many

people and many organizations in
Canada had publicly demanded the
withdrawal of American troops.

_ Therefore, and in a real sense, the
_ victory in Vietnam was a victory

for the Canadian people, one that
inevitably accelerated the
movement for Canadian in-
dependence from U.S. domination.
This year, another great victory
can be marked: the defeat of
foreign intervention in Angola.
May Day has always been a day
for summing up victories and

_ defeats, a day of struggle and a day
_ of rededication. This year will be
- Mo exception.

May Day 1976 will be joyously
celebrated by the people of the
Soviet Union and the other
members of the socialist com-
In thgse
countries, there is a shortage of ©
workers, and not jobs as -in

_ Canada. Prices are stable or going

down. Real wages are constantly
~e. Rents are very low and

_ May Day back
_ in Haymarket

CHICAGO — Ninety years ago on
in Chicago thousands
paraded in Haymarket Square for
the eight-hour day. This May 1, in
the same spot, a Labor Bicen-
tennial Rally will be held to

demand a six-hour day, full em-

ployment and jobs for all.

Sponsored by a committee of
prominent trade unionists called

_ the Haymarket Commemoration

Committee, said in a recent
statement: ‘‘The 1886 heroes who
gave their lives to win the shorter
work week are the historic links to
our present-day struggles to win
full employment for the over 10

million jobless who refuse to ac-

cept unemployment and hunger on

this 200th birthday of our country.”
A button issued for the rally
_ reads “6 in 76” — intended to point
_ up labor's demand for the shorter
work day.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—APRIL 30, 1976—Page 8

social security benefits are in-
creasing. Whereas the cost to the
Canadian people for public ser-
vices, like transportation and
hospital care, are being increased
through government fiscal
policies, that is not the case in the
socialist countries.

In Vancouver, which is basically
no different than any other
metropolitan city in Canada, day
care centres for children are
practically non-existent at prices
working people can afford. In the
German Democratic Republic, on
the other hand, the socialist
government has established a vast

network of state-run centres and‘

homes to care for infants ‘and
young children while their mothers
are at work or attend study
courses. Children between three

and six years of age are looked . |

after in kindergartens if their
, parents so wish. Regular medical
care and well-trained staff assure
the best of care for the children.

- Parents pay only a nominal portion “f

of the total cost.

In Canada, we have been told by
prime minister Trudeau that we
have to lower our expectations. In
the socialist countries, the working
people are constantly raising their
expectations, with the full en-
couragement of their govern-
ments, and they are not being
disappointed. The more diligently
the people work under socialism,
the more they get for their labor
and the richer the quality of life.
Under capitalism, the more effort
the workers put into their jobs, the
more profit they make for the big
monopolies and the greater the
likelihood that those profits will be
used to displace workers.

In a desperate effort to maintain
profits at their boom-time level,
the big monopolies which dominate
the Canadian economy prevailed
upon the Trudeau government to
impose wage controls.

Between 1971 and 1974, corporate
profits in Canada were rising more
than twice as fast as the national
income. Wages, salaries and
supplementary labor income rose
by 47.8 per cent and corporation
profits by 110.3 per cent.

It should be noted that wages,
salaries and supplementary labor
income includes salaries and
benefits to corporate executives.
For example, Denis W. Timmis,
dismissed on March 26 as president
and chief executive officer for
MacMillan-Bloedel Ltd., was paid
$220,833 in 1975 and $166,667 in 1974.
Now 56 years of age, he stands to
collect almost $1.2 million in
pension benefits. This figure is
based on a yearly pension of
$62;598. It has also been reported
that J. V. Clyne, former Mac-
Millan-Bloedel chairman and chief

executive officer, who is still a

director, receives a yearly pension
of $90,000 and drew a $25,000 bonus
in 1974 as well.

Robert Bonner, who left the
company in 1974, received a
chairman’s salary of $120,454 in
1973. While he was president his
salary was $96,667 a year. These

, are_but a few examples of the

overly-generous salaries and
pensions paid to corporation
executives across the country.
These executives strongly favor
wage controls — for the ordinary
worker.

While corporation profits more
than doubled between 1970 and
1974, most organized workers were
locked into two- or three-year
collective agreements and _ two-

thirds of the work force were

unorganized. By the end of 1973,
the average Canadian worker was
losing $5.50 a week in real pur-
chasing power as compared with a
year earlier. People on fixed in-
comes and small businesses were
also hard hit in this period of

This

rapidly increasing prices.
should explain why Pierre Trudeau
campaigned vigorously against
wage controls in 1974.

However, by early 1975, wages
and salaries were rising faster”

than corporate profits. The
organized workers were in a very

‘militant mood and some big gains

were recorded. This upsurge
coincided with the deepening world
crisis of capitalism, International
trade.competition sharpened and
the monopolies did not have the
same scope in passing on wage
increases by boosting prices.
Profits began to go down. In 1975,
wages, salaries and_ sup-
plementary labor income. in-
creased by 11.7 per cent as com-
pared with 1974, but corporation
profits, while still high in dollars,
declined by 7.3 per cent.

When the Trudeau wage control
program was announced in mid-
October, 500,000 workers were
scheduled to go into negotiations
for new contracts by December 31.
Anadditional million workers were
scheduled to renew their
agreements in 1976. .Thus, the
timing of the wage control
program was not accidental. ~

The token reduction of Mac-
Millan-Bloedel executive salaries
because of the company’s losses in
its maritime operations (due to
bad planning), will mean no real
hardship to these tycoons. But the
wage control program and the
fiscal ‘policies of the federal and
provincial governments will mean
hardship for millions of people.

The relationship between
government fiscal policies and the

‘current economic crisis is obvious

in British Columbia. The sales tax
has gone up 40-per cent, auto in-
surance premiums have been

_ drastically increased and hospital

insurance premiums have been

labor in 1976

boosted. At the same time,
taxation on resource industries has
been greatly reduced, in order to
assist the monopolies to improve
their profit picture.

It is in this setting that leader-
ship of the Canadian Labor
Congress is carrying on a vigorous
campaign against the -Trudeau
wage. control program. The
campaign has brought the trade
union movement into open conflict
with every provincial government,
Liberal, Conservative and NDP
because those governments are co-
operating with the Trudeau
government, against the interests
of working people.

President Joe Morris has made it
clear in a public statement that the
Canadian Labor Congress, because
of the position adopted by the
provincial NDP governments, will
have to take a more independent

political position in relation to all -

provincial governments. That
statement should be welcomed by
the labor movement.

In this province, right- -wing
leaders of the trade union
movement and the NDP are trying
to hold back the mass struggle

_ legislation and the so-called Anti

_monopolies in command of the |

against the wage control progra
a program endorsed by the ND
government in Victoria before
went down to defeat last Decem:
ber. After preaching for near
three years that all criticism of t
NDP government’s shortcomings |
should be suppressed, the righ!
wingers are now preaching that
Barrett government went too far,
too fast. In their efforts to furthi
this line and facilitate the
election of the NDP on the basis
right-wing policies, they have bee
campaigning for the defeat of th
top officers of B.C. Federation
Labor. These top officers, despi
some inconsistencies, tried t
maintain an independent approa:
to the Barrett government. Toda
they stand unalterably opposed
the Trudeau wage controls.
Because of a number of facto:
peculiar to B.C., active oppositio!
to the Trudeau wage controls ha!
developed more slowly than
other provinces. But the pressure
is building and we can expect t
lid to blow before too long. Th
fight against the wage contro

Inflation Board, and the resistance
to provincial government policies,
should be given priority in the |
trade union movement and should
serve as a basis for unity.
No union which is prepared
resist rulings of the AIB should b
left to fight alone. Every e!
couragement should be given to the
rising demand for a Canada-wide | !
work stoppage to protest the wage 4
control program. :
To be successful in the fight
against wage controls, in the |
ultimate sense, the economic fight |
must be linked with a political |
perspective that will curb the} |
powers of the monopolies. To |
compel the Trudeau government to |
withdraw the wage control}
program would be a great victory, |
but it would still leave the}

economy and the working people |
would still be the victims of 4 |
crisis-ridden economy. At. best, |

they would have more scope to |

fight against the effects of th
crisis and to win partial con |
cessions. a
The 3-point program of the ;
Communist Party of Canada and
the 10-point program of th
Canadian Labor Congress togethe:
constitute a sound basis for in
dependent political action by the
labor and democratic movement

Karl Marx said: \
“Workers of the world unite —
You have nothing to lose but
your chains — and a world to
win

*
MAY DAY GREETINGS
from

THE PADGHAM 3
-POPKUM

BEST WISHES
to the Labor Movement

2 itty bailar Nat NR ela

on
MAY DAY, 1976
White Rock Club, CPC

AS Oe aA NEN NAR NER

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