By WILLIAM KASHTAN

_ It is rather surprising that the trade union movements has not
reacted more vigorously against the basic recommendations of the
Royal Commission on Unemployment Insurance.

These basic recommendations constitute a step backward not
forward in a field of legislation which is so important to the working
class of our country.

True enough they are somewhat sugared up by the’ recommend-
ation that coverage be extended to a wider range of workers and
that benefits be slightly increased. But their basic direction corres-
ponds with what monoply has been pressing for, for quite some
time—an “actuarially sound’ insurance scheme, while ignoring
almost completely what the labor movement has been urging, a

much improved unemployment insurance fund.
* * *

This demand for an “actuarially sound” insurance scheme is at
the heart of all the recommendations of the Gill Commission. It stems
from their approach that the fund should only serve those who are
either fractionally unemployed, or unemployed
for a short period of time, that ail other cate-
gories of unemployed after the 26-week period
receive benefits out of a government-financed
plan for an additional 39 weeks if necessary,
subject to “certain conditions’, which are not
spelled out, and if unemployed beyond that
period, be covered’ by an assistance plan on
a means test basis.

4 ; No wonder the capitalist press and monopoly
s ; generally welcomes this principle. It should go
a long way towards building up the unemployment insurance fund.

But its value will be negated. Instead of unemployment insurance
being a right of all workers for the full period of unemployment it
will be restricted and narrowed down insofar as the working class
is concerned, and employer responsibility for unemployment like-
wise restricted for a stated period of time.

* cS *

This “principle’”’ finds its reflection in other recommendations.
Seasonal workers with a record of repetitive seasonal unemployment
will not be covered by the insurance fund.

What is considered “‘repetitive’’ seasonal unemployment? The
construction industry? The auto industry? The needle trades in-
dustry? other industries that do not operate around the year?

These industries constitute a substantial section of the working
force and how will they be protected from seasonal unemployment?

The same ‘principle’ will affect married women who are not
the sole support of a household. They, according to the recommend-
ations, will be excluded from the 39-week extension. This ‘‘principle’”’
is also applied to married women with children under school age,
except that it goes even further by proposing that they be completely
excluded from any section of the act unless they can prove that
their children are properly attended to.

In view of the fact that married women now constitute a rather
important permanent and growing section of the labor force, in
view also of the fact that they have to work to help maintain a
household, this recommendation is nothing -short of criminal and
coldblooded.

What the Gill Commission ought to have recommended is that
governments assume the responsibility for establishing day care and
other centres for the proper supervision of children whose mothers
are compelled to work. But this, of course, would go against the
grain of their ‘‘principles.”’

Young people under 18, according to the recommendations, are
excluded from the act entirely.

What is the basis of this discrimination? Shouldn’t every young
‘person of school leaving age who works be under the jurisdiction of
the Unemployment Insurance Fund?

Pensioners are to be discriminated against. Workers idled by
strikes, as in the construction industry, are not to be eligible for
unemployment insurance. And supplementary incomes are to be
reduced to one quarter of benefits paid.

How will this affect supplementary unemployment insurance plans
such as in aufo and other industries?

* * *

The Gill Commission labored long but it came up with a ‘‘Bank-
ers’ Report,’’ not at all in keeping with what is needed to protect
the working class against unemployment.

Inherent in the recommendations is the continuing drive by
monopoly against the working class. These recommendations are
calculated to make the working class more pliable to pressures on
its living standards.

These are not the kind of recommendations that the trade union
movement can welcome in any way shape or form. As the Gill
Commission said, it needs to be accepted in its entirety, and in
throwing a few sops forward, it hopes all the negative, retrograde
recommendations will likewise be adopted.

The trade union movement should work for the defeat of the
recommendations and press for a genuine unemployment insurance
scheme based on the concept of social security instead of the bankers’,
and insurance companies’ harmful concept of ‘an actuarially sound’”’
insurance scheme.

ANNUAL SLAV CONCERT

_ Featuring Music, Songs &
Colorful Dances of the Slavic Nations

Queen Elizabeth Theatre
SUNDAY, JAN. 20 - 8 P.M.

Invitations — $1.00 — Available at:
PEOPLE’S CO-OP BOOKSTORE— MU 5-5836
AUUC HALL — MU 4-9720
RUSSIAN PEOPLE’S HOME — 600 Campbell Ave.

-Jan. 11, 1963—PACIFIC_TRIBUNE—Page 2 _

Mayor Rathie plays politics as
homeowners face tax increases

By WILLIAM E. STEWART

Mayor Rathie, since his elec-
tion last December, has received
better mileage out of the local
press than a visiting Queen. His
fist has been waving steadily in

column for column he has had
more to. say about provinciak
politics since his election, than
the Premier of B.C.

While there ig nothing Mayor
Rathie has said that the labor
movement has not said before,
and much more adequately, it is
nonetheless to be welcomed that
the Mayor of Vancouver is de-
manding a better deal from Vic-
toria.

We suggest however, that
Mayor Rathie could relieve many
Vancouver residents from a nag-
ging suspicion that he is play-
ing politics, by broadening the
swing of his axe to include pro-
posals for Federal government
assistance for municipal financ-
ing.

Most education authorities are
agreed that mounting education
costs are at the root of muni-
cipal financing difficulties and

that Federal assumption of the
ful costs of elementary education
is both a legitimate demand and
solution to this mounting problem.

Since 40 per cent of the Van-
couver tax dollar goes to school

costs it would appear to be some-
what more than an oversight

on the part of the Mayor that he-

directs his entire attention on
Victoria, and both in his election
campaign and his post election

the direction of Victoria and :Statements ignores the, responsi-

“bility of the Federal government.

This is an even more unlikely
oversight when we remind our-
selves that over the last 30 years
the Federal government’s share of
total public revenue has risen
from 40.5 per cent to almost 75
per cent while the provincial
share hag dropped from 20.2 per
cent to approximately 15.5 per
cent’ and the municipal share
from 39.3 per cent to 9.5 per
cent. e

HOMEOWNER GRANT _

Also strangely enough Mayor
Rathie seems to have chosen to
fight Bennett on an issue on which
his ground ig far from firm—the
proposed $100 Homeowner Grant.

As this writer has pointed out
in previous articles the average
homeowner would receive a $14
tax increase, a $50 additional
Homeowner Grant from the Pro-
vincial government, and the city
would wind up with exactly the
Same revenue as last year’s tax
rolls yielded. This would mean
a real tax cut of $36 for every
Vancouver homeowner.

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Here is what would happen. The
added $50 homeowner grant would
cost the Province $3,530,378. That
amount would be deducted from
the cost of taxes payed by city
homeowners. At the same time
an additional amount of $252,-
000 would be paid the city as
taxes on Provincial property. This
means a total cost to the provin-
cial government of $3,782,378.

The provincial gvernment
would not pay the city its per-
capita grant which amounts to
$2,620,000.

The increased provincial expen-
diture would total $3,782,378.

This would mean an increased
revenue to the city of Vancouver
of $1,162,378. Since however this
would not go directly into the
city coffers but $3% million of
it would be credited directly to
residential property it would be
necessary for the city to raise its
general purpose mill rate by
3.975 mills therefore, and at the
same time cut its school mill rate
by .103 mills to recover the $2,-
620,000 loss from the per-capita —
grant cut. :

This as was said earlier would:
result in an average tax increase
this year of $14 and leave Mr.
and Mrs. homeowner $36 to the
good from the Homeowner Grant.

Why, then, are Mayor Rathie
and the local papers yelling so
hard since they pontificate loud-
ly about the need for a tax de-
crease for the homeowner.

Because it would shift the tax —
load onto downtown business, in-
dustry and real estate.

This section of the community
get no direct benefit from the
Homeowner Grant .but shares
equally in the increased mill rate
resulting from the removal of
per-capita grants.

This is not to present Bennett’
as a champion of the poor over-
taxed homeowner but merely to
illustrate the real motive for ‘the
attack on the homeowner grant. —

The Non-Partisan Association, —
a collection of Liberals and
Tories, inend to use their influ-
ence at City Hall to mount an ©
increasingly sharp attack on
Bennett and pave the way—they
hope—for a Liberal-Tory resurg-
ence at the next provincial
elections. {

In these circumstances it be- —
hooves labor, the real custodian
of policies serving the interests ©

of the entire Vancouver commun- —

ity, to speak out loud and clear —
and ensure that the legitimate
strivings of the people of Van-
couver for a fair deal from Vic-
toria are not used by the old line
politicians as a harp with which ~
to strum their way back into ~
office in Victoria.

ANNOUNCEMENT

In the PT sub drive last
November we warned that if —
the drive objective was not
reached some cutbacks would
be necessary in the New Year.

In the interests of economy,
the Editorial Board now finds
it necessary to announce that
Harold Pritchett, circulation
manager during 1962, who
worked half time for the
paper, has been released.

Jerry Shack, in addition to
helping on the editorial work
of the paper, will be circula-
tion manager.

The Editorial Board wishes
to extend on behalf of our
readers many thanks to Harold
Pritchett for his contribution
to the paper during the past
year. \ :

: ye