gg 6 cn ee OR RCT > FLASHBACKS FROM THE COMMUNIST PRESS 50 years ago... 2,500 JOBLESS REPORTED WITH FEW VACANCIES TORONTO — while the num- ber of applications for work were Mcreased last week, little change Was noticeable in employment to Officials of the Employment Ser- vice of Canada this morning. With the exception of casual work in the city, few vacancies have disclosed themselves. It is estim- ated that approximately 2,500 men’ are in the ranks of the un- employed at the present time. : Applications for work received sy the bureau during the past eae totalled 1,225, compared men 1,016 the previous week. Less ms N were placed during the five orking days of last week, com- Pared with the corresponding Period Dec. 26 to 30, there being ee bated with 292. Sixty-five 76 t, sent to farm work, against € preceding week, while only 25 years ago... SINGAPORE WORKERS BOYCOTT CANADIAN SHIP As the Tribune went to press the news was received that the Singapore Federation of Trade Unions has declared a harbor boycott of all harbor workers against the Canadian ship Ocean- side which is bound for China with a cargo of arms and ammu- nitions for the Chiang Kai-shek regime. The boycott of the Ocean- side is the second by harbor workers, who had refused to un- load the Canadian ammunition ship Cliffside. \ At Hong Kong, the Cliffside re- ceived a “hostile” reception from longshoremen. It sailed from Montreal only after strong pro- tests from the Canadian labor movement and action by mem- No pension delay More than 81% of Canada’s nearly two million old age pensioners are de- pendent on the pension for their very existence—having no other income—or so little it doesn’t count. They are entitled, therefore, to the carefully doled-out government supple- ment to the basic $82.88 for a single person, or $148.91 for a couple. Mare Lalonde, the new minister of health and welfare has assured Parlia- ment “that a substantial old age pen- sion increase will be announced soon.” He said it would “not be a mere token increase.” How dependable is the government’s view of what is “substantial” we may soon know, if the minister does not decide to delay until after his meeting with his provincial counterparts in April. The pensioners’ needs exist right now. It would be unconscionable to de- lay. And it would be less than generous to accept the timid request of the NDP’s David Lewis for a $150-a-month -pension (which is the present maxi- mum) along with a cost of living clause. The long-retained caste system in Canada, wherein increases to those near the poverty line (working poor, pen- sioners, welfare recipients, etc.) has effectively locked them into their dis- advantaged position long enough. Our statistics-'and profit-oriented so- ciety needs the humanizing influence of millions of Canadians to make it a people-oriented society. Mass actions outside parliament are paramount to successful reforms by this particularly sensitive 29th Parlia- ment. Basic old age pensions of $200 a month to the individual, would help lift the siege, help pensioners to rejoin the mainstream of Canadian life. It is a reasonable and realistic demand, and forms the base of the pensions policy out good cause” to accept “suitable em- ployment”... This is a plan to deliver cheap labor to the sweatshops—and to encourage more sweatshops. Why should a cheap- skate employer pay above the miserly minimum ‘wage when he can count on Ottawa to herd destitute workers into his “suitable” employment. _ Who is going to decide for us what is “just cause” or “suitable employ- ae or “misconduct”,.for that mat- er? Yet another sinister prospect is being talked up in reactionary circles, as re- vealed by the Toronto Globe and Mail. Andras has not gone far enough for the big guns behind the Globe. In their view, unemployment insurance should be changed from a right of every em- ployed person, into a welfare scheme granted by means test. A worker earning $15,000 “should have no right” says the Globe, insert- ing the thin edge of the wedge. What will be its next plateau — $10,000? $5,000? Unemployment insurance is a right, fought for and paid for by the workers, and Mr. Andras will take it away at great risk to his and his government’s continuation in office. And, lest restless Robert ‘Stanfield thinks he can do a better job of robbing the workers — we'd better send him copies of our pro- tests to Andras. The Toronto Labor Council accused the Unemployment Insurance Commis- sion of going on a “rampage” without waiting for changes in the Act — dis- quahfying individuals, ignoring proof of efforts to find work. and brushing off legitimacy of union hiring halls, the common practice among construction workers. Putting a stop to this anti-labor ram- page demands tight labor unity — the Canadian Labor Council, local and pro- vincial labor bodies, an organized un- employed movement — aimed at win- ning support of the entire public. Ff Sa to the lumber camps bers of the Canadian Sores of the Communist Party of Canada, 4 Ted with 200 a week ago. Union which delayed the sailing. : 2 ; n the govern ee The Worker, Feb. 1, 1923 Tribune, Jan. 24, 1948 | Which further calls upo & ment to make: voluntary retirement at ew 60 a part of the new pension provisions. , Rejoice at war's end id? While the Trudeau government is : : | l a : Nh Once more, peace in Vietnam seems | ei Worth quoting: striving to ensure support at the next very close. A Sad yearning to hear election from as many sectors as pos: that it’s true, awaits President Nixon’ of hat do these enemies of the human race look like? Do they sible of the electorate. it aims to get off 1 z | statement, scheduled for six hours after | this writing. | None would want to dampen the en- thusiasm and rejoicing at a ceasefire, | truce, peace settlement — whatever | . words may signal the first great break | in the U.S. rape of Vietnam. | None of the millions of peace parti- | sans, on the other hand, can afford to rest easy on the situation in Indochina. | Even as we awaited Nixon’s announce- ment, reports told of the heaviest air raids in five months, on South Vietnam. There are the 200,000 political prison- an Sar n their foreheads a sign so that they may be told, shunned condemned as criminals? No. On the contrary, they are the nt! Soe ones. They are honored . . . But there is one sign by : a! ich these gentle gunmen can be told. Threaten a reduction on the nel mee of their money and the beast in them awakes with a snarl. ey become as ruthless as savages, brutal as madmen, remorseless Subscription Rate: Canada, $5.00 one year; $3.00 for six months those out of work (whose contributions warmly embrace such an eventuality. i ott! orth and South America and Commonwealth countries, $6.00 one year. were deducted all the same!) if they But we'll take our eyes off Tricky Dick a raf / All other countries, $7.00 one year quit a job without “just cause”, are and we'll let up in the struggle for full i, Second class mail registration number 156 and lasting peace, at our peril. PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, JANUARY 26.:1973—PAGE 3 ap fired for “misconduct” or refuse “with-