TORONTO — In a year-end
statement, the leader of the
Communist Party of Canada,
William Kashtan, noted that on
a world scale, “a trend toward
peaceful co-existence, toward
detente” had set in despite any-
thing the cold warriors could
do. But he warned that the road
ahead was still rocky.

For Canada, he predicted “a
very exciting year, a very tur-
bulent year” in 1974, one of the
features of which would be “a
marked sharpening of the class
Struggle.” He said that growing
sections of the Canadian people
are being compelled by the laws
_Of capitalism to enter into the
Struggle against monopoly.

.The year 1973, the Com-
munist leader characterized as

“a year of rather rapid change
— sharp change — and the
change is best illustrated by the
fact that a process of’ detente,
away from the cold war, has

While much tough bargaining
faced organized workers in the
past year, the new year will be
even tougher. ‘Organized work-
ers who engage in 1974 bargain-
ing will have to embark upon a

broad and militant “campaign
to regain lost ground on the
Wages front. Corporate and
bank profits in the past year
have wiped out all real gains
made in 1971 and 1972. And
many of the contracts signed in
1973, put the emphasis on “non-
taxable" fringe benefits and so-
called “non-inflationary’ wage
increases (like the perennial
3% in the auto industry for a
quarter of a century).

In the long run such a policy
is self-defeating for labor. It
allows the monopolies to raise
prices and profits while keeping
Wages down, with a sharp de-
cline in living standards for the
workers. While the lid is kept
On wages the speedup drive in
productivity continues. As in-
flation, i.e. rising prices and
profits, plus taxes and rents con-
tinues, an absolute decline in
real wages takes place.

Real Wages Down.

The Canadian Labor Congress
Statistics now show that average
real earnings of both organized
and unorganized workers in the
third quarter of 1973 were $7.50
per week less than in the fourth
‘quarter of 1972. This has prompt-
ed thé president of the CLC to
point out that: “For workers
who have the protection of
union organization, the statis-
tics. point to the need for in-
creased militancy at the bar-
gaining table this year — to im-
prove real wages, to obtain a
fair return on increased produc-
tivity which has’ contributed to

_. record corporation profits.”

Dragged-out negotiations and
arbitration makes the situation
worse, even while some pay in-
creases are made retroactive. In
the railway workers’ case, the
arbitrator will barely have time
to submit his report before the
railway workers are again in-
volved in negotiation for an-

BY BRUCE MAGNUSON

started and that it opens the
possibility of a path being
charted that would lead to a
word without war — something
that the communists, socialists
and all
throughout the world have been
striving for for many many
years.”

Evidence that the road is a
rocky one, he said, is seen “in
the efforts of reaction in Chile
to set back a course that the
Chilean people strove to deve-
lop — a peaceful path to social-
ism. “And we see the rocky
character of it in the Middle
East, where imperialism strove
to set back the national libera-
ion movement and the struggles
of the Arab people for their
freedom and independence.

“And yet,” the Communist
leader said, “no matter -what the
cold warriors strive to do, a ba-
sic trend has set in in the world
—a trend towards peaceful co-

peace-loving peoples

existence, towards detente—and
this trend is being enhanced in
large measure, by the socialist
camp, by the unity of Com-
munist and Workers’ parties,
and by the growing’ strength of
the peace forces of the world.”

He noted that 1973 “marked
the high point to date in the
gathering of all the peace forc-
es of the world, of which Can-
ada was a part, with the dele-
gation of 60 sent from here by
the peace movement and others.
The course of action set by the
World Congress of Peace Forc-
es created the conditions for
the people of the world ‘inter-
fering’ in the pathway of im-
perialism and preventing im-
perialism from moving, by its
inherent laws, towards war, and
checking it, while the forces of
peace, democracy and socialism
grow stronger. So I think,” Mr.
Kashtan said, “that 1973 has
been a year of marked change

LABOR SCENE Canadian workers face
| tough bargaining in 74

other contract at the end of

this year.
Open-ended cost of living
allowances are needed in_ all

contracts, But at best these are
measures to maintain the status
quo. They do not allow for any
share of increased productivity
or improvements in living
standard.
Organize Tnonpanived:

While the number of Cana-
dians working is now approach-
ing ‘nine million, total union
membership is. still below two
and one-half million. Unions
now represent 34.4% of the
non-agricultural labor force, but
when agriclulture is included
this figure drops to 27.6%. Ob-
viously the organization of the
unorganized is a most urgent
issue to be taken up now right

across this country in every:
area.
To facilitate a successful

drive in that direction requires
some reforms in both policy and
structure: to. strengthen inner-
union democracy and bring

about all-round cooperation of.

effort on a voluntary basis. It

_ calls for a more representative
leadership in unions and central .

bodies, capable ‘of establishing a
rapport with the membership,
inspiring and drawing workers

into participation in union ac- |

tivity to-better their position by
collective effort. It calls for
militant policies of struggle and
sacrifice wherever — necessary,
and without which the challenge
of technological change cannot:
be met and job security cannot
be won.
Changing Relationship
International union member-

‘ship in Canada has declined to

59.6% compared to 70.8% in

1965. At the same time national .

unions have increased their
membership to 37.7% from
24.5% in 1965. This constantly
changing relationship of. forces
within the’ house of labor calls
for more autonomy leading to-
wards independence and sover-
eignty for Canadian members
of U.S.-based unions, while

strengthening international ties
of solidarity and fraternity be-
tween Canadian unions and
unions of all countries.

It is only on such a basis that
unbreakable solidarity can be
built up» between workers in
basic industries and in service
occupations, and between white-
collar and blue-collar workers,
as well as between workers in
national and international or-
ganizations. In other words the
battle for change and for re-
forms in the interests of all
working people has to be con-
ducted within the frame-work of
the struggle to maintain all-
inclusive unity and to build and
strengthen that unity.

Motto for 1974

As we approach the 1974
CLC Convention in May, every
union and central body of labor
in Canada affiliated with this
Congress, has a sacred duty to
contribute to making this a con-
vention that will strengthen the
unity and effectiveness of the
Canadian working class in the
fight against state-monopoly
capitalism in this country. A
strong CLC with a revitalized
and strengthened leadership,
capable of giving leadership in
the day-to-day struggle of Cana-
dian working people in both the
economic, social and_ political
sphere, will influence the direc-
tion of development even in
areas outside its own periphery.

On the other hand, anything
that goes to split, dismember
and weaken the unity of organ-
ized labor will be cause for re-
joicing by the enemies of the
working people.

Let our motto in 1974 be to
strengthen labor unity, curb
monopoly, expand democracy
and contribute towards growing
international detente, making
this process irreversible in the
interests of disarmament and
world peace. Let our resources,
our productive capacity, our
ingenuity be used to improve
life for ourselves and all man-
kind instead of enrichment of
the few.

and shifts in the eolanee of
forces.”

But 1973 had also been “a
year of sharp contrasts between
the capitalist world which is

beridden with crises of all
kinds...” and the socialist
world. Capitalism faced “a

crisi$ of energy, a crisis of the
monetary system, a crisis of in-
flation, a crisis within the NATO
camp — wherever you turn, the
growing crisis of capitalism,
which indicates the increasing
difficulty capitalism is faced
with at this stage, and in which
it tries to solve its difficulties
by putting the burden of its
crisis on the backs of the work-
ing people, and by, at the same
time trying to suppress the libe-
ration movements of the people
throughout the world.

“On the other hand,” the
Communist leader pointed out,
“we see the sharp contrast of
the socialist world here, despite

some difficulties and temporary
set-backs that may exist from
time to time, the general course
is towards advance, towards de-
velopment, towards growth. The
socialist countries are not
plagued with inflation, rising
prices, or the contradictions
that capitalism is ‘beset with.

“What we see here is the
steady growth of. socialism on
the one hand, and historically,
the decline of capitalism. and
imperialism on the other. And
1973 marked another step in
that direction.”

Then Mr, Kashtan spoke of
Canada and 1974.

“I think that we can say with
some assurance, that it’s going
‘to be a very exciting year, a
very turbulent year. One of the
features of politics in our coun-
try will be a notable sharpen-
ing of the class conflict.

“One can see that illustrated,
for example, in the Ontario
teachers’ struggle. Who of us
would have dared to say that

you’d have more than 30,000
teachers demonstrating in the
City of Toronto — parading in
front of Queen’s Park? This
used to be the habit of only the
Communists years ago. But it
has been taken over by other
forces, and now it has been
taken over by the teachers also.
And it is evidence of the fact
that there are growing sections
of the people who are entering
the battle against monopoly in
their own way — with great
hesitation sometimes, with fear,

_with doubt, but being impelled

by the laws of capitalism to en-
ter into the struggle against
monopoly, and inevitably being
impelled to move beyond that
to the struggle for fundamental
social change.”

Accentuated in the struggle
in 1974, the Communist leader
said, will be the “trend toward
democratic and working-class
unity, of which the Communist
Party is a part. All the signs
point to a continued trend to the
left in Canadian society.

Taking on David Archer, One
tario Federation of Labor presi-
dent and Mel Watkins, spokes-
man for the Waffle, who dismiss
the Communit Party as a “spent”
force, Mr. Kashtan promised
that “both these gentlemen will
be forced to eat their words.

“We can pledge that the Com-
munist Party will continue. the
course it has set, and as out-
lined in our program, a course
directed toward the uniting of
the democratic forces to achieve
a democratic coalition and to
open the doorway, through
Canadian independence, to a so-
cialist Canada.”

Mr. Kashtan called on Com-
munists throughout Canada “to
go all out in Party, YCL and
press building. This will be a ma-
jor contribution to the building

of the forces of peace, democra- |

cy and progress and a solid gift

to the 22nd Convention of our -

Party taking place in April.”

12 to 20

years for

Carabanchel Ten’

MADRID — The Carabanchel
Ten, nine workers and worker
priest, have been given sentenc-
es ranging from 12 to 20 years
following their conviction for
“illegal association” (organizing
labor unions) which is a crime
under the Franco fascist dicta-
torship. They had already been

Five of the Carabanchel Ten
inside the notorious prison be-
fore their trial.

jailed 18 months while waiting
trial.

The three-day trial,
conclusion was foregone, began
on Dec. 20, two hours after the
bomb-blast that killed Spanish
premier Luis Carrero Blanco.
The assassination became a pre-
text for briefly clearing the
court of observers. They later
returned, however.

During the trial, which lasted

’ only three days, lawyers for the
accused were denied any legal

rights, including the right to
call defense witnesses:

Present were some 30 foreign —

observers from seven countries,
including Canadian NDP MP
Paddy Neale and Michel Char-
trand, president, Montreal Coun-
cil, CNTU.

In a formal statement, the

foreign observers expressed a

“commitment of solidarity with
‘the humane and courageous ef-
forts of the workers’ represen-

* tatives and their defenders in

the legal profession to exercise”
the basic right to organize to
improye their conditions.

PACIFIC FRIBUNE—FRIDAY, JANUARY 4, 1974—PAGE 5

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