THE WORLD Royal Bank workers win 14% in bitter St. Vincent strike KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent — A recent three and a half week strike by workers at a branch of the Royal Bank of Canada in this Eastern Caribbean island is over with the Canadian transnational financial institution having to in- crease its initial salary increase offer of five per cent to 14 per cent. However, the United People’s Movement (UPM), a leading op- position party in St. Vincent, has expressed concern over the sec- recy of the negotiations and the conditions of the settlement. It all came to a head early last month when the majority of the workers at Kingstown branch went on a “‘sick-out’’ following a deadlock in negotiations between their union, the Commercial, Technical, and Allied Workers Union (CTAWU), and the bank, over salary increases and other benefits. ‘ The Royal, one of several Canadian chartered banks which started up branches in the Carib- bean region early in this century, From the . Caribbean who had stood firm with their de- mands against the background of the rise in the cost of living in the already underdeveloped econ- omy of the arrowroot and banana producing island of 80,000 people which have hit workers from all sectors hard. After the announcement of a settlement, an article in ‘‘Justice’’, the weekly bulletin of the UPM, questioned the way negotiations and the settlement were carried out. ‘*The workers would return to work ... (However), nothing was said of the other terms and condi- tions under which the workers were resuming work,”’ the UPM Faria ‘*(Nevertheless), the 22 work- ers ... have a great deal to feel proud of. During the time of the dispute the workers had to put ur with strong pressures from the imperialist bank, the lack of con- cern by government and the weakness of those of their fellow employees who continued to work faithfully for the bank, even overtime,”’ it added. In.its criticism of the ruling St. Vincent Labour Party administra- tion of Prime Minister Milton Cato during the dispute, the UPM said: ‘‘The Labour Party government is a government for companies like the Royal Bank, for capitalists, for bosses — not for workers.”’ ; With painted faces and in chains, Chilean youth living in Canada mark Chile’s third Day of Protest July 12 at the consulate of Chile in Toronto. Freedom for Chile! —_— 3 then locked out the 22 workers’ paper pointed out. “‘Concretely coming out of the PYONGYANG — An international conference of journalists held in this capital of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, July 2-6, has urged journalists everywhere to publicize the grave situa- tion existing in the Koreart Peninsula. The conference unanimously adopted an Appeal to Journalists of the World on the Korean question which charged: “The U.S. ruling circles who have already de- ployed over 1,000 nuclear weapons in South Korea are now attempting to ship into South Korea neutron bombs and theatre nuclear missiles. ‘*Rollowing the 1982 large scale mobile fleet exer- cise of the U.S. Navy in the Sea of Japan, the com- bined military exercise Team Spirit ’83 the largest in history was conducted throughout South Korea in the spring of 1983. ‘*This was in fact a ‘preliminary war’ and a ‘nuclear test war’ against the Korean people.” Stressing the expressed desire of DPRK for reuni- fication of Korea on a peaceful basis without outside interference the document appeals to journalists “‘as spokesmen of their peoples and public opinion buil- ders to draw ... attention to the grave situation in the Korean peninsula and raise the voice of justice for peace in the Korean peninsula and for the country’s peaceful reunification.”’ This world conference of journalists against im- perialism, for friendship and peace, drew 169 delega- tions from 118 countries including China and had in all some 300 participants from every continent and Oceania, Caribbean and Indian Ocean areas. Dealing with world-wide problems, the conference, meeting in the beautiful pagoda-exteriored palace of culture, said in a final declaration: PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JULY 22, 1983—Page 6 Royal Bank dispute was a. union demand for a government- appointed inquiry into the finances of the bank. The CTAWU must pressure govern- ment to get this done. Moreover, as a national organization, it should seek to get the inquiry (ex- panded) into all foreign-owned banking operations here to find out whether they operate in the best interests of our nation,” UPM argued. - The strike by the Vincentian bank workers follows a similar ac- tion in 1980 by unionized employees at another Royal branch in neighboring Dominica Island. TRIBUNE’ PHOTO — TOM MORRIS “It is the priority task of the world progressive journalists at present to prevent the danger of a new world war and safeguard world peace and security. “The aggressive war policy of the imperialists, especially the policy of the thermonuclear weapons build-up by the U.S. and its allies and their inter- ference disturbs peace and security in many parts of the world, aggravates tension and increases the danger of another world war’’. This echoed the words of DPRK President Kim II Sung who spoke of the role of the press at a banquet he hosted for delegates to the convention. He said in part: - U.S. imperialists who seek world hegemony are openly resorting to the ‘policy of strength’; they are expanding armaments and reinforcing their armed forces of aggression on a large scale while at the same time scheming to strengthen NATO, an aggressive military bloc, deploy new types of nuclear weapons in Europe and increase military bases of aggression in many parts of the world including the Indian Ocean. U.S. and other imperialists are intensifying aggressive activities to unleash a new war in various areas of the world. In the Middle East and southern Africa the imperialists are instigating Zionists and South African racists to increase aggressions and interventions and in Central America they are perpetrating heinous armed interventions and subversive activities against countries which have achieved national indepen- dence and are moving toward independence. ‘Because of U.S.-led imperialist’ activities the world’s people are at a crossroad of war or peace, of enslavement or independence. To oppose aggression and war and safeguard peace and independence is the ! Peaceful reunification of Korea urged James Leech most urgent task now confronting progressive people throughout the world.” He urged the “‘world’s progressive people of the press (to) firmly unite under the banner of anti- imperialism, friendship and peace. ...’’ and said: “I would like to express my deep gratitude to the justice _and peace-loving progressive people of the press of. the world for their positive support and encourage- ment for our people’s revolutionary cause’’. The conference decided to adopt Kim Il Sung’s speech as a document of the conference. ; Among those present were journalists from South Korea who were returning home with a letter from - journalists of the world to all South Korean journa- lists, supporting a pullout of U.S. troops from South Korea and promising to ‘‘stand by’’ South Korea journalists in their ‘‘difficult circumstances.” Korean journalists living in Japan and working among the 600,000-strong Korean community there were also present. ‘ The conference hailed the slogan: Korea is One! It agreed that journalists must use their strength to ‘‘crush’’ reactionary propaganda offensives or, as a delegate from the German Democratic Republic ad- vised, to ‘‘use the pen, the microphone and the cam- era as weapons in the anti-imperialist fight.’