UNEMPLOYED. QF VAS- 4-75. me Labor and the STR 4 4 By ANNA LARSEN : hat are the effects of the . Scientific and technological evolution — the STR — on 9rking class; its struggle; its com- ‘hq 08. and role, both under capitalism it, Uder socialism; in Canada and ‘Nationally? «question provided the focus for USsion on the politics and te Mics of tech change at confer- ( a Toronto and Vancouver and Sore Tairie lecture tour recently spon- by the quarterly political journal, Posi Com 'am Kashtan, leader of the thy tunist Party of Canada noted that eg, R enables capital to reduce pro- ‘ty 22 costs at the expense of work- ‘the, 00s and their share of the value teate. This limits workers’ pur- Ng power and as production of n 8 and Services outstrips consump- ‘ttig “Yclical crises deepen. Structural “one deepens as well, and the Vyedictions within capitalism as a | Burniatensify. Ug mt er complicating the picture is C ©mination of high tech industries onda. With research and Pment centralized in U.S. parent lés, Kashtan said, R&D jobs Stin Canada. Our dependence on ‘fj, Nd high tech imports negatively ‘&), © Our balance of payments and the 12M generally. Wthe Particular and large role played | mies: military-industrial complex Shnettizing Canadian science and bein Ology. In this way, ‘‘the STR is yy 8 Used to undermine Canada’s Nake Ndence and sovereignty and to §..\anada a collaborator in the Nin “Spired arms race ... As in so : teas of Canadian social and eco- q lfe, there is an inextricable link ing eh the struggles for Canadian Mer Ndence, for peace, for jobs and Ving standards.” tye Unity is Fundamental digo has changed the nature and « Ons of struggle of the working bn he issue of control of the new Whe logy is a crucial problem. not the STR is in the hands of nef ol and the transnationals it will th. them, not the people. When it is ful ands of the popular forces then benefits of the new technology will assist the all-round development of society,’’ Kashtan said. The battle will be determined by the balance of strength between corporate wealth and the working class. Organi- zation of the unorganized is called for, as is coordination of effort in the eco- nomic and legislative fields combined with political action. “‘Unity, organiza- tion around a clear policy is funda- mental,’ Kashtan emphasized. Kashtan touched on a variety of is- sues tied to tech change: technological unemployment; the changing composi- tion of the Canadian working class and the questions this raises for the trade union movement; a program of specific demands and a policy of full employ- ment to deal with the consequences of the STR. Dr. V. Trofimov, an historian from the Soviet Union, stressed that tech- nological progress, must be seen in or- ganic connection with human activity, inseparably linked with the nature of the given country’s social and political system. On this basis, its content, con- sequences and importance can be as- sessed. Public ownership of the means of production and planned economic development — characteristic of socialism — provide favorable condi- tions for restructuring production. Under socialism, the benefits of the STR can be fully utilized while guaran- teeing full employment. With one-quarter of the world’s re- searchers, the Soviet Union has scored major accomplishments in science and technology. However, Trofimov noted, they are not satisfied. The tendency has been to improve existing technology, giving technological advance an evolutionary character. What is needed, the Soviets conclude, is a rev- olutionary shift to fundamentally new technological systems, to ensure the highest efficiency by raising labor productivity while cutting materials consumption. These questions were front and center at the recent 27th congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, at which economic guidelines for the next five-year plan and 15-year period were adopted as well as a new edition of the CPSU program. The fight for jobs By KIM ZANDER 4 nemployment is not the is of the individual; rather it is a phenomenon that grows out of a system and there- fore it can be eradicated only if changes to the system are implemented.” This statement is from a report on unemployment by the Canadian Mental Health Association. It’s the same con- clusion that many religious, community and labor groups have repeated over and over. Yet we don’t seem to be able to move off dead centre on this deepening social crisis. Labor has lots of programs and wonderful resolutions addressing the issue. Some have been implemented to minimal degrees. The most extensive to date is the Unemployment Action Centre program in B.C. sponsored by the B.C. Fed- eration of Labor. But a lot more needs to be done. As the employers and governments plan to kick the stuffing out of labor, the unemployed are being neatly fitted into the blueprints. So far, the leadership of the labor movement has been weak in responding to what is an obvious battle plan in the war against organized workers. f We need not go far for answers. Since the economic crisis hit hard in 1981 several good labor programs have been produced. They make excellent recommendations, such as the Cana- dian Labor Congress’ nine-point, ‘‘Action Plan to Promote Jobs and Jus- tices It called for a country-wide ‘‘March for Jobs”’ as part of a mobilizing effort that placed labor at the centre of a broad alliance of forces at all levels to fight cutbacks and for full employment. Take the program adopted at the last B.C. Federation of Labor convention. Its points are basic and achievable. They include: e Implement the CLC Action Prog- ram. e Co-ordinate actions to defend the incomes of the unemployed, focussing on the pending dismantling of the unemployment insurance system. e Assist in organizing broadly-spon- sored community conferences of the unemployed to mobilize around key demands and events escalating to a provincial action demanding jobs for all. e Mobilize support for the Unemployment Action Centres. e Elaborate and popularize labor’s program for wide circulation as an educating and mobilizing tool. e Encourage unions to maintain their unemployed members through special committees. Unfortunately, neither program has been effected in any co-ordinated way. They look great on paper, but the mis- sing ingredient is action in implement- ing them. While leading trade union bodies say they don’t want to stifle individual ini- tiative, that’s precisely what they are doing by not moving into action to bring these programs to life. The CLC Action Program can and must be implemented, including a mas- sive mobilization such as the March for Jobs. More Unemployment Action Centres need to be created, not just to add more social service centres, but to link labor to the community and to mobilize the unemployed. The shorter work week with no loss in pay needs far more emphasis, not only as a means to create new jobs, but © to begin to challenge the employers’ exclusive right to control and benefit from tech change. And then there is the planting of more Dandelions. Yes, Dandelions, those interesting groups of unemployed people who have popped up in Alberta and B.C., made up of construction trade workers. Their symbol represents strength, heartiness, stubbornness and deter- mination. They say dandelions never die.and that grates.on the nerves of the politicians and the employers. Many more Dandelions need to be planted by labor across the country. It’s time the words were lifted from the paper. The Catholic Bishops in their statement, ‘‘Ethical Reflections on the Economic Crisis,”’ make the point: “‘As a country, we have the resources, the capital, the technology and above all else, the aspirations and skills of work- ing men and women required to build an alternative economic future.” Kim Zander is the co-ordinator of the Vancouver Unemployment Action Centre and was a leader of the 1985 On-to-Ottawa Trek. The program, Trofimov said, “considers accelerated scientific and technological progress as the key polit- ical and economic task and the main lever to improve production ef- ficiency.” Solving Social Problems In the next five years the level of automation in the national economy will double on the average. The system of education and training will be im- proved at all levels, and balance in labor resources will be ensured in all regions and branches of the economy. The CPSU congress, Trofimov noted, stressed that it was necessary to “make the development of science and technology more oriented toward the solution of social problems.” How will people benefit from tech change? The creative nature of labor will be enhanced by encouraging skilled work and eliminating monotonous and ardu- ous jobs. Living standards will rise significantly. Wages and pensions are to be increased. Services such as health and education will be further improved, and the quality of consumer goods will become top-level. The socialist countries, Trofimov emphasized, “‘have resolutely come out for precluding the arms race in space and terminating it on earth, for disarmament and for the broadest pos- sible international cooperation with the aim of using the revolutionary shifts in science and technology exclusively for peaceful purposes.’ Rounding out the Toronto confer- ence was a paper presented by socio- logist Deborah Littman on ‘‘The Ideol- ogy of Technology.’’ Economist Dave Fairey of the Trade Union Research Bureau presented a paper to the Van- couver conference on ‘‘The Politics and Economics of the Technological Rev- olution in British Columbia. Anna Larsen is editor of Communist Viewpoint. All conference papers will be published in the June issue of Communist Viewpoint. Subscrip- tions ($7 for 1 year) available through your local bookstore or from Progress Books, 71 Bathurst St., Toronto M5V 2P6. PACIFIC TRIBUNE, APRIL 30, 1986 e 19 ~