Injured workers force legislation ‘We still have far to go’ TORONTO — The new On- tario Minister of Labor, John MacBeth brought down his first piece of Labor legislation last week. The legislation calls for increases in the workmen’s compensation benefits and the union that represents injured workers in Ontario called the increases inadequate. The action in the legislature occurred only one week after more than 400 injured workers, represented by the Union of In- jured Workers, demonstrated on the steps of Queen’s Park. “These long overdue changes have come about only because of the demonstration by dis- abled workers last week at Queen’s Park,” Malcolm Nichol- son, co-chairman of the union toid the Tribune in an interview, shortly after the announcement of the legislation. Increases Fell Short MacBeth told the legislature that the increase in pensions to How much would Tory plans for a 90-day wage freeze cost in terms of lost income for steel- workers, miners, smeltermen, auto workers, construction workers, construction workers and scores of others, should Stanfield become Prime Minis- ter after July 8? The figure would be astronomical — bil- lions upon billions that would go to swell the already bloated profits of the huge corporations. It is abundantly clear that such a policy will not create a BY BRUCE MAGNUSON injured workers would be set at 4%, meaning a real increase to $260 from $250 a month for per- manently disabled workers. For those eligible in 1972 the in- crease will be 8% and 2% for every year preceding 1972. Mac- beth did not, however, make any attempt to explain why the in- creases fell far short of the an- nual inflationary rates experi- enced in the last few years. One of the demands of the Union of Injured Workers was met by the new legislation for increased pensions. The demon- stration called for the increases and that the costs of the in- creases come from private in- dustry and not the taxpayers. MacBeth said that “private in- dustry will be assessed an esti- mated $20-million by Ontario in the next 10 years to pay for the increases.” . Demonstration Effective But MacBeth made no men- tion of the other demands put forward by the Union of Injured Workers. Completely ignored were the demands for a continu- ation of the Canada Pension Plan, unemployment insurance and employees’ health plans for injured workers. MacBeth also ignored the demand for cost-of- living increases and for inde- pendent doctors making the medical assessments. Despite all the demands that MacBeth ignored, workers in the Union of Injured Workers felt that the demonstration had been successful in getting some action from the government. “We forced them to act quicker than they wanted to,” one worker told the Tribune, “and even if the demands were only partially met, it proved that the demonstration was_ effective. The government buckled a little and we are going to be back with still larger demonstrations until we get all of our demands filled.” LABOR SCENE The Conservative ‘cure’ worse than the disease order to exist. They are the underpaid, the people who work and live on marginal incomes while raising families, buying homes and contributing to keep the wheels of industry and busi- ness turning. Double Exploitation It is the double exploitation of these low and moderate income people by the banks, finance companies, speculators and mon- opolies that polarizes wealth in- to fewer and fewer hands, on adian Cabinet issued consumer credit regulations under legisla- tion passed by Parliament, os- tensibly to meet inflationary pressure arising from the effects of the Korean war. In April 1951, Finance Minister Douglas Ab- bott’s so-called deflationary budget increased all personal in- come taxes by 20% and slapped a 15% tax on such household goods as refrigerators, washing machines, vacuum cleaners and electric appliances. The result was that Canadian consumers— (~ Must protect the farmer] against threats KAMSACK — George Shlakoff, Kam- sack district farmer candidate for the Communist Party, said this week that the threat by U.S. agricultural secre- tary Butz should be answered by the government of Canada with a firm statement that the Canadian farmer will, despite all threats, be protected. “In the first place,” he said, “the government imposed the ban on ani- mals treated with DES, as the means of protecting the Canadian market, even more than the protection of the health of the people. It was imposed at a time when Canadian cattle prices were falling, although you'd never know it from the prices in the supermarket. we've been turned into a system in which we ship fe 3 of the border, and the American farmers ship finished the back up here — and the price fluctuates according - dictates of that market. In fact, the’ price of beef in time is set by prices in United States; and has been for a beekcle What is required, Mr. Shlakoff said, is government I? eco | tion with a plan which will guarantee the farmers sommes nomic security, the nationalization of the food P' industry to give the farmers the highest possible return. He pointed to the fact that it isn’t enough to call for Thef controls. Farmers went into hogs when prices went UP: elections was part of the process of helping people to ° _ the things they need. He told the meeting of _ close down the small oil refinery in Kamsack in 1972) oa a mass delegation, reflecting all political parties, ke people's organizations took action. “The company be of he said, “and herein lies an important lesson for 4 Things can be done when people unite and act on of US. GEORGE SHLAKOF || Yorkton-Melville For a long attle conole price issues TIMMINS — Spearheading his campaign with the demand for A speculative rate on 60 market is between "4, the one hand, while creating mass poverty, on the other. Loans granted by banks and loan companies for the purpose of buying consumer goods at the retail level, including the so called revolving credit accounts by big retail houses like Eaton’s and Simpson’s, have evolved as a method, a business practice to expand marketing in conditions of present-day capitalism. Grow- ing interest on debts has become a new source of exploitation and swelling incomes for those who collect the interest. It has be- come a millstone around the neck of the common ordinary people who are forced by the system of monopoly capitalism to enter into this unequal rat race. The giant monopolies in in- dustry and commerce do not suf- fer from payment of high inter- est rates. They. finance them- working people in the main— paid for the cost of the Korean war and the inflation that it sparked. It is hypocritical to associate runaway inflation with runaway consumer credit without even a mention of runaway: profits by the rich and mighty monopolies who profit from both. Expose Hypocrisy It is equally hypocritical when Tory Leader Bob Stanfield talks about freezing wages — now lagging far behind prices—while giving a free hand to profiteers on the stock market, real estate and housing speculators, and those who. seek to preserve the value. of their ill-gotten wealth by investment in art treasures and other capital assets on the excuse that “they are in a dif- ferent category.” a 25% roll-back of prices of food, fuel, housing, clothing and footwear, Communist Party can-_ didate in Timmins riding, Norm Hill is leaving no doubt among voters about the real causes of inflation. He has warned of the “danger of a drive to the right” by the two old line parties, in an at- tempt to blame labor for soar- ‘Ing prices, instead of pointing the finger at the true villain — the big monopolies, whose mas- sive profiteering are already a matter of public fact. : The official price of gold, he pointed out, is $42.50 an ounce. POLICE ARREST 3 AT INGLIS PICKET TORONTO — Metro’s finest were at their ugliest again this better balance in the distribu- tion of the national income. On the contrary, it will make it worse by robbing the working people and the poorer income earners to make the rich still richer. It is a clear case where the cure is worse than the di- sease. Clearly this is not going to stop inflation. It is going to ac- celerate the inflationary process. ' Blames Credit © At the same time there is a growing clamor in rightwing circles for a control of credits. The Toronto Globe and Mail on June 19, instant editorialized on the growth of credit over the five years between the end of 1968 and the end of 1973. It showed a five-year increase in consumer credit from $9.9-bil- lion to $17.7-billion. Then the editor went on to comment: “This money is. helping to fuel $200 an ounce. “Hav? ous ers’ wages increased Communist candidate. miner and his family 9°" | the answer is no.” ners | The big business ° yi pecially foreign-ow® and | raking of huge profits and pe when the workers dem®— er increases. ; 2 Two Nations the coo} Hill points out oa poll) munist Party progr ag puts forward, for a por tion of the people ° pst a platform which cel get sively outlines poll ard of HY will increase the stan@ | ing of the working peor os : -—a democratic tax: 4 —economic expans! —public ownership ada’s energy resource 5 J —nationalization ° Z phone, CPR, pharm@ rge inflation, because it is sending out an excess of dollars to pursue a shortage of goods and service. Moreover, the lending agencies, from banks to finance companies to re- tailers to all the rest, are ac- tively urging their customers— as every customer knows — selves from internal profits gen- erated in the course of their everyday activities. It is when they engage in robbery of the people to pay for wasteful spend- ing — such as armaments and wars — that a spurt is given to inflation. When this happens, it is invariably the ordinary work- It behooves organized labor to expose this hypocricy of the politicians of monopoly and the mass media, and to work for the election of candidates pledged to: curb the monopolies, land specu- lators and profiteers on July 8. Defeat the drive to the Right! Elect a progressive bloc to the 30th Parliament of Canada, in-- week in front of the strike- bound Inglis Company. More than 50 blue-clad strike-break- ers arrested three picketers during a mass picket by 250 workers, In the past few weeks the company has done all that it could to break the strike. Fore- _demands equality am ation dustries, and the Ja national corporations, ; yo with banks, trust a? ‘i on companies, to stcur dev! capital. for econom! r ment) io ‘The Communist platter d mination of our twO — sit ing people who are made to pay the bills for rising rents, rising interest and rising taxes. e Runaway Profits YUKON STEELWORKERS Capitalist governments are al- WIN COLA CLAUSE ways ready to transfer the bur- WHITEHORSE, Y.T. — The den of wars from the rich few, ; who: profit by it, to the great 33-day strike by members of the | United Steelworkers of America majority who work by hand and t brain to produce all the wealth, against the Anvil Mine at Faro, 240 miles north east of here, over whose disposal they have ; ended last week as workers re- no control. — in short, people who must This is what happened in turned to their jobs following borrow and buy on credit in November 1950, when the Can- two weeks of mediation talks, PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, JUNE 28, 1974—PAGE 8 $ to borrow more money to make more purchases, to make more purchases on credit .. .” But it is an outright lie to claim that the expansion of con- sumer credit helps to fuel infla- tion. The people who go into debt to buy consumer goods are the low income people, includ- ing industrial workers, people in the services, working farmers, small business people, students : : a new Canadian © 7 ef cluding Communists! -based on the volun partnership of the ¢ rei? in a bi-national sov® oh democratic state. palit It demands full. eae women, opportunities iy protection of the se ~ full rights for Nativ! including the right ity self-government Metis and Innuit per ri tension of democrat a Canadians, and an policy for peace. men are taking in relatives to try to keep the operation going and the company has threatened to move part of its operations if the union doesn’t accept its demands. The members of United Steelworkers Locals 2900 and 4487 have struck the plant. for the democratic right to be | represented by the union of their choice.