Legislative Library | me Parliment Buildings _ Victoria, B.C, st "Herald dai Writer, . * things lying! ‘down: Asa one-than ‘picket, line he. lowed’ ‘dein the ‘Perrace in what promises. | "to be the: first of as series of trod a measures tobe | a. ‘Premler- Bill os '“oftice of the. ministry of Ja bor én ‘Manda le “ hare mesit “authority. “to? -examine -docuitients: to‘everyone's batlsfaction. 2) dif. such” resolution” “was “impossible: then: “the “past procedure was to kick the case upstairs to the minister of. labor, The minister would then decide. whether or ‘not 'to © have a public inquiry conducted, - ‘ Two previous commission's set up by the Socreds ‘to ‘investigate. the human rights ‘situation “did not-lke a "’ politician, even if he was the minister, having | that sort: of. control over human, rights cases, -The new human: rights regulations are ‘not any: better i in. ” that regard, says Fedy. The proposed human rights council - Will be appointed by an order-in-council,:. Currently: the. Mninister alone decides if a case shoul¢ Proceed to. the public . . hearing stage. If it does nat, the minister of labor ‘is not books ‘but it. nat being enforced, . or worse, - only, being’ or: ethnic’ group: saya Fedy. didn't have to settle a complaint if they felt It would not be. taken to a public hearing, - have given the business. community a clear message that it. ‘is"“open season’ on human rights issues.- He notes one case where BCRIC's BC Timber corporation _ policy and refused to hite one. immigrant.- That practice was found in violation of the human rights code by a public’ inquiry board and the..immigrant. was’ awarded approximately three years backpay and given a-job with full seniority rights. A few days later the rules were changed and under the Proposed new act: that immigrant ” would not:have any protection... ° . Fedy says the. latest. rumor is ‘that the ministry's industrial relations officers will be. given. the task of inveatigating humantights complaints. That has been tried "before. and found wanting by a previous human rights director, - fired allegedly by RCMP officers handing him a letter of termination. : Fedy says that was not actually the case, neces motnlng;’ / government tigent officer had first-called ti - outwhere Fedy lived. The agent demanded the keys to both the office and Fedy's government vehicle there. and then, Other homan rights officers throughout the province got the same treatment. The day before Fedy got his letter a colleague's birthday party was interrupted by an. agent giving hin his letter of termination. .Some of those officers, Fedy says, had up toseven years experience in their jobs. -Fedy is unsure of his job position, if he is fired or laid off, * or what. He will be paid until Oct. 31, for a job he is no’ longer allowed to do. Any amount of money. he receives between now and that date will be deducted from a atlll be on call, according to the letter. labor office ‘is Fedy. When che got his letter he was actively investigating several area human rights. cases. Fedy states his picket line was 100-per cent effective, No one crossed it, and the public passing by wayed and honked their horns. He hopes that when rallys and other forms of the- “fight. back’’ campaign begins the public y will Joinin. He. -sees the issue as everybody's fight...” - While the Socreds are saying'the move to. eliminate his: ; ~ job isa cost cutting measure, Fedy notes the-new human rights council has a budget of approximately $1.2 million. | ‘The difference between that and the previous funding is only’ $6,000...” Fedy says. that: for his five. years “of ‘provincial government service anda previous two-years with the feds, - ° he had an impeccable series of performance evaluations without asingle negative comment. He was.even featured ‘in the ministry of labor's 5. own in-house Jour. Restraint needed . ' OTTAWA (CP) — Continued reatralnt will be needed once the government's six-and-five program énds next year but not necessarily around any magic numbers such as four and five per cent, says: the head of | a blue-chip. business © * group. | ;. consistently suggested and that-is that restraint — but in a. : very positive sense — is an important part of the march back to competitiveness,” Thomas d’Aquino, president of . the Business Council on National Issues, said today on his -- way to a meeting with -Finance Minister Mare Lalonde. “And that does not mean slamming people on the wage - front," he said in an interview. It means restraint right "through the economy, including restraint on: prices. Last week a group of businessmen chosen jast year by the © government to sell its restraint program Bliggested to Prime Minister Trudeau and Lalonde that restraint of four per cent would be an ideal extension to the. government! 5 _ 8lx-and-five program. Lalonde has not. completely ruled out an extension of the . testraint program but said extending It ‘would be’ an ad- :* misston of collective defeat, The Business Council. on National Issues,. which, is composed of the chief executive officers of the country’s major companies, was one of the originators of the government’s restraint program, ae A month before then findncé minister ‘Allan MacBiachen . announced the two-year six-snd-five wage-and-price restraint program in June of last year, the business council, called on Ottawa to adopt what it called ‘its “blue-print for’. recovery; " . - That included voluntary wage restraint of seven percent - with Ottawa providing the leadership by restricting, its . spending: on, the public service-—— a ‘Tenaace— Ross Fedly is not-the: ype of man ta 0 take ie mama ir a branch ae ‘the ‘pte ious: human, Tights. ode such ab. ‘sexual | a 8 and to speak with any'and all pesple who’ ., “Mnight have input into the case. .Once the Investigation was* ‘completed it was then his job to try.and resolve the situation ; . _ Tequired to give any reasons why that route was not taken. | “ _ Fedy likens it to having a town's speed Imit-on the law | . enforced if the violator belongs to the wrong political; social. § : -Not so in Manitoba, Saskatchewan or: Ontario. where . : buman rights’ commissions are out‘of the politico’s hands, _ Fedy was concerned about the ‘old human rights system - because as he sees it,:the bottom, line. was the company , |. Hels concerned not that the Socred government’ seems to had instituted a “proficient in English" clause to its hiring. Fedy recently made provincialnews reports when he was - A government” agent came to his home .on sunday ° ‘July 10. with the termination: Jeter, f— “WHY BUY-NEW? oo a WHEN. USED WILL Do! , Do youwant parts jo fie up yur, car but: ‘your budget won't allow ii? Beat the high cost, ote new parts with: quality used parts from | a a “635 2333'¢ Ci 635- 2095 ‘ messenger and citizen of the tiny Vatican city-state who was abducted a monin ago.- - “And nowa prayer for the - kidnapped - girl, Emanuela Orlandi, for.whom we are all concerned along with her family,” ‘the Pope told 35,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s -Square’ for his weekly - general’ audience. The. white-robed pontiff - then said an Ave Marla for” the girl. - It was the first time the ’ pontiff or any Vatican. of- _ ficial-satd Emanuela was. kidnapped. | in previous ' appeals, John Paul used the word “missing.” The Vatican said Tuesday It Was powerless to gain Ag¢a's release from prison. ‘Police sald for the first time . Tuesday that the kidnappers had threatened - “to (kill the gir) if their . demand for Agca’s freedom was not met, . The deadline also fell on the same day Agca's trial for -shooting. the pontiff began two years ago, although ‘the have not: mentidiéd that” fact, _Classitiods othe™. kidnappers . INSIDE ‘Local, world sports pages 485 ‘Comics, horoscope. — wee campaigns, - federation Secretary-treasurer Mike Kramer told the crowd. : Speaking to reporters, he said if the government - ignores the ~~~ labor movement's protests, a general strike will be considered. . "Kramer said Operation Solidarity | will: fight. the Social Credit government's “long litany of pretty miserable acts, actions and” bills . . .-We will not stand idly by and watch the destruction of human, civil and economic rights .. ." “Our simple,” he said, ‘‘(With- draw) the attack on rights and restore the institutions | that were put. there : to _ protect those rights.” Meanwhile, . ‘the . trade union movement’ has of- ‘fickally Inunched its public relations campaign ‘against , the legislation with a series - of radio advertisements, The spots feature the words of Martin Niemoller, a Lutheran. pastor in Nazi Germany, who warned of the-dangers of not speaking up against authoritarian measures on the grounds one is not Personally af.” fected. ‘The labor movement's: Solidarity committee has: budgeted almost to $250,000... to get its message across to © the public. Earlier Tuesday, Labor Minister Bob McClelland. responded in Kelowna, B.C., to a telex sent from four ‘federal cabinet ministers urging the B.C, governnient not to abolish. its human rights commission. ‘The telex, — which McClelland recelved earlier . this week, was sent by -page 6. | pages 8&9. Socreds. _provided in the schools with. public. * : ‘The society has sent a ‘letter “to all) major ~ . employers and unions in the ‘External Affairs’ Minister ojhers. open, to the eter). te} Allan © ‘MacEachen; Secretary of State Serge Joyal, Multiculturalism Minister James. Fleming and “Mines ‘Minister Judy Erola, who .is.- also responsible for the status of women: ; ‘Meanwhilé,-a Varicouver. building ~ that. -houses the offices of the’. commission | was picketed : -by.‘a“:dozen, fired government: workers - Tuesday, - administrator area” on'behalf of the debt counselling “program. in hopes of raising alternative funding. mo ‘Lorna Copeland, program for... the society, says rumors that other society services may be shut down is mere . Speculation at this point. She says the debt ~ ‘counselling program is the ‘only one the society has . been notified ‘in writing about to date. demands are . DEFINITION NARROW - technological change referring only to the introduction of ~~ ‘The much broader Labor Code definition refers to any wo, change in an employer's ‘work, undertaking or material.” . 4. ’ Paper Industrial Relations Buréau president. Dick Lester i : employees, ” he said, “We really thought that Wak comity Ruling: overturned VANCOUVER (CP) — The B.C. Labor Relations Board has overturned an eatlier board ruling which determined that laid-off employees at the Eurocan pulp mill in Kitimat, B.C., were entitled to benefits s Fesulting from technological - change at the mill. The cage involved the closure of the waodroom at the mill more than one year ago, wiping out the jobs of 68 members ' of the Canadian Paperworkers Union. ‘The company shut down the woodroom because cheaper chip supplies were : available elsewhere. “In its} original decision, the labor board ruled that the . shutdown amounted ‘to technological change as broadly defined under the B.C. Labor Code and the employees ‘therefore were eligible for considerable back and . Severance pay and complicated bumping rights. The decision was appealed by Eurocan, with the backing of the Pulp and Paper Industrial Relations Bureau and the Employers’ Council of B.C. Ina Unanimous ruling, ‘a three-member panel headed by board chairman Stephen Kelleher. overturned the em- ployees’ right to receive technological change benefits provided in ‘thelr collective agreement. ; However, the panel did. uphold the finding that. the - woodroom closure amounted to to technological change under the Labor Code. But the panel pointed out that the benefits originally were cee negollated to correspond with a narrow. definitlon of new technology or equipment. The board concluded that it was not fair to apply the. specific tech-change requirements in the contract when the parties had not intended such a broad definition of ‘technological change. “This could result in an unnegotiated windfall for the - ‘union and the employees,” wrote’ Kelleher. “We are very satisfied with the outéome, Pulp and ° sald Tuesday, “We're on solid ground again.” ’ Lester said the original decision would have meant “open sesame" for employees. ; “It would have meant that a tech-change definition hot intended ‘by ihe parties could be larachuted lito a collec. - ie tive agreement with all the subsequent benefits. 4a: the : cto the Principles of the Labor Code,’* . . a ERR ny