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The political bureau of the
Polish United Workers’ Party
called Sunday for ‘‘all strikes to

be stopped”; emphasizing that
“society, the PUWP and
government all need a period of
calm to adjust conflicts through

Political means, through
negotiation and agreement.”

The political bureau’s state-
ment, read by general secretary
Stanislaw Kania over Polish
television, was drafted on the
eve of new actions by Solidar-
nosc (Solidarity) which has call-
ed for a four-hour strike Friday
and a general strike next Tues-
day. :

The strikes were called to de-
mand the firing of officials im-
plicated in the events at the town
of Bydgoszcz where three
Solidarity members were. in-
jured when police evicted those
Occupying the offices of the
United-Peasants Party.

The strikes, if called, would

earlier agreed in negotiations’
between the Polish government
and Solidarity in an effort by the
PUWP and the government to
restore the economy.

But more important, the
political bureau said, the plann-
ed strikes, which have nothing
! to do with improved working
conditions or economic
reforms, ‘‘have a strong
political coloring. °

“There are people in the
country who hold to extremist
positions and are trying to

mal life, work and public order.

“The events in Bydgoszcz
make this most evident,’ it
noted. ‘‘Local bodies of . the

. | trade union organization

break the 90-day moratorium -

heighten tension and upset nor- -

| STANISLAW KANIA .. . issues statement on new strike crisis. |

Solidarity action

‘nolitical’—Kania

Solidarity supported seizure of

the provincial headquarters of §
the provincial government. This |

was another move to make the
situation more tense.

“These actions were a.gross
breach of the law. The
authorities cannot, and will not,
tolerate such acts. The law is the
same. for all. The forces of
public order acted in keeping
with the law when they carried
out the orders of competent
government agencies.

“Many Solidarity members
disseminated unverified, un-
confirmed versions of these
events without waiting for clari-
fication. This intensified hys-
teria and aggravated the politi-
cal situation in the country.

“‘These moves are directed
against the socialist state and the
‘basic interests of society,’’ the

statement warned. ‘‘The domi-
nant. trend of behavior of
Solidarity at the moment is to
step up activity of a political
nature and to try to usurp the
constitutional functions of
legislative and executive agen-
cies. ce
“The strikes planned in this

- situation have a strong political

coloring.”

—

LEE CFG RTT

POET SP

The political bureau called |
for ‘‘an end to the nervous at~ |
mosphere and a business like |

approach to the conflict.

“‘The political bureau urges :
all PUWP members and all |

Poles to show the maximum |

discretion and responsibility, to’ |
be on guard against attempts at |

instigation and to oppose all ac- }

tions directed against the in- |

terests of the Polish Peoples’

Republic.”

The B.C. Federation of Labor
demanded this week that the
Greater Vancouver Regional Dis-
trict and its member municipalities
“get back to the bargaining table
and be prepared to bargain ser-
iously.”’

The Federation’s demand came
as Lower Mainland municipal
strikers, now in the eighth week of
their dispute, took their own de-
mand to municipal councils, call-
ing on them to stop listening to the
Employers’ Council and return to
the bargaining table with a fair of-
fer.

In astatement Tuesday, Federa-
tion president Jim Kinnaird em-
phasized that the GVRD strike was
the one lingering dispute among the
major strikes and lockouts which
had sparked the militant program
of action, including stepped-up
picketing and the regional strike in
Nanaimo earlier this month.

““We have seen progress in all the
major. disputes that precipitated
our concerted program of action
except the Lower Mainland civic
strike,’’ he said and warned: ““The
GVRD had better get back to the
bargaining table.”’

He added that the strike would
be a major item on the agenda of
the Federation officers meeting ex-
pected later this week. :

Kinnaird also reaffirmed Feder-
ation support for the demand,
voiced by both the Vancouver,
Municipal and Regional Employ-

ees Union and the Canadian Union
of Public Employees, for the estab-
lishment of the principle of equal
pay for work of equal value — bas-
ed on wage parity between clerical
staff and outside workers.

“The employers have their
heads in the sand if they think that
this issue is going to disappear,’’ he
said, warning that the wages paid
clerical workers by non-union em-
ployers could not be used “‘to dic-
tate terms for our collective agree-
ments.””

On Monday night, municipal
strikers in Burnaby and North
Vancouver took their dispute di-
rectly to municipal councils, urging
a vote calling on the GVRD to get
back to the table. Neither council
initiated the motion, however.

_ There was also pressure from
Port: Coquitlam council where al-
dermen blasted the GVRD labor
relations committee for its hardline
stance. Although a motion urging
mayor George Laking to resign in,

SEMI OELSE

"Back to the table
‘to bargain, GVRD

municipalities told

Quebec

election

—page &— |

protest from the GVRD committee _ ;

failed, Laking said that he would
await the presentation of the
GVRD counter-offer. to the
unions.

“If the proposal doesn’t meas-
ure up, you won’t need a motion,”
he said. ‘‘I’ll be withdrawing. I’ve
had it up to here.”’

The GVRD was to put together a
counter-proposal some time to-
wards the end of this week or early
next week.

Amax review a farce
UFAWU paper reveals

The new scientific review panel
appointed by the federal govern-
ment to review the data on the
Amax molybdenum mine at Alice
Arm is totally inadequate because
there ‘‘is no evidence to review,”
charged United Fishermen and Al-
lied Workers Union secretary
George Hewison this week.

Hewison released Tuesday re-
search compiled by the Fisherman
newspaper revealing that federal
government scientists who in 1978
reviewed the Amax application to
dump mine tailings into Alice Arm
opposed the granting of a permit
because of inadequate en-
vironmental data about the conse-
quence of the project. The inform-
ation contradicts the statements of
federal fisheries minister Romeo
LeBlanc that the project had been
approved by federal government
scientific studies.

“The permit to Amax should be

rescinded and a full public inquiry —

held now,”’ said Hewison. ““The
minister has assured the public and
Parliament that all attention has
been paid to the scientific evidence
and that the review panel is a safe
and adequate process of evaluating
the evidence. In fact there has been
no proper review process, and there
is very little, if any, data to review.

“‘There must be a full public in-
quiry held now with powers to sub-
poena evidence. . . Thenewreview
panel will do nothing and satisfy no
one.”

The Amax mine project has been
opposed by the Nishga Indians,
church organizations, and several
other labor and community groups
who charge that the dumping of
tailings into Alice Arm will possibly
destroy all life in the inlet.

See ALICE page 12

key in
Building

Trades
fight

— page 4, 7 —

Left unity
in El :
Salvador

“page 11—

ae