scetette2 it SSeS TE EET = i a aia Abolish transit fares and stop _ fare increases Metro labor says TORONTO — Metro Labor Council, Jan. 4, reaffirmed its demand for the abolition of fares on Metro transit and declared it- self in opposition to any further fare increases by the Toronto Transit Commission. - Delegates unanimously en- dorsed a Municipal and Commun- ity Action Committee report on proposed fare increases which also called for increased provin- cial government subsidies and a special levy on commercial and industrial enterprises that gener- ate and depend on heavy use of the TTC. - The council’s move was in re- sponse to the perennial cry in To- ronto for a fare increase to meet the ever-growing operating deficit of the TTC. In a later develop- ment, Metro Council Chairman. Paul Godfrey Jan. 9, called for the formation of a joint Metro-TTC committee which would have as its first task to approach Tory On- tario premier Bill Davis for a larger TTC operating subsidy.”’ Faced with a minority govern- ment situation in which both op- position parties in the Legislature ate opposed to further TTC fare hikes, this committee has a strong possibility for success in getting financial relief from Ontario. The labor council statement Jan. 4 noted the relationship of fare hikes to the corresponding decline in ridership. It pointed out that ‘‘the cash fare of 55 cents is and that ridership had dropped from 358 million 1975 to 348 mill- ion in 1977. ‘‘Transit policies are all de- signed to the end that the burden is placed on the TTC user’, the municipal committee charged. “Increasing fares results in de- clining rider use and in greater de- ficits.”” Council president Sam Fox, who was acclaimed to his post for another term, responding to a statement by Toronto Alderman Dan Heap, a delegate from the Canadian Paperworkers Union, told delegates the council would be represented at a Jan. 9 TTC meeting where a fare increase was expected to be recommended.- “‘We can show there is wide- spread public opposition to fare increases’’, Heap said, as he urged as many local union rep- resentatives as possible to attend the TTC meeting. He also called on all delegates to return to their locals and urge their members to contact their elected municipal representatives to let them know they are opposed to a fare in- crease. The Jan. 4 labor council meet- ing was also nomination night for the annual council elections slated for Jan. 18. A slip of the tongue by presi- dent Fox in referring to the ‘‘ritu- al’’ of the nominations was a fairly accurate description of the pro- cess as all but one of the table positions was contested. Re- .-acclaimed to their jobs, in addi- tion to Fox, were vice-president Ken Signoretti (Steelworkers), and Treasurer Bill Baker (CUPE). United Electrical Workers Na- tional Director. of Organization Art Jenkyn challenged Laborers Union delegate Peter Hitchen for the secretary’s position. There will be elections to all committees with the exception of the membership and credentials committee which saw the four de-. legates acclaimed who were nominated. Also acclaimed to their posts on the council executive -were Seargent at Arms Jim Robertson (Toronto Typographical Union), and Tyler Arnold Gould (Cana- dian Union of Postal Workers). MILLION WORKERS NEGOTIATE IN ’79 OTTAWA — Contracts for some 1;019,500 Canadian work- ers will expire in 1979, Labor Canada announced Jan. 5. This survey covers 332 bargaining situations in non-contruction industries employing more than 500 workers. Some 33% of the agreements monitored by the ministry, and 49% of the workers involved, will be. entering contract talks this year. There will be 13 major agreements that will re-open for specific clauses, usually wages; and 47 major construction agree- ments will expire in 1979. DEMAND 12% -new one-year agreement in 1 GLOBE PRESSME! ] _ TORONTO — The Printing! Graphic Communications Un representing pressmen and p handlers at the Globe and MW and Star, are demanding a ! increase in wages and COLA fi The union also wants more w4 ers on the presses, time-and-a+ for shift work on the Sunday paj and a four consecutive day Wé week. The current pact ended D 31. .\ Both papers’ agreements : the Southern Ontario Newsp# Guild expire June 30. ‘Let us know you’re with us’ Gould asks Metro labor council By MIKE PHILLIPS TORONTO — ‘‘Our members must know that the labor move- ment is with us’’, Arnold Gould, president of the Toronto local of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) said Jan. 4. He was urging delegates to the Metro labor council to make the union’s Mass Rally and Demon- stration, planned for Jan. 27, an overwhelming success. The rally will include CUPW president Jean Claude Parrot and a spokesman from the Metro labor council, Gould reminded delegates of a planning meeting for the rally and demonstration which is planned for Jan. 17 and urged all delegates to ensure their locals were rep- resented at that meeting at the CUPW Toronto union hall. Letters have been sent to all union locals across Metro urging them to come to the planning meeting and to get a full mobiliza- tion out for the rally and demonst- ration. The rally will take place at the University of Toronto at 1:00 p.m., Jan. 27. The letters note, ‘‘the postal workers’ struggle could be yours next, and we are asking you support us now with a show strength ...”’ Gould reviewed the recent? velopments in the CUPW’s fil to get a decent contract from federal government, as well aS union’s tireless efforts to reg their collective bargaining | strike rights. The report of six : ronto CUPW members fired? taking partin the recent strike’ corrected to five, as manageml couldn’t find anything negative one member’s work record. The CUPW president ad@) that none of the other five C BY members fired had anything their record to justify such acti) by management. The sil) member, whose dismissal W 7 > The great private pension rip-off Are private pensions another rip-off? This question has been widely discussed by organized labor for the past few years and, more particularly since Canada’s biggest insurance companies under the guise of a National Citizens’ Coalition mounted an attack on public pension plans, those covering public employees in particular. In the fall of 1977, the Ontario Federation of Labor’s bi- monthly bulletin ‘Labor Review’ pointed out that about 60% of all Canadians retire with no more than old age security benefits. It stated that the way that pension plans are handled in Canada is a national disgrace. It stated that out of the 40% of Canadian workers covered by pension plans other than Canada pension, more than half are employees of federal, provincial and municipal governments. Also that ‘‘Only about 20% of those workers who have paid into a plan collect any benefits . .. it is estimated that only 4% to 10% of those pension funds are ever collected by those who contributed.”’ ee Canada’s largest union has claimed that “‘we can buy back the cancelled, was given a 10- suspension. : _CUPW president Jean. Parrot announced in Ottawa J 5, the union was withdraw from talks with the governmé on its proposed crown corpa tion, Canada Post Corp., ace ing Postmaster-General Gill Lamontagne of double-talk: ~ Citing Lamontagne’s Jan. 4 Statement promising ‘“‘no furth harassment or intimidation postal workers was to tah place”, the CUPW leader nol the recent firings. 4 Parrot said the Postmast General was starting 1979 off of note of war and that the pé Zhe need: It’s greater than you think! R to an Adequate Pension and a Secure Old Age Bhs Rie an exp Segui and imp d public pension system by increasing Canada! Quebec Pension Plan benefits, combined with Old Age Security, up to 75 per cent of the average industrial wage. - go Right to have Pension Fund Assets used for the social ; ‘To buy back the Canadian economy and to pursue an industrial aeateny to enerate new jobs by having the government and public employee pension funds buy back the interests of foreign owned and controlled corporations and to directly invest in the manufacturing sector through government Crown Corporations. g™ Right to Co-Management of Pension Plans and Funds by Workers Through joint board of trustees or admi ative i to protect their interests and retirement income. he Right to have the Legal Responsibility of Pension Plan Sponsors Clearly Outlined Phi bodied in pension legi fatio so orkers now who A eaally Pescorisibis for the . prudent management, investment and security of their pension fund assets. gg Right to Full Pension Plan Disclosure and Information For pension plan members and unions, on request, including information on plan texts and amendments, annual information returns, actuarial valuations, portfolio composition and rate of return, employer contributions, financial statements and deficit or surplus : : ; me : ai ‘office would continue to be a¢ Canadian economy in five years by using the billions now being Gre Right to a Mandatory Pension Benefit Grievance Proced ossal failure unless the hara\ contributed to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and various public To settle any ding dispute b a pension plan member and the plan sponsor or trustees. Ze Right to Improved Vesting Requirements In order to protect an employee’s earned pension credits and guarantee a deferred pension based on the employers contributions made on his/her behalf after age 30 or five (5) years service. Zr Right to a Portable Pension between Employers By creating a Central Pension Agency to pecorderranifer and pay pension benefits. gr Right of Unions to Negotiate Post-Retirement Improvements for pensioners and retired members under the Labour Relations Act. gr Right to an Indexed Pension and to Post-Retirement Adjustment: For all workers in the private and public sectors to offset inflation and guarantee the real purchasing power of those on fixed retirement incomes. gx Right to Continue Work at the Individual’s Discretion ‘And the elimination of mandatory retirement, in recognition of the fact that work is central to a person's social existence. he Right to Voluntary Early Retirement Moshe the CanadalQuebec Pension Plan. Zs: Right to Pre and Post Retirement Counselling ; In order to help prepare workers for a secure, happy and socially useful retirement. gx Right to the Elimination of Discrimination in Pension Plans And making the elimi i d \ mination of discriminatory practices a condition of pension plar. registration with the pension authorities. gre Right of Women and Housewives to the Canada/Quebec Pension Plan Benefits During periods away from the work force. he Right of Part-Time Employees to Mandatory Pension Plan Covera: After a rhinimum of 1,000 ae anda aximur qualifying period of ene year for entrance into a pension plan for all other workers. he Right to have Temporary Layoffs and Labour Disputes The Fish continuous service for the purpose of Serdoniiating pension credits. he Right to Mandatory Survivor Benefits The Right through Pension Plans toa deceased pensioner’s spouse, or if the employee qualified ment and intimidation of wor ceases. ; : Turning down Lamontagnf\ offer of a free lunch at the t payer’s expense, the C executive left the meeting to. test the firings and suspension “Does: he really expect us wine and dine with him wh\ more than 7,500 postal worke\ are being dismissed or ff primanded?”’ Parrot asked. 4 In Toronto, United Electra workers delegate Al Rees toldf\ labor council, “‘other unid\ should let Arnold Gould _kni that the CUPW fight is endors\ by the labor movement of Met! Toronto and across Canada. A flop on Jan. 27 Rees employee pension plans’’. In a brief submitted to the Ontario Royal Commission on the Status of Pensions in February, 1978, the Canadian Union of Public Employees stated ‘‘that instead of pension money going to finance investment requirements of the private corporate sector it should be used to acquire control of foreign-controlled com- panies. CUPE suggests that only through direct state intervention can the Canadian economy be repatriated and an industrial strategy pursued in order to generate jobs. In attacking the private pension system, CUPE says that it is the “‘single largest unregulated industry in the country.” In addition, CUPE says the private pension industry has not served the interests of Canadian émployees, because of the lack of universal coverage; poor vesting requirements; lack of porta- bility; lack of indexed post-retirement benefits and the low level of normal requirement benefits. bn brief charged that private workers, not served them.”’ To summarize the position of the largest union in the country ns to *§ , on this issue, the Canadian Tribune has received permission to 5 = sii eee Ba EN nee ‘icaiiuanae oa ag publish its Pension Bill of Rights. S : # urged a large turn out to the Ji PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JANUARY 19, 1979—Page 4 Rachael La D ‘| pension industry has “‘lived off