oh | Gi. Se une ee _ Opposition mounts to job, services cuts By KIMBALL CARIOU REGINA — Trade unions and other organizations in Saskatchewan are mov- ing quickly to fight controversial mea- sures introduced in the new Conserva- uve budget here. In the most visible protest to date, the Saskatchewan Government Employees Union (SGEU) called a noon-hour rally at the legislature April 2, with the support of other unions, unemployed workers, and some social service agencies. Some People came to express their anger Over the province’s job cuts, which now total over 400, and over cuts in social assistance programs. A total 237 highways department em- Ployees were dismissed in the largest single job abolition. One of them, an eight-year employee, told the demonstrators that if he is lucky enough to get a private sector job in the same industry, he could face up toa 50 percent cut in Wages and benefits. I wasn’t transferred, I was fired,’”’ he declared, warning that no jobs are secure under the Tory government. The SGEU has estimated that the job cuts will cost Over $12-million in purchasing power in _ the provincial economy, with Prince Al- Tt and the rest of northern Saskatche- wan particularly hard-hit. _ The social assistance benefit reduc- tions have been widely condemned. Due to take effect May 1, the changes will be drastic for ‘‘single employables’’. Currently, they receive a maximum of $596 per month after three months. That amount is to be dropped 42 per cent to $345. The portion for shelter will be reduced from $300 to $200, at a time when it is virtually impossible to find a room for less than $200 in Regina or Saskatoon. The total for food, utilities, transporta- tion, clothing, laundry and personal and household expenses will drop from $296 to $145. Speaking for the Saskatchewan Association of Non-Governmental So- cial Service Agencies (SANGSSA), Andy Shadrack told the rally that some 86,000 Saskatchewan residents are now on federal and provincial assistance; and~ that 40,600 are estimated officially to be jobless or underemployed. Only 9,600 jobs are promised in the budget, he said, and these are short term and low-paying. Shadrack urged people to let their MLA’s know what they think of the cutbacks. SGEU executive officer Larry Brown described the budget as an **18th century style attack on working people ... We need to have learned from B.C. to un- ite’’, said Brown, calling for united ac- tion between workers in government and private industry, employed and unemployed. Social Services Minister, Gordon Dirks has continued to defend the wel- fare cuts, saying the current levels for single employables are above the Cana- dian average and a disincentive to work. Saskatchewan Government Employe Highways Minister Jim Garner has also refused to reconsider the dismissals of his department’s employees despite heavy criticism. Forty-million dollars worth of the de- partment’s equipment is to be auctioned in May, a move which the NDP opposi- tion attacked,;-saying that the equipment “should have first been offered for sale to rural municipalities. The NDP also fears that the equipment may be auctioned for much less than its real value to local and out-of-province contractors. Protests by unemployed building trades workers, which began recently in Saskatoon, spread to Regina in the wake of the provincial budget. On Friday, April 6, some 700 workers marched down Albert Street to the provincial legislature to demand work. A leafiet distributed by the South Sas- katchewan Building Trades Council at the march attacked the Tories for run- ning up a huge provincial debt while not creating employment. ‘‘We need hospi- ‘tals, day care, senior citizens homes, schools, improvement to our present facilities NOW, and the workers need jobs NOW”, pointed out the council. As - ) mn kk _*} es’ Union rally at Legislature. in other provinces, non-union con- tractors and the economic downturn have left thousands of building trades workers out of a job. ok Rising anger against the Devine gov- ernment is leading to new efforts for a united fightback. Several unions as- sociated with relatively militant posi- tions in recent years have begun laying plans for a joint fightback campaign in- volving forces outside the labour move- ment. The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour executive has called for a ‘‘Soli- darity Day’’ June 24 in Regina. At the same time, initiatives for united action are coming from outside the labour movement. Several women’s or- ganizations have begun planning a broad-based conference, tentatively scheduled for April 28, to study the rami- fications of the Tory budget and to plan long-range strategy in organizing against It. Women’ groups, welfare rights or- ganizations, the Unemployment Com- mittee of Regina and other bodies are playing a prominent role in the struggle against the budget, and the proposed conference is drawing wide interest. Political struggle goes beyond balloting A few weeks back the Canadian Labor Congress brought the leaders of all its affiliates to Ottawa to dis- Cuss a five-point agenda. The first point was the upcom- Ing Federal elections. _ This was indeed a timely meeting to discuss such an important matter since a federal election appears im- minent and its outcome of considerable consequence to the working class and all Canadian people. What could have been expected therefore was a care- l examination of the issues, the possible consequences of the election, and on this basis, the approach to the elections by the CLC. Instead, what happened was a Completely mechanistic examination of the ridings in Which the New Democratic Party could be expected to ‘Win election, (six in Ontario for example), and how the CLC affiliates could best help in these ridings. _ We don’t wish to minimize for one minute the im- Portance of electing every possible NDP candidate in the UPcoming election, nor would we minimize the im- Portance of concentrating on constituencies within that framework, but what we do find unacceptable is the LC’s limited and almost defeatist approach to the elections. The Communist Party, for example, which does not ‘ave a single seat in parliament, calls for a massive effort y the entire labor and democratic movement to prevent a shift to the right in the election to prevent the election of 4 Neo-conservative majority to parliament. The question for the Communist Party is not just how Many seats it does or does not get but what serves the ' interests of the working people of Canada. Surely this Should be the concern of the CLC. And one might add, the NDP as well. Little Support | We are not sure whether CLC President Dennis McDermott is still pursuing his line of ‘‘better the Tories than the Liberals’’. It was certainly made clear to him that he had little support in his own organization for such 4 position. Whatever the reason however, what should and could have been a very important and useful discus- sion by the heads of Canadian unions on how to prevent a shift to the right in Canadian politics, which in its turn will bear directly on the economic. fortunes of their membership, turned into a non-discussion on the woes of the NDP. We are told there was practically no discussion on the election. 4® |\Labor in action + William Stewart Canada is in the grip of an economic crisis in which the workers are being made to carry the can for monopoly. We are heading into an election where the danger looms of saddling Canada with a Bennett-style government supporting both the economic as well as the international policies of U.S. President Reagan. In these circumstances the limits of the CLC discus- sion were based on a three-criteria examination they have done of Canadian constituencies, and conclusions arising from this. There was no discussion about slogans or campaigning to change the mood and attitudes of Canadian workers and all voters before an election. No discussion of mass campaigning around the burning issues of the day to give the working people the inspiration and confidence to become the decisive force in the election. But rather a pre-election wake, based on pollsters’ prognastications and static political appraisals. A Tough Election Ofcourse it is going to be a tough election. When was it ever otherwise for working people? But don’t the very toughness and the stark dangers call for special effort, special forms, special emphasis on what working people and all Canadian democrats can do to turn things around? ; The Communist Party has issued an appeal to the CLC, the NDP, the churches, students, farmers, wo- men’s groups, youth organizations and all organizations of the Canadian people to form a coalition and develop a common program to fight the coming election. - Such a coming together of the Canadian people around a program for peace and détente and for jobs and economic recovery is in line with their deepest feelings and needs. The Canadian Labor Congress could play a special role in bringing together such a coalition. It could help give heart to the yearnings of most Canadians for a different path than that being offered them in the Liberal leadership race or the Tory rejoinders. No single political or economic organization of the people, says the Communist Party, eitherthe NDP or the CLC can by itself, hope to block the drive to the right being pushed in Canada. Only the full unity of the work- ing class and democratic forces can accomplish this task. Recently Dennis McDermott in an article in the To- ‘ronto Star, commented on changes in his attitude in his years of leadership. ‘‘This was most strongly, indicated in his attitude to the question of Canadian inde- pendence,”’ the article quotes him as saying. ‘‘He is embarrassed to recall his early fervent support for inter- national unionism. In his travels he saw first hand how other nations dealt more-effectively with multinational companies, how the cringing colonial attitudes of Cana- dians had weakened both business and labor’’. Welcome Change of Heart All Canadian unionists welcome this change of heart by brother McDermott. Is it asking too much to suggest that he have a similar change of heart about his one-sided approach to reducing the political struggles of the trade union movement to. that of voting for the NDP? It is possible and necessary for the trade unions to help form political parties which offer workers a clear politi- cal alternative to the parties of monopoly. One may quite legitimately argue whether or not the NDP offers such an alternative policy and program, but one should not argue against the importance it represents in offering the work- ers a vehicle to help them break with the parties of monopoly. Blinkers were also useful to keep horses from being distracted by passing images. Trying to put NDP blin- kers on the trade union movement, to distract it from the realities, possibilities and limits of the federal e'=<:ion, serves no useful purpose, and is more likely io drive many unionists into support for the old-line parties. It is by no means too late for the CLC to set the matter straight. The coming CLC convention offers a powerful forum from which the CLC should warn the Canadian people about the dangers of the drive to the right, the need for the denial of a majority to either of the old line parties, and to call for the election of the largest possible bloc of progressive candidates including the NDP and the Communist Party. PACIFIC TRIBUNE, APRIL 18, 1984 e 7