- Quebec legislation fascist’

TORONTO — David Archer,
president of the 800,000 member
Ontario Federation of Labor,
called the Quebec legislation
arising out of the Cliche Com-
mission, “fascist.”

In an interview with the Trib-.
une, Archer said, “I’m not going
to defend hoodlums, racketeers
and loansharks. If they are in
the trade union movement, then
its our job to get rid of them
as quickly and effectively as we
can.

“Having said that, we go to

the Cliche Report and it showed
that all elements of Quebec so-
ciety, the contractors, the gov-
ernment and the unions were in--
volved in this racketeerism.
“The government has decided
“to curb only one section with

There is no piece of social
security legislation in this coun-
try more relevant to wage and
salary earners than: the Unem-
_ ployment Insurance Act. First
- proposed and fought for by the

Communist Party in the Hungry
Thirties, it took years of hard
struggle by the trade unions and
the labor and democratic move-
ment before it was enacted as
the law of this land in 1941.
Even then many seasonal work-
ers remained ‘outside the Act
until some years after the war.

For 30 years after the Act
came into operation, benefits
remained at a low of $13 per
week and a high of $53 per
week. A Committee of Inquiry

to study the Act reported to
Parliament in December 1962.
This report was promptly filed
away to gather dust, and for-
gotten.

Finally by 1970, after a grow-

ing demand to update and im-
prove the Act, the government
published a White Paper .on
_ “Unemployment Insurance in the
_ 70s”. After a review and public
hearings conducted by the
Standing Committee on Labor,
Manpower and Immigration, of
the House of Commons, some
changes were made to update
the’ Act in 1971.

Penalizes Individuals

These changes reduced the
qualification period, made bene-
fits more accesible to seasonal
workers, and granted sick and

maternity benefits. The scope of —

the Act was extended to include
more wage and salary earners
on the basis of the universality
principle and approach.

But the plan still serves as a
temporary stabilizer of the capi-
talist system. It penalizes the
unemployed individual, forcing
him or her, to accept a lower

standard of living because -of |

circumstances over which the
unemployed worker has no con-
trol whatever. It does not recog-
nize unemployment as a social
problem, which, for the worker
concerned, is a personal disaster.
It does not proceed from the
fact that private employers ope-
rate in pursuit of the private
profit motive, closing plants and
businesses to suit their own
private interests, and regardless
of social consequences in terms
of layoffs and human suffering.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—MAY 23, 1975—Page 6

indefensible legislation. I don’t
use the word ‘fascist’ too often
because it is bandied about too
much. But this is, to all intents,
fascist legislation, undesirable
and unnecessary. In fact Cliche
has said that the government is
in it up to its ears. Cournoyer,
the mfnister of labor is as re-
sponsible as anyone for what is
happening. The government tak-
ing over the trusteeship of sev-
eral locals is like taking from
one set of thieves and giving to
ancther. It is no answer to the
problem. |
“The trade union movement

has to condemn the racketeering -

and loansharking but I would
hope that they aren’t the elected
officers. Their job should be to
get rid of them to protect the
workers and to that extent they

should cooperate with «anyone
who has that in mind.

“But I think the unions are
correct in protesting against the
repressive, unnecessary and pro-
bably ineffective legislation. The
government is already having
trouble finding trustees to do the
job. The trustees must, to some
extent, be trusted by the people
going under the trusteeship.

‘J think the Canadian Labor
Congress could be that trustee-
ship. The CLC must have a pre-
sence in Quebec. If Quebec is
going to be part of the Canadian
trade union movement,- then
what it does reflects on the trade
union movement and I think
through the CLC_the rest of the
trade union movement must be
protected.”

LABOR SCENE SxgemUsiuen (eleioss

BY BRUCE MAGNUSON as political football

It does not make the cost of un-
employment © compensation a
charge against corporate earn-
ings and profits, as well .as
against general public revenue,
and non-contributory as far as
the worker is concerned, which
would be a fairer and more just

‘way, in the circumstances, for

both the worker and society at

large.
Charge Corporations

Unemployment Insurance can
never ‘become a _ Self-financing
operation. It is an essential so-
cial service in our capitalist
society to compensate unem-
ployed workers for loss of in-
come. The cost ought to be

charged against corporate earn- |

ings, profits, and general public
revenues. The capitalist mono-
polies, international conglomer-
ates who disturb all traditional
patterns of employment and
create wide-spread regional dis-
parities, should be paying the

-lion’s share of the social costs
. of mass-unemployment and eco-

nomic dislocation,

Instead of that, we find a
constant propaganda barrage
direct against labor and to de-
press workers’ living standards.
In the case of the unemployed,
there is a vicious campaign. of
slander about cheating. While
there may be a few that seek to
take some personal advantage,
such cases are exceptions and
oftentimes the result of ignor-
ance of all the bureaucratic
rules. that govern such pay-
ments. The real crooks in our
social system are to be found
among the ruling class of explo-
iters, not among those who earn
their living by honest work.

* Means Test

“Benefits should not be avail-
able to people who are fired for
misconduct or who quit their
jobs,” writes the Toronto Globe
and Mail editorially about Un-
employment Insurance. ‘‘Mater-
nity benefits should be with-
drawn: they are one of the
principal areas where cheating
occurs, aS women who have
really quit the work force after
having a baby pretend to be still
available for work. The eight-
week. qualifying period should
be greatly extended . . . Entitle-
ment to benefits should take
into consideration total annual
income and total family in-
come.” (This last point made by

the G&M editor hits at the uni-
versality of approach and seeks
to introduce a system of means
test for unemployed as part of
qualifications for the collection
of unemployment insurance
benefits.)

The above quotes show some
of the areas where big business
tries to emasculate the Unem-
ployment Insurance Act. But
while there is ample room for
reform in this legislation and its
administration, such reform
needs to move in a progressive
direction. ee

- 80% of Pay

The. Communist Party con-

tends that it is the responsibility

of the government to see that.

jobs are available to all able
and willing to work. This should
be the right of every Canadian,
the right to a job. :
“Failing that, unemployed
workers must be entitled to an
income no less than 80% of a
person’s weekly wage or salary
at the last place of employment.
Such payment should start from
the first day of unemployment
and should continue for the
entire period of involuntary job-
lessness. Legislation should al-
low an unemployed worker to
earn or receive supplementary
income, which together with

unemployment benefits would .

equal the income from a work-

er’s wage or salary at the last

place of employment.

Young people out of school
and unable to find work should
be covered by the Act and re-
ceive benefits. ;

Unemployment benefits should
not be conditional upon .accep-
tance of any job which does not
correspond to the qualifications
of the person concerned.

There must be no disqualifica-
tions from benefits under the
Act as a result of unemploy-
ment due to a strike or lockout,
nor as a result of refusal to
cross a picket line. -

With

hooves the trade union move-
ment to pay particular attention
to legislation such as described

above. Without a continuous’

struggle for improvements, and
eternal vigilance to maintain
gains made, reaction will seek
to take over and push the clock
back. This must not be allowed
to happen.

the present rapid
growth of unemployment it be-.

ITU WINS NEW
CONTRACT AT
WINDSOR STAR

Members of the largest me-
chanical union at The Windsor
Star have voted in favor of rati-
fying a two-year contract with
the newspaper.

Ed Diggle, president of Local
553, Windsor Typographical
Union, said members of his
union, “by an overwhelming ma-
jority,” voted last week to ap-
prove a tentative agreement
reached earlier.

“They agreed to send the pro-
posals to the -ITU (International
Typographical Union) Bureau of
Contracts for review,” said Mr.
Diggle.

“This is.an indication that the
local subordinate union has
agreed to accept the agreement
as negotiated,” he said.

Contract details are being
witheld until other mechanical

unions at The Star hold ratifica-

tion meetings.

“It’s a fairly reasonable con-
tract . . . not a good contract,”
said Mr. Diggle.

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
REMAINS UNCHANGED

OTTAWA — The national un-
employment rate remained un-
changed in April from the 7.2%
recorded in March, Statistics
Canada’ reported. This meant
that unemployment continued at

_its highest rate since June, 1961.

A total of .795,000 were without
jobs in April, down from the
840,000 jobless a month earlier.
Quebec’s 9% rate was unchang-
ed from March, and compares
with about a 7% rate at the start
of the winter. In Ontario, unem-
ployment showed a minimal in-

crease to 6.1% from 6% in’

March. The Newfoundland rate
eased to. 17.5% from 18.8% in
March, leaving it still the pro-
vince with by far the highest
jobless rate. The B.C. rate mo-
derated to 8.1% from 8.4% the
previous month. Figures were
adjusted for seasonal variations.

‘ OIIDED Au
MNIDUALS

A STDY IN RELATIVITY

i

‘sparked a three-day walkout at ||

JOB ASSIGNMENTS
LEAD TO WILDCATS

KAMLOOPS — Union miners —
ended their wildcat walkout at
the Lornex copper mine neat
here. 4
They voted last week to return |
to work after union and com
pany representatives resolved 4
dispute over job assignments at j}
the mine.

About 500 members of United
Steelworkers of America, Loca’
7619, had been off the job sincé —
earlier in the week when six
union electricians were suspend
ed for refusing to do work as
signed to them. a

Local - union _ president Al ;
Kemp said Lornex agreed ther@ —
will be no further disciplinary
action taken against the sit
men. 5 4

The job assignment issue als? |)

the mine last week.

CLC CONDEMNS
UNION CORRUPTION

OTTAWA — Canadian Labot
Congress (CLC) leaders com
demned corruption and violenc® |
within some Quebec construc
tion unions but at the same tim? 7
said the provincial government
should not place a trusteeship
-over the four offending locals. —

In their first official reaction
since the Quebec government ]
began legislative action to im” |
pose government control ovef |
the four locals, the 30-member
CLC executive council said 4
supervisory commission should
be created that would allow
labor to set up its own trustee”
ship.

The statement, adopted after
meetings of the council in To-
rento earlier this week, was als® |
conveyed. to Quebec Premief |
Robert Bourassa. |

“The Canadian Labor Com
gress condemns the anarchy, A
corruption and violence withi#’ 7
some of its affiliated unions i?
Quebec, as revealed by the re |
port of the Cliche commission, —
CLC president Joe Morris said |
in the toughly-worded state- |.
ment. 3