THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER

LABOUR, HOUSING TWO MAIN POINTS
IN FEDERATION BRIEF TO B.C. GOVERNMENT

Labour Legislation and
Housing were the two main
points contained in a brief
presented by the B.C. Feder-
ation of Labour in its annual

submission to the Provincial
Government on Thursday,
January 11, 1968.

The 136,000 member Fed-
eration outlined its proposals
for legislative action in a
hard hitting 10 page brief to
members of the Cabinet.

The submission, although
expressing disappointment
that the government had ig-
nored its proposals of previ-
ous years, urged strongly that
the government review its
legislation on injunctions and
asked for a clause by clause
revision of the Labour Rela-
tions Act. The brief accused
the labour department of aid-
ing the employers of the prov-

ince or at best acting merely -

as an arbiter between labour
and management. It reminded

the government that in its
own literature it was intended
that the Department of La-
bour promote and ‘develop
the welfare of the wage
earner, besides encouraging
peaceful and harmonious re-
lations between labour and
management. It deplored the
way the government super-
vised strike votes were being
manipulated, it asked for a
change in the Trade Union
Act which presently presumes
that a trade-unionist is guilty
of an offence until proven in-
nocent. The brief also urged

_that the government bring in

legislation to prevent the,use
of professional strikebreakers.

Included in the brief was
a request that labour be given
an opportunity to appear be-
fore the standing committee
on labour to present specific
changes to the Trade Unions
Act (Bill 43) and the Labour
Relations Act.

A major plank in the brief
was on the matter of changes
to the Workmen’s Compensa-
tion Act. The labour delega-
tion urged that the proposed
Workmen’s Compensation
Bill be referred to the legisla-
tion committee to allow la-
bour to make a detailed
presentation.

The Federation also re-
quested a number of changes
to the legislature covering the
consumption of liquor and
asked for a new approach by
the Liquor Control Board.
The Federation ridiculed the
present practice of closing li-
censed premises on election
day stating that the day of
this type of election bribery
has long since passed. The
Federation’s brief urged for
relaxation in the legislation to
allow room service including
spirituous beverages and sug-
gested that the public be al-
lowed to purchase liquor with
their meals on a Sunday.

One section of the brief de-
plored the government who
on one hand were making ap-
peals to labour and manage-
ment for restraint on prices
yet ignored the Morrow Re-
port on gasoline prices which
contained a serious indict-
ment of the cost and price
behaviour of the oil industry.
It urged the government to
introduce the recommenda-
tions of the Morrow Commis-
sion.

The labour delegates reit-
erated its proposal for a uni-
versal and comipulsory gov-
ernment administered car in-
surance scheme for B.C.

On Housing the Federation
quoted the recent report of
the Economic Council of Can-
ada which pointed out that
one of the major reasons for
the spiraling cost of living
was increased rents and house
prices. The brief asked for an
end to land speculation and

DEPUTY LABOUR MINISTER
BACKS STRIKE RIGHT

The federal deputy minis-
ter of labour has advocated
that labour’s right to strike
should be extended rather
than restricted. The deputy
minister, Bernard Wilson, ad-
vocated this in a current is-
sue of the Labour Gazette.

“In these days of sudden
revolutionary changes in pro-
duction methods, how useful
is it to tie the hands of a
union and its members for the
duration of a long-term con-
tract while at the same time
permitting the employer to
drastically alter the working
conditions. around which the

contract was written and sign-
ed?” he asks.

He says this legal “confine-
¢ment” of labor leads to more
unrest, not less. Under pres-
ent law, a union signing a con-
tract cannot legally strike
during the contract period no
matter what new work issue
arises.

Wilson’s argument matches
a proposal made in a federal
‘inquiry report two years ago
by Mr. Justice Samuel Freed-
man of Winnipeg, who studied
a dispute over the CNR’s im-
position of longer crew runs
on freights.

On the question of strikes
that harm the national eco-
nomy, Wilson says it is now
beyond question that work
stoppages by soldiers, police-
men or firemen cannot be al-
lowed because of the vital pro-
tective furiction involved.

But he rejects the idea of
any larger anti-strike prohibi-
tion. Repeated denial of the
right to strike would lead only
to defiance, he says.

Then he goes on to suggest
a change in federal labor law
that would retain the right of
strike action but allow the
government to step in after 14
days in cases where the strike
‘Smperils the safety or secur-
ity of Canada or the economic
welfare and livelihood of great
numbers of its citizens.”

This provision would be
double-pronged. While allow-
ing the government to step in
after the specified 14 days, it
would also preclude such in-
tervention for that period.

“To forestall the inevitable
objection that the government
wil! be brought into every im-
portant dispute in essential in-
dustry, it should be pointed
out that that situation exists
now,” he says.

Wilson’s proposals, entitled
“random observation” on la-
bor relations, were originally
presented at a closed confer-
ence of federal and provincial
labor administrators last Sep-
tember. They are made pub-
lic in full for the first time by
the Gazette, the labor depart-
ment’s monthly magazine.

The department executive,
who has been working in the
labor relations field for 24
years, says most of the sug-
gestions to curtail labor un-
rest ignore the basic rights
and freedoms of both labor
and management.

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BRITISH COLUMBIA

1-80 ORGANIZATION DRIVE

Weldon Jubenville, presi-
dent of Local 1-80 IWA, re-
ports that the Local Union is
currently engaged in an in-
tensive drive to organize a
number of small unorganized
operations that have cropped

JACK MUMM

SABRE APPOINTS
WEST COAST
DISTRIBUTOR

Sabre Saw Chain (1963) Ltd.,
Burlington, Ontario, have ap-
pointed Sells Bros. Sales Ltd., 221
Carrall Street, Vancouver, B.C.,
their exclusive agents for the all-
new Sabre Widecut line of timber
chain. Sells Bros. activities will

cover the City of Vancouver, Van- ~

couver Island and the Queen
Charlotte Islands.

The company has been engaged
in the chain saw trade as retailer
and distributor since 1945. Sells’
contract division is the second
largest on the Canadian West
Coast, annual production exceed-
ing half a billion board feet.

Sabre’s own Vancouver ware-
house will continue to distribute
the regular styles of Sabre saw
chain saw accessories (guide bars,
sprockets, files, ignition parts,
wedges, etc.) throughout British
Columbia, Alberta and the Yukon,
[iar cence acer ae SE ae REE

up in the Local Union in the
last short while.

Local safety director Jack
Mumm will. spearhead the
drive and will devote his full
time during the month of Jan-
uary to organizing the crews
in these operations. He will
be assisted for approximately
one week by Hugh Robinson,
Local 3rd vice-president.

Jubenville reports that
Mumm has already organized
three operations having a
combined crew of twenty-five.
The crews in the balance left
vary from 5-12 men.

There are no large opera-
tions left unorganized in Lo-
cal 1-80 and a successful drive

‘ among the small ones would

make the Local Union 100%
organized.

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urged the creation of a pro-
vincial housing corporation,

The brief included a re-
quest for amendments to the

Landlord and Tenant Act to

require landlords to give rea-
sons for evictions, post rental
rates for all suites and to give

three months notice of any ©

rental increase.

The brief asked for the ap-
pointment of an Ombudsman
pointing out that with the tre-
mendous growth in govern-
ment functions the necessity
for an Ombudsman was more
and more essential.

The Federation delegation
was headed by Ray Haynes,
Secretary-Treasurer of the
Federation and included the
16 members of the Executive
Council, representatives from
a number of Labour Councils
and Building Trades Councils
as well as a representative
from the regional office of the
Canadian Labour Congress.

BROADWAY
PRINTERS

printers and lithographers
since 1911

115 EAST 8th AVENUE
VANCOUVER 10, B.C.

Telephone 876-2101

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