i

More than 40 women from Com-
Munist clubs in many parts of B.C:
took part in an all-day conference
Sunday, October 21 in the
Fishermen’s Hall, Vancouver, to
discuss problems facing working
Women and to plan action to meet
the pressing issues of the day.

After an extensive discussion in
Which many took part covering

‘Such important questions as the
Struggle for equality for women, at-
titude to the feminist movement
and the ferment among women in
today’s world, as well as many con-
Crete problems facing Communist
Women, the conference adopted

Decent pensions
In Okanagan Tel.

pollen Doolan, Vancouver writes:
: a decent pension too much to ask
or? Is parity with your union
brothers an excessive demand?
C. Telephone arrogantly says

sa in principle and practice.

r he B.C. Federation of
€lephone Workers is now in its

_ tenth week of strike with Okanagan

by ePhone which is 99.9% owned
Y B.C. Tel (which in turn is owned
Y the giant U.S. corporation,
€neral Telephone and
sin aPh. The main issue is pen-

tiie Okanagan Telephone
Orkers want parity with B.C.
flephone workers. The B.C. Tel.
tllement included post service
Nefits far in excess of any offers
Made to Okanagan Tel. workers. If
ae Post service benefits were ex-
puued to Okanagan Tel.
onPloyees, there would be grounds
Settlement.
Ome of the shocking facts about

Nsions in the Okanagan are that *

People including management
aera a total for the year of
milli $29,000 yet most of the $1.2
On held in the pension fund is
t contributed by the employees.
Ome examples of the present
uation include the following:
Clephone operator: Retired at
on a monthly pension of

Sit

Qeer FORUM

two action resolutions dealing with
rising prices and arms costs.

The prices resolution addressed
to the Federal government and
Prices Review Board demanded
that the Board be invested with
power to roll back prices when

' profits are shown to be excessive,
‘further, that just cause be shown
for price increases and that
offenders who refuse to comply be
fined and sent to jail.

The resolution also demanded
that all persons on fixed incomes
be alloted sufficient monies to
provide for the basic necessities
vital to maintaining good health. It

$156.17 after 30 years service and
contributions to the plan of 15% of
salary for eight years, at age 65, the
monthly pension is reduced to
$3.12.

Installer repairman: Retired at
age 65 on a pension of $122.05
monthly after 29 years service and
contributions of 10% of salary for
15 years.

Office clerk: Retired at age 60 on
pension of $116.61 monthly after 13
years service and contributions to
the plan of 4% of salary for 13
years. At age 65, the pension stops
completely. :

The Federation of Telephone
Workers (FTW) considers its
demands modest and in light of the
tremendous profits extracted by
B.C. Tel. from the province, com-
pletely. justifiable.

B.C. Tel. however, violently dis-
agrees and has reacted by padding

the management staff of Okanagan. .

Tel. with supervisor scabs from the
parent company. The arrogant at-
titude of the company initially
provoked the dispute and con-
tinues to aggravate it.

The struggle of the Okanagan
Tel. workers against the telephone
monopoly is a hard and financially
exhausting battle. B.C. Tel. is con-
tent to sit back and wait out the
strike, ably assisted by court in-
junctions.

The workers are determined to
win their pension benefits and
need the support of all organized
labor in the province. This is a

<struggle against monopoly.

Smorgasbord
Dancing

Admission

FISHERMEN’S HOMECOMING
SOCIAL & DANCE

Saturday, November 3, 1973
FISHERMEN’S HALL

138 East Cordova Street

GOOD MUSIC

Senior Citizens & Students
Sponsored by Frank Rogers Social Club

6:30 p.m. :
9:00 p.m. — 1 a.m.
BYOB
$5 per person
$4 per person

GLOBE

‘253-1221.

FOR ALLYQUR FRAVELNEEDS

Contact:

2679.£. Hastings St., Varicouver 6; B.C:

TOURS

2542312 -

, Communist women’s parley
hits high prices, war costs

also called for action to nationalize
the food processing industry.

A second resolution strongly op-
posed the Federal government’s
plan to increase the defence budget
by seven percent for each of the
next five years. The resolution
said:

“At a time when international
detente is taking place and
peaceful relations are growing
between East and West we find it
shameful and inexcusable to com-
mit an additional $150 million a
year to war materials.”

Pointing to the ‘‘crying need” for
more money for housing, pensions,
day care for children, education
and welfare, the resolution resolv-
ed to ‘“‘condemn the Federal
government’s proposed plan to
raise the defence budget and in-
stead urged the Federal govern-
ment to reduce it steadily and con-
centrate on promoting peaceful
relations with all countries.

The keynote report to the con-
ference entitled ‘“‘Women in
Today’s World” was delivered by
Mona Morgan, on behalf of the
B.C. Women’s Committee of the
Communist Party.

ENERGY

Cont'd. from pg. 1

Compare that to the figure given
in B.C. Hydro’s annual report, that
electricity sold for residential use
in B.C. last year went for about 19
mills per kwt hour, and that B.C.
consumers paid an average of
about 12 mills per kwt hour for all
forms of energy.

What emerges from the report is
this picture:

“e That we now are exporting 13
times more energy from B.C. to
the U.S. than we did the previous
year, and that exports are growing
by leaps and bounds.

e That we are burning up huge
amounts of natural gas and oil to
produce thermal power for large
scale export to the U.S. —

e That we are selling this vast
and important energy resource to
the U.S. at  firesale prices
which average about one-third of
what B.C. consumers are paying
for the energy.

Some months ago the PT carried
an article protesting statements by
B.C. Hydro officials who advocated
further integration of B.C. and U.S.
energy resources in a common
northwest pool. This continental
approach in energy is beneficial to
the U.S. but costly to B.C. and
Canada, as the latest B.C. Hydro
report shows.

A complete overhaul of our
energy policies both provincially
and federally is long overdue. We
cannot afford to see our energy
resources fritted away at bargain-
basement prices to the U.S. at a
time when Canada faces a growing

energy crisis. B.C. should demand -

a national energy policy which
would be aimed at retaining energy
resources in Canada. :

Next month U.S. Secretary of
State Henry Kissinger is coming to
Ottawa for talks on energy
problems. The U.S. is mounting

- pressure on Canada and on every

province for increased supplies of
energy resources. There is no time
to lose in mounting public pressure
on Victoria and Ottawa for an all-

Canadian energy program which -

would halt the giveaway of our
energy resources to the U.S. and
use them to serve Canadian needs.

29

Serrano in the Wall Street Journal

*One nice thing about the salary—it's noninflationary.'

TAX REFORM

cont'd from pg. 2

I think the tax should be on 100%
of the added value.

ASSESSMENT

Council’s committee on finance
‘and administration failed to even
consider the most important tax
reform needed in Vancouver. That
is a reassessment of all commercial
and industrial properties to ensure
that they are assessed at their true
market value. The situation today
is disgraceful and, I might add, in
violation of stated assessment
policies.

Homes are assessed at 100% of
their market value. Commercial
and industrial properties are sup-
posed to be also. But in practice
the latter are assessed at only a
small fraction of their true market
value. This is how big business gets

SALE

WATERDAMAGED
STOCK
50% — 80%
In Saleroom
‘Friday, Oct. 26 to
Sat. Nov. 3.
People’s Co-op Bookstore

341 — W. Pender St.
685-5836

out of paying its fair share of taxes.
And since it doesn’t pay its fair
share, the homeowner has to pay
all the more.

The huge B.C. Sugar Refining
plant at the foot of Rogers on the
waterfront, for example, is assess-
ed-at only $7.7 million for both land
and improvements! It is worth
probably five times that amount —
and the total increase in the
assessments in the past three years
has been only 10%. This is out-
rageous! Yet this is the rule, not
the exception, when it comes to
assessing commercial and in-
dustrial properties. :

The City of Vancouver pays the
assessors. It should demand that
the provincial government, which
appoints them and set out the rules
for assessment, instruct them to
begin carrying out the letter of the
law and assess commercial and in-

. dustrial properties at their actual

market value.

If business and commercial
properties paid their fair share of
taxes, the taxes on homes could be
slashed drastically.

The other big tax reform needed
is for the provincial government to
carry out its election promise, ‘‘to
remove school taxes from the fami-
ly farm and owner occupied home
— over a five year period.’ This
would cut home taxes by about
50%.

Classified Advertising

COMING EVENTS

OCTOBER 27 — FILMS OF
1973 WORLD YOUTH
FESTIVAL in BERLIN. Hear
Speaker on: ROLL BACK
PRICES. Saturday, October 27
— 8 P.M. at 832 Calverhall,
North Vancouver. Good Food
and Refreshments. Everyone

‘’ Welcome. Adm. $1.50. Children
75¢.

November t0O— Saturday,
ANNIVERSARY BANQUET
AND DANCE TO
CELEBRATE THE GREAT
OCTOBER SOCIALIST
REVOLUTION, at the Nordic
Centre, 7820-6th St., Burnaby.
Speaker — Maurice Rush,
editor of the PT. Entertain-
ment, Refreshments. Supper at
6:30, price: adults $4.00,
students (under 16) $2.00. Ausp:
Fraser Valley Region, CPC.

November 9 ANNUAL
FISHERMEN’S CABARET,
Ukrainian Hall, 805 E. Pender
Street, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER
9th, 9 P.M. to 1 A.M. Tickets:
Advance $3.50—Door $4.50 (for
advance tickets phone 254-3436,
for information phone 255-1415,
M. Varila.) Milestones

Orchestra, Refreshments.
Spons. by F.O. of Canada and
Woodwards Local UFAW
Union.

October 28 — North Shore Readers .
CURRENT. EVENTS CLASS —
Events in Chile — Mid-East
Crisis. Hear Maurice Rush, PT
editor. Sunday, October 28, 1-3
P.M. 832 Calverhall.

BUSINESS PERSONALS

NEED CAR OR HOUSE
INSURANCE? Call Ben
Swankey 433-8323.

WANTED -

WANTED OLDER
FURNITURE in Clean Condition.
Cash. Coastal Recycling, 1336
Nanaimo. 253-7238. -

HALLS FOR RENT

UKRAINIAN CANADIAN
CULTURAL CENTRE - &05
East Pender St.; Vancouver 4,
‘Available for banquets, wed-
dings, meetings. Phone 254-
3436. :

WEBSTER’S CORNER HALL
Available for banquets,
meetings, weddings, etc. For
rates, Ozzie 325-4171 or 685-
5836.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 1973—PAGE 11