LABOR Canadian labor might leam A militant fightback last year by France’s largest trade union Central, the Communist-led CGT, (General Confederation of Labor), succeeded in beating ‘back an employer offensive for concessions that had the tacit Support of Mitterand’s Socialist Party government. ‘Dubbed, a ‘‘job flexibility” program, it was a drive for con- \ Cessions which would have al- lowed bosses to fire workers in- _ discriminately, increased _part- time and temporary work at the €xpense of declining full-time _ jobs, and destroyed the unions’ Tole in defending their members’ Tights and interests. All of France’s major trade _ Union organizations, with the sole €xception of the CGT, were going along with the initiative, and sign- Ing agreements embracing ‘‘job flex” as the way to a new era of labor-management co-operation m French industry. Against seemingly impossible Odds, the CGT decided on a Course of massive trade union re- Sistance to job flex and set into Motion a comprehensive strategy of rallies, work stoppages, peti- _ tion campaigns and leaflet dis- _ tribution at all levels of the union Movement to kill the flex time _ program. CGT called on all unionists throughout the country, regard- less of their political preferences, to unite in pressuring their leaders to back off of the retrograde con- Cessions program. The strategy worked as mass tank and file pressure forced them _ to abandon the job flex program _ and the CGT claimed a critical & | Victory in defending workers’ Jobs, living standards and class Interests. While circumstances in Canada differ in many respects, Canadian Workers nevertheless face a con- Certed drive by big business and 80vernments at all levels to make labor accept concessions, two- tier wage systems, contracting out, part-time and casual work in- stead of decent paying jobs — all in the name of making workers share the blame for an economic crisis that is only big-business’ fault. The Canadian Labor Congress should take a leaf from the CGT book. Instead of sitting on Tory government committees like the Nielson Commission, studying the wheres and hows of slashing social services and cutting the de- ficit on the people’s backs, the CLC ought to be launching a mas- sive, united, fightback movement for jobs, against cutbacks and the from CGT’s tough fightback congress’ own economic program. As the Communist Party pointed out on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Ottawa Trek,’’ the first step in nine-point organizing such a broad fightback. and hopefully the development of a large People’s Majority outside of parliament to check and defeat the Tory majority inside, would be for the Congress to fulfill its 1984 convention promise to or- ganize a Canada-wide March for Jobs. The CGT’s successful fightback against flex time in- - dicates what can be achieved through labor unity around a pro- gram of mass struggle. Branch plant pay offer turned down by workers SCARBOROUGH, Ont. — The workers at Burroughs Business Machines in this Toronto borough hit the bricks on May 30.. -... _ Like other workers compelled to resort to strike action against intransigent corporations, the 76 at Burroughs, members of UAW Local 303, have been working for wages that rele- gated them to the status of close to, or below, the poverty level. Wages before the strike ranged from $6.70 an hour to $10.30 for skilled workers. The ‘‘offer’? of the company would have included a wage in- crease of 6 per cent in each year of a two-year term. Prior to the final “offer’’, the company’s original position was one of lump-sum payments, Which the workers had firmly rejected. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Burroughs Corp. De- troit. The summer issue of the Fi- nancial Post 500, ranks them 336th in sales for 1984, with sales and operating revenue close to $182.5 million. Their ranking in terms of assets is listed at 295, with assets of $131.489 million. The June 14 UAW Newsletter reports that ‘‘ the company has brought scabs into the plant’’. Ac- cording to Local 303 president Tom McDonnell, ‘“‘morale on the line is really very good ... these workers are determined to get a fair offer from the company.”’ The experience of the workers at Burroughs Business Machines is just another example of the need to end U.S. control over the economy. It drives home the need for nationalization, under demo- . cratic control, of U.S. multi- national branch plants in Canada. IUAUEGERGTEGUOGUEOOOOUGOUEOOEOUEOUEOUEGUOOUEONEGNEOUEOUEOUEEQEEUUEGEOODOGUOUEOOEGUOOUEOUEOYTOQEOQEEQEEQUOGUOOOONEOODEOUEQUEOUOOUEOEEOL ( Tories told Wilson budget ~ exactly opposite to needs ““On-to-. EDMONTON — The Edmonton and District Labor Council has sent a letter June 19, to re- gional MPs opposing the Wilson budget and call- ing for an alternative budget that will put Cana- dians back to work; create jobs; improve social Services; cut the deficit by ending massive give- aways to big business and by reducing military spending; and avoid free-trade policies. Signed by council president Doug Elves, the - letter says the budget ‘‘approaches Canada’s problems through means exactly opposite to those which are needed’’. Pointing out that the council strongly opposes many budget pro- posals, especially the de-indexation of pen- ’ sions, to which country-wide opposition ‘has reached near unanimity’’, the council charges that the Tory budget will reduce the incomes of Canada’s working-class majority, while ‘‘large corporations will be the main beneficiaries, and without even having to promise to create jobs’’. It accused the Tory government of *‘banking On blind faith in the ‘trickle-down theory’, pro- posing to ‘feed the horses so the birds don’t Starve.” ; The seven-point alternative budget proposed 1) Put Canadians back to work through a massive public works program, expended partly on assistance to municipalities presently unable to afford capital projects. 2) Create jobs through legislating shorter work time at no loss in pay and earlier voluntary retirement with improved pensions. 3) Introduce a vast training and retraining program for youth and workers displaced by technological advance. 4) Improve social services of all kinds to create jobs and to make workers healthier, more secure, better trained and more productive. 5) Eliminate the deficit by ending massive giveaways to large corporations, many of them foreign-based. 6) Cut the deficit also by cutting military expenditures. The military is a sector of the economy which creates relatively few jobs for each dollar amount. 7) Avoid “free trade’’ policies. They will contribute to the de-industrialization of Canada, since our economy is increasingly owned and controlled by foreign-based corporations which, even more than Canadian corporations, are uninterested in developing and diversifying a balanced Canadian economy. Labor Briefs UAW urges action on pensions, Star Wars PORT ELGIN, Ont. — Speaking at the Canadian UAW Coun- cil meeting over the weekend of June 22-23, Canadian UAW director Bob White slammed the Mulroney government for its budget, particularly the de-indexing of old-age pensions and the — lack of job creation measures. He pointed out that while the Conservatives had set a target of $2 billion for reducing the deficit, they had not set a target for reducing unemployment. White said he was ‘‘disgusted’’ watch- ing Tory backbenchers cheering wildly when the $500,000 capital gains tax exemption was announced. “‘This is strictly a giveaway to the wealthy in our society, and the Conservatives had the audacity to do this along with the denial of indexing for the first 3 per cent inflation increase-under old age security,”’ he said. “This is an absolute breach of faith by this government to the senior citizens of this country’} he said, ‘‘and it flies in the face of its election promises.”’ But he added, ‘‘I think the government has made a dumb political decision and they can be made to reverse it. This is one time people power can work,”’ he said, urging local unions to embark on local campaigns protesting the attack on pensions. In another recommendation White proposed that the Council go on record in opposition to Canadian involvement with U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s Star Wars plan and that local unions follow up by sending letters protesting Canadian involvement to the Conservative government. Dutch achieve 36-hour week AMSTERDAM — Dutch workers have reached agreement with a key company in their campaign for a 36-hour week. Hoogovens Steel has agreed to a contract including a 36-hour week for its 7,400 full-time workers. But talks have broken down in the important heavy metal and electrical machinery industry and the light metal industry. The 500,000 workers in the two sectors have just.begun meetings to plan details to continue the campaign. The Netherlands’ biggest trade union federation, FNV, said it hoped the Hoogovens decision, which will result in 700 new jobs, would set a precedent for other industries.. Unions point out that - shorter hours will help to reduce unemployment, currently above 16 per cent. PSAC protests harassment incidents OTTAWA — Bonnie Robichaud, a federal public service em- ployee at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) North Bay, who has been fighting a sexual harassment case for six years, has been sus- pended without pay pending an investigation, and given no reason for the suspension. The employer is also requiring Robichaud to undergo psychiatric assessment, even though the employer has no authority to oblige her to do so. Robichaud first complained to the Human Rights Commission (HRC) in 1980 that her supervisor had made sexual advances to her, and then tried to intimidate her once she rejected him. After having her complaint first upheld, then dismissed, then reversed, Robichaud was successful on May 23 in having the Supreme Court agree to hear her appeal in the near future. The Public Service Alliance of Canada, of which Robichaud is a member, and which has helped fight her case, said June 14 it is “‘appalled”’ at this overt form of harassment, which shows the employer’s total lack of sensitivity, given the difficult situation faced by the mother of five. ‘‘Robichaud is a true pioneer in the cause of women’s rights in the federal public service, and at the very least should be made aware of the nature of the suspension issue, which would provide her with the information necessary to defend herself,’ PSAC said. “The Alliance, through its regional representative in North Bay, has asked the base commander to provide an explanation for the suspension, but has not yet received a satisfactory reply.”” In a related incident, PSAC called June 19 for the establish- — ment of an independent tribunal to rule on whether a federal public service employee, Isabel Goligher, was harassed into re- signing from her job as a chief Electronic Data Processor (EDP) with the department of supply and services in London, Ontario. Goligher, a former Alliance member, who resigned in August 1981, says she was harassed into quitting after extensive verbal abuse. The issue has not yet been resolved. After ‘‘four years of having her case bandied back and forth between the department, Human Rights Commission, and Public Service Commission’’, PSAC called for a decision by an inde- pendent tribunal ‘‘which is the very least Goligher deserves after four years of indecision’’. George Hewison is on vacation. Labor in Ac- tion will resume next month on his return. \ by the council should: PACIFIC TRIBUNE, JULY 3, 1985 e 5