By BRUCE MAGNUSON
The 24th annual convention of the
United Senior Citizens of Ontario Incor-
porated was held from August 9 to 11 this
year at the Laurentian University in
Sudbury. Six hundred and forty-eight
delegates, visitors and guests were regis-
tered of which 487 were voting delegates.
A heavy agenda faced the delegates with
147 resolutions dealing with topics such
as health, housing, pensions and a
number of miscellaneous items, includ-
ing disarmament and world peace.
There were 28 resolutions submitted on
| Various health matters. These were all
Satisfactorily dealt with, thanks to the
Preparatory work of the resolutions
committee. _
Twelve resolutions dealt with housing

sions, health big

problems for seniors, as well as rent con-
trol.

Twenty-six resolutions dealt with pen-
sions. The substance of those adopted
called for a retirement income of 75% of
the average industrial wage, including
improved pension plans (government
and private) covering Old Age Secunity,
Guaranteed Income Supplement,
Canada Pension, Disability Pension,
Spouses Allowance and private plans.
With the Green Paper on pensions now
planned by Ottawa for October we shall
be coming back to this question.

There were six resolutions, on disar-
mament and peace. The one adopted
came from the Metro Toronto Senior
Citizens’ Council and reads: “support
for municipal peace plebiscites, against

Cruise missile testing in Canada, disas-
sociation by our country from any policy
of first nuclear strike preparation, and
engagement instead of a determizzd ef-
fort to negotiate balanced arms reduc-
tions and eventual disarmament as the
only need to peace in the world.

The final day’s election of officers re-
sulted in re-election of all but two of last
year’s Executive Board of 11 members,
plus four appointees for a total of 15. A
total of 27 candidates were nominated.

The convention got off to a good start
with a cultural program in the universi-
ty’s Frazer Auditorium on Monday even-
ing. This program featured a famous
Sudbury accordion orchestra of young
people, a Finnish Choir of Women who
are all senior citizens and, a ballet known

items at seniors’ meet’

throughout North America and Europe
as ‘‘The Canadian Show-case”’.

The top talents from Canada’s Big-
Nickle city, would soon put Sudbury on
the map as a cultural center if allowed on
television. But for whatever reason, one
never sees or hears this fine talenton TV.
All those who attended the cultural pro-
gram were surprised and pleased at such
a high level of entertainment.

The coming together, in this rather un-
ique performance, of youth and aged per-
formers was most appropriate to the oc-
casion and received the highest praise by

‘all present. Above all, Sudbury’s work-

ing people gave us something to think
about in terms of what initiative and
organization can do to bring out the best
in progressive art and culture.

S

Health care
Strikers

ordered back,

SFL vows

fightback

By KIMBALL CARIOU

REGiNA — For the second
time this year, the Saskatchewan
Government has broken a strike
of health care workers. Tory
Premier Grant Devine recalled
the legislature Aug. 20 to order
100 employees of the Sask-
atchewan Cancer Foundation,
members of the Saskatchewan
Government Employees Union
(SGEU), back-to work after a
nine-day strike. Five months ago,
the Blakeney New Democratic
Party government sent 5,000
CUPE hospital workers back, a
move wich cost the NDP
considerable labor support in the
spring election. Now in the op-
position the NDP backed the

The cancer clinic workers in-
clude radiation and radiotherapy
thechnicians, nurses and clerks in
Saskatoon and Regina. Their con-
tract, which expired last Sept. 30,
has left them $200-$700 a month
short of wages of comparable
workers in other hospitals. This
has led to a frequent shortage of
staff at the clinics, as employees
take positions with better pay and
benefits elsewhere. The union
says that this has often meant
poor working conditions, and
problems for patients.

Union bargaining committee
chairperson Ron Bethiaume says
that the final offer by the Sask-
atchewan Health-care Associa-
tion (SHA), which bargains for

provide wage equality for some
employees in the first year, but
then leave them falling behind
again. Within a few years, he
points out, nurses at the clinics
would be earning $150 a month
less than their counterparts in
other hospitals, resulting in
further losses of trained people.
He says that the SHA has backed
off on its promise during the last
round of negotiations to provide
parity for nurses.

The Saskatchewan Federation
of Labor in condemning the bill,
accused the SHA of stalling
negotiations until the back-to-
work legislation came through.

Rather than building up staff by
paying appropriate wages, the

sorted to recruiting trips to Bri-
tain, especially to hire techni-
cians.

The SHA launched a loud pub-
lic campaign even before the
strike began, accusing the union
of demanding 33%-57% pay in-
creases. In fact, parity for half the
workers would require
12.75%-20% raises, and
20%-32.7% for the other half.

Although no patients were in
any danger, clinic management
quickly announced plans to ship —
some people to other provinces —
for treatment. The union pointed
out that this had not been done
before, when staff shortages

Tory bill unanimously.

the Cancer Foundation, would

union says, management has re-

for patients.

U.S. example shows giveaways don’t work

With regard to the critical stage of negotiations be-
tWeen the United Automobile Workers Union in Canada
and GM, Ford and Chrysler, we are turning our column
Over this week to George Morris, columnist for the U.S.
Daily World. His remarks are quite significant for Cana-
dian auto workers in particular and all Canadian workers
facing the combined monopoly-government assault on
their wages, working and social conditions.

* * OK

Six months after the widely publicized multi-billion-
dollar giveaways to Ford and GM, which the United
Auto Workers called historic, they have been shown to

an unquestionable success — for Ford and GM. Inthe
Second quarter of 1982, the first full quarter since the
deals were made, GM netted $560-million profit, an 8.87
increase over the same quarter in 1981, and Ford netted
$205-million, three times the firm’s profit for the same
Period in 1981.

That, of course, is viewed in. business and U.S.
80vernment circles as clear evidence that the road to
Tecovery is via the giveaway speedways. And those of
SIX months ago were seen as just a beginning. :

But obstacles have been encountered along the give-
away roads, GE, Westinghouse and other electrical
Companies, facing strikes, were forced by unions to sign
New pacts which not only contain no takeaways, but
actually have gains for the workers. Other companies
Yielded similarly, while some face very stubborn and
militant strikes, like those of Browne and Sharpe work-
7 in Rhode Island and at Iowa beef in Dakota, Nebras-

Steel Workers’ Refusal ms
The test disappointment to big business was t
Steel ae atmo resounding “‘no”’ to reopening
ir contract for giveaways. Their refusal was mos
Unpleasant for U.S. Steel, which was almost sure ne
Union would agree to a substantial donation so U-S. Stee
Could pay the multi-billion-dollar debt on its Marathon
acquistion.

Labor in action

William Stewart

UAW President Douglas Frazer faces a dilemma in
current negotiations with Chrysler. The company netted
$104.3-million in the second quarter and UAW members
want some payback on the more than a billion they have
donated to the company in the past 18 months. Frazer, a
member of the Chrysler board, seems to have a receptive
ear to Chrysler’s cry that it still needs relief. Presumably,
we’ll hear arguments from business experts that more
giveaways will give “‘prosperity’’ a more vigorous push.

Most important in the post-giveaway profit figures in
auto is that they have not been accompanied by an
increase in employment for auto workers. Rather, there
have been further plant shutdowns and layoffs. In fact,
the auto companies announced that their plans for the
rest of the year do not include a rise in output of cars.

Basic Employer Strategy

The experience in auto shows something more, and it
is confirmed in all industries across the country. The
basic economic principle of all employers in efforts to
weather the crisis is to cut employment. That is their
main remedy for cutting expenses.

Reports in the financial pages of newspapers, business
journals and especially in the Wall Street Journal are of
companies cutting white and blue collar staffs. They cut
not only because of the direct crisis pressure, but as a
‘‘safeguard”’ against anticipated difficulties. And what
appears to be most widespread now are the deliberate
groundless cutting of jobs, with crisis conditions only an
excuse.

The current period is ‘seen as opportune for cutting

employment and pressuring workers to take a greater

workload and for violating established work rules that
limit job-cutting. For many employers, whether through
negotiations’ with unions or by unilateral action, the

_ Scrapping of established bars to job-cutting, speedup and

such may be even more profitable than a cut in nominal
wages.

Catching on to Tricks

Some workers may be deceived if their union yields to
job-cutting and a relatively light wage cut as ‘‘not too
bad.’’ But more and more workers and their unions are
catching on to the trickery. Some current, long and
hard-fought strikes, like those of Browne and Sharpe,
are mainly over such rule changes.

Some companies also consider this the right time to
close plants they consider not up to expected profit
norms. Also, they may find contracting out, a wide-
spread practice, a more profitable substitute. The pres-
sure is on the satellite shops that get the contracts to
Squeeze their workers to the limit.

We are witnessing a pressure towards so-called re-
covery through reduction of employment and massive
exploitation of the crisis by employers. They are turning
the general employment level downward by such means
like. piling more work and esponsibility on blue and
white collar workers, wider application of robots and
other computerized functions, holiday and vacation —
cuts, etc.

Consequently, even in a brief recovery period only
some of those laid off may have a chance of some

employment while millions will remain permanently job- |

less, to be joined by more unemployed in the inevitable
next recession. Such a prospect is inevitable unless the
workingclass movement in the U.S. gathers enough
force and vigor for the long overdue drastic cut in hours
with no cut in pay and a massive program for production
and services to fill the ever more urgent, long neglected
needs of the people.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—SEPTEMBER 3, 1982—Page 3

created more difficult situations