. ; THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER 9 BARGAINING & AUTOMATION An attrition clause in a col- lective bargaining contract provides for an orderly re- duction in the number of jobs due to automation or com- pany mergers or other causes. Under the terms of such con- tract provisions the displace- ment of workers from their jobs is usually prohibited. As some workers quit, retire or die, workers who remain in the company work force may be reassigned to existing jobs if their old jobs are elimi- nated. There is no displace- ment of workers, or the dis- placement that may occur is strictly limited by the terms of the contract. Attrition ar- rangements have been nego- tiated in railroad, newspaper and longshore industries, and they are now spreading in other industries as well. NO LAYOFFS Communication Workers and American Cable and Radio Corporation: “(a) No employee who has completed his initial pro- bationary period shall be laid off as a result of mec- hanization or automation, “(b) In the event it is necessary in the opinion of the company to reduce the number of employees in any classification because of mechanization or automa- tion, the reduction shall take place by attrition and/or re- assignment of employees in the affected classification. “(c) In adjusting to the required number of employ- ees in a classification affect- ed by mechanization or auto- mation, the company shall be free to assign the redun- dant employees to any equal or lower classification where the employees are qualified to work and to reassign them to their regular classi- fications as the company may deem to be desirable. “(d) The employees thus assigned to work in equal and lower classifications shall suffer no reduction in pay and shall retain their regular classifications.” SEVERANCE PAY Severance pay to cushion the impact of technological change is usually based on length of service and rate of pay. Most agreements specify that it is not payable in the case of neglect of duty, in- subordination and dishonesty. Severance pay has been de- vised for a dual purpose. It gives financial assistance to displaced workers and, in an indirect way, it is protection against displacement. It usually serves to stabilize em- ployment within the com- pany. It is said that when severance pay is based upon years of service an employer may be more inclined to use attrition as a factor to reduce the size of the working force. This is more likely to be true when applied to long term employees. ‘ Typical contract clauses on this point are as follows: United Steelworkers of America and U.S. Steel: “When, in the sole judg- ment of the company, it de- cides to close permanently a plant or discontinue perma- nently a department of a plant or a substantial portion thereof and terminate the HANEY BUSINESS GUIDE ESQUIRE MEN’S WEAR (Graham Mowatt) Complete Stock of Work and Dress Clothing “THE STORE WITH THE POPULAR BRANDS” BRITISH COLUMBIA YOUR FAMILY SHOPPING CENTRE FOR A COMPLETE SELECTION OF | 7 stan Worx’ werk Your guide to better value STORE HOURS OPEN 9 AM to 5:30 PM CLOSED ALL DAY MONDAY EN FRI. NITE ‘TILL 9 PM - PHONE 723-5641 employment of individuals, an employee whose employ- ment is terminated either di- rectly or indirectly as a re- sult thereof, because he was not entitled to other employ- ment with the company un- der the provisions of Section 13 — Seniority of this agree- ment, and paragraph (b)2 below—shall be entitled to a severance allowance in ac- cordance with and subject to the following provisions. “(1) In lieu of severance allowance, the company may offer an eligible employee a job, in at least the same job class for which he is quali- fied, in the same general locality. The employee shall have the option of either ac- cepting such new employ- ment or requesting his sever- ance allowance. If an em- ployee accepts such other employment, his continuous service record shall be deem- ed to have commenced as of the date of the transfer, ex- cept that for the purposes of severance allowance under this section and for purposes of Section 12 — Vacations — his previous continuous service record shall be main- tained and not be deemed to have been broken by the transfer. (2) eee an employee otherwise eligible for sever- ance allowance who is en- titled under Section 13 — Seniority — to a job in at least the same job class in another part of the same plant, shall not be entitled to severance allowance whe- ther he accepts or rejects the transfer. If such trans- fer results directly in the permanent displacement of some other employee, the latter shall be eligible for severance allowance pro- vided he otherwise qualifies under the terms of this sec- tion. “Scale of Allowance — An eligible individual shall re- ceive severance allowance based upon the following weeks for the corresponding continuous service. : “3 years but less than 5 years, 4 weeks of severance allowance; 5 years but less than 7 years, 6 weeks of severance allowance; 7 years but less than 10 years, 7 weeks of severance allow- ance; 10 years or more, 8 weeks of severance allow- ance.” _ ECONOMIC FACTORS Oil, Chemical & Atomic Workers and Parke-Davis Company: “Severance Plan—In rec- ognition of the fact that eco- nomic factors, availability of raw materials for market, productivity, new processes or methods, government pro- grams or restrictions, or other reasons relating to competitive position in the industry, many from time to time require the company to discontinue or to relocate an operation, plant or depart- ment, and in an effort to min- imize the impact and allev- iate the effect on those indi- Grab yourself a LUCKY! A bold breed of Canadian beer... a man’s beer.,. aged for premium flavour.. slow-brewed ED Fox Gens? LVANS for man-sized This advertisement is not published or displayed by the Liquor Control Board or by the Government of British Columbia. taste!