CS a ee el Cet Bae de an a ae | ee As several more employer Spokesmen added their voices to the clamor against wage demands, the B.C. Federation of Labor last Week attacked statements by Construction Labor Relations Association president and B.C. Mployers Council president liam Hamilton. “Connaghan and Hamilton win this month’s award for hypocrisy,” Federation secretary Len Guy declared. ‘“‘Referring to wage Mcreases and workers’ demands a ‘greed’, without revealing the Mcomes which they. and other Friday, June 13, 1975 business leaders enjoy, is as phony as Pierre Trudeau, with his mansion and new swimming pool, telling other Canadians to accept more modest living standards.” The Federation statement came in the wake of a flood of comments from employer and government spokesmen all aimed at cutting back wage increases. Employers Council chief William Hamilton utilized recent an- nouncements from _ Statistics Canada that inflation had ‘“‘slowed somewhat” to advance his demand for wage guidelines and argued that ‘‘the demands have been too high”’ in the past few years.” He even suggested that federal government guidelines put for- ward as the basis for voluntary wage restraint were ‘‘too high.” Hamilton was followed soon after by Food Prices Review Board chairman, Beryl Plumptre, who attacked wage increases sought by food industry workers as “‘ex- cessive’ and told the Quebec audience of the Canadian Grocery Distributor’s Institute, ‘Surely the union leaders must realize how self-defeating wage demands of that magnitude can be.” Finance minister John Turner also used the opportunity to press his case for wage restraints and last week repeated his old argument that Canada’s com- petitive position both at home and abroad was being threatened by a ‘“Substantial increase in wage and salary costs.” Referring to the charges of high wage demands, Len Guy declared, “T would agree that any worker making as much each year as Connaghan and Hamilton should moderate his wage demands, but> somehow I doubt if there are as many union members whose in- comes compare with the two gentlemen concerned.” He also countered the argument that wage and salary costs should be related to productivity and stated, ‘‘I would like to know what Connaghan and Hamilton con- tribute to the Gross National Product. “I suggest that there isn’t a worker in B.C. who contributes as little. Connaghan and Hamilton consume a substantial share and contribute nothing.” ES inte _ Sean Griffin photo Paying tribute to Canadians who died in the fight against fascism, cadets from the Soviet vessel “Quadrant” aid a wreath on the cenotaph in Victory Square last Thursday: With them as they commemorated the 30th anniversary of the victory over fascism were John Clarke and Peter Turner from Unit 20 of the Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans. : REVEALS PIECEMEAL APPROACH Housing report tabled The first annual report of B.C.’s partment of Housing showed “94 the provincial government S involved in a total of 258 Using projects during 1974. the public edition of the report pe available this week, le ‘ough first tabled in the 8islature some three weeks ago. ree me definite progress can be peed, commented Nigel Co, &an, provincial leader of the Mm, . . . . With unist Party, in an interview pane Tribune this week. “But Outstrre requirements still far Altho, Ip the government’s efforts. the ugh a modest improvement ina yeaa’ shows how hopelessly ig » “Wuate a piecemeal approach ae 8an said that excessively land Prices of building materials, ae mortgages are holding fect; housing starts and ef- ny Vely thwart the provincial sayy nnent’s program. See, hat is needed,” the CP s Ctary said, “is a ‘crash ~8ram’ that will make it possible. to bring all levels of government into action in a way that can break the grip which monopoly still holds on the housing market.”’ In the housing department’s report the government took credit for the establishment of 2,052 social housing units during 1974. By the year end another 15,662 units were either in planning or the first stages of construction. Of the units completed in ’74 the report categorized them into 310 family units, 584 senior citizen units, 447 non-profit senior citizen units, 419 special care units, and 292 par value co-operative units. The document states that the department assembled some 5,510 acres of land throughout the province for housing during the See HOUSING pg. 12 Trident sub base rally at Peace Arch June 28 A rally, picnic and outdoor concert highlighting the continuing campaign against construction of the Trident nuclear sub base at Bangor, Washington, has been scheduled for Saturday, June 28 in Peace Arch Park from 1 to 4 p.m. Sponsored by the Pacific Life Community which sent James Douglass to the Fiji conference for a nuclear-free Pacific, the rally is expected to hear from representatives from the South Pacific. The opposition to the Trident base has already reverberated throughout the world and the June 28 rally is expected to be followed by further actions. The B.C. Federation of Labor has declared all “materials, work, - § premises and operations’’ of the Insurance Corporation of B.C. (EBC) = hotr? The declaration was issued last week in response to the cor- poration’s strikebreaking activity against Local 378 of the Office and Technical Employees Union, now in the third week of their strike at ECB. Noting the reluctance of the Federation to declare I.C.B.C. hot the notice to affiliates, at the same time, labelled the corporation scheme for alternate services during the strike as “strikebreaking.”’ “It is clear,’’ the notice said, “that no employer, including a crown corporation can be _ per- mitted to attempt strikebreaking acts without strong action by the Federation to support’ the strikers.” The hot declaration brings matters to a head for the fledging crown corporation which hoped to subvert the union’s attempt to gain a decent first contract for the 1800 I.C.B.C. employees, through special deals with body shops around the province. The body shops who have op- posed the I.C.B.C. from its in- ception had already taken ad- vantage of the scheme using it to discredit both I.C.B.C. and the provincial government, likewise branding the proposal as strikebreaking. O.T.E.U. charges that I.C.B.C. “bargained in bad faith’? were added to the dispute following the hot declaration with the leaking of I.C.B.C. memos outlining con- -tingency plans for a strike, dated 10 weeks before the strike began. The union is demanding a 25% or $100 increase from November 1, 1974 and an additional 15% or $40 effective April 1, 1975. Talks broke off on May 15 with no further negotiations presently scheduled. B.C. Federation of Labor secretary Len Guy said in releasing the hot declaration that it was necessary to bring a speedy end to the strike. Having an- tagonized both business and labor in its first attempt at labor relations, I.C.B.C. would seem to have little choise but to return to “negotiations and cease attempts to circumvent - the collective bargaining procedure. _ _ Seppoat |e 220%! Creo, DERA president Bruce Eriksen (right) was in Victoria last week along with several Assqciation members seeking new legislation to protect roominghouse residents. (Story, page2). CP protests Laberge case The Central Executive of the Communist Party has branded last week’s frameup of ‘Quebec labor leader Louis Laberge ‘“‘per- secution” and has demanded that the Bourassa government with- draw the charges. In a statement sent to Bourassa last week, the party executive said they “view with alarm your recent offensive against organized labor and persecution of labor leaders in Quebec under the cover of a drive against corruption while leaving those responsible for crime and corruption untouched. “We particularly protest the frameup against Louis Laberge, president of the Quebec Federation of Labor, and condemn your last minute amendments to Bill 21 to facilitate the aim of your govern- ment in this respect.”’ The CP statement added demands for the ‘‘withdrawal of charges against Laberge” and for the “abrogation of Bill 21 as an ‘intolerable infringement on the rights of organized labor and a threat to democracy in this country.” In another release from the same executive meeting the CP called on the Federal government to drop charges against Quebec long- shoremen. sn ectoat