’

Only two amendments
to Labor Act succeed |

¥ MD is si
The old Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act, around which labor waged many bitter

struggles during the forties, is now as defunct as the Liberal-Conservative Coalition that

VICTORIA, B.C.

wrote it into the

statutes of the province. In its place is the Social Credit government’s new Labor Relations Act which

passed into law last week.

Even before it came to the floor of the legislature the new act provoked an outcry, or more accurate-

ly, outcries against it, for labor’s
voice was divided. There were
those in the Joint Labor Confer-
ence, representing all sections of
organized labor except the inde-

pendent unions, who argued that*
labor should lobby Socred back-
benchers for amendments that
would fashion the act more to
Jabor’s liking. And there . were
others, in the leadership of the
conference, who demanded nothing
less than complete withdrawal of
the bill.

This, a Liberal-devised manouvre
to embarrass the government and
leave the implication that the old
ICA Act, by comparison, was good
legislation, succeeded .only in
strengthening the government and
preventing labor from getting the
amendments it might otherwise
have obtained. The move could
not have succeeded without the sup-
port of the CCF right-wingers hold-
ing commanding positions in the
unions and its weakness—fatal to
labor’s demands—became apparent
when the bill was brought before
the legislature.

The Liberal and CCF right-wing
leadership of the Joint Labor Con-
ference had made a demand on the
government which, if the govern-
ment had accepted it, would have
been construed by the opposition
parties as a defeat of the govern-
ment. Social Credit back-benchers
lined up solidly with their govern-

and defeat amendments which they
might have been persuaded to sup-
port had it not. been for the pro-
vocative stand of the Joint Labor
Conference’s leadership.

The main fight in the House
centred around the controversial
sections of the act which would
drag striking unions into the Su-
preme Court.

Under sections 54 and 55, the
labor minister could have a Su-
preme Court judge decide on the
legality of a strike. If he decided
it was illegal he could cancel the
union’s collective agreements, its
checkoff and its certification.

CCF members charged that the
two new sections were taken over
from Alberta which had found
them unworkable and _ scrapped
them this year.

CCF leader Arnold Webster said
that they would pass the “death
sentence” on unions and leave
their members defenseless.

The Liberals revealed how
phony their professed opposition
to the bill was by voting with
the government to support ref-
erence to a judge. Indeed, George
Gregory (Lib., Victoria) tried to
toughen up the section by giv-
ing the power to an employer to
ask for a judge as well as the
minister. :

The debate on this section was so
hot that the government felt it
necessary to make a minor conces-

ment to preserve its small majority

AU aL ULL MILO LOMO Me Mr ne Nan Men amt it ene Mt att tt

ALL OUT MAY DAY

Canada
_Labor’s Rights |

sion. An amendment offered by

CT i it Ht ait

all three.

Labor Minister Lyle Wicks made it
possible for the judge to impose
only one of the penalties instead of

The only other government
amendment inserted a section simi-
lar to that in the ICA Act which
forbids prosecutions without con-
sent of the Labor Relations Board.
This last-minute change of heart
came after the Socreds had voted
down a similar amendment offered
by the CCF.

But the act says nothing about
the indiscriminate. use of injunc-
tions to hog-tie strike action. An
amendment to the trade union act
offered by Frank Howard (CCF,
Skeena) which would have limited
their use was turned down by At-
torney-General Bonner.

CCF spokesmen were bitter in
their denunciation of Section 11,
which allows craft unions to get
certification in large plants where

_ industrial unions are already cer-
tified. This section removes the
board’s power to refuse such ap-
plications if they were contrary
to trade union practice.

“You are trying to make scabs
out of the workers of British Col-
umbia,” charged Robert Strachan
(CCF, Cowichan -Neweastle). He
moved an amendment which would
have made it impossible to split
up industrial units except by ma-
jority vote of all the workers in
the plant.

Strachan said that this section

1
:

FOR

THEIL SUBIEILE VEU EUEUECUMIEILE

Jobs and Peace

BROCKTON POINT OVAL

(STANLEY PARK)

Sunday, May 2 = 2:30 p.m. —

Stop the H-Bomb Tests
Amend The ‘Police-State’ Sections Of Federal Bill y &
Amend the Anti-Labor Sections of Provincial Bill 28
Develop Industry at Home, Trade With All Coun-_

tries and Provide Jobs.

Increase ‘Unemployment Insurance Benefits and

Extend the Act to Cover All Unemployed.

Cars Wanted To Provide Transportation.
For Information Phone J. Scott, Secretary at TA. 2029. _ Bumper Cards Available. |

: ‘Inserted by: 1954 May Day Committee

‘|volved in

LYLE WICKS

would enable industrial unions to
be broken up, He called it “a
disgraceful attempt” to split the

trade union movement open by
jurisdictional fights,

Another feature of the act which
drew fire, especially of CCF MLAs
who are members of the IWA, was
what they called its discrimination
against industrial unions. “The

act is aimed directly at the IWA,”
said Howard.

CCF amendments to provide for
industry-wide votes on acceptance
or rejection of conciliation awards
and on strike action, were defeat-
ed. Howard argued that it would
be “impossible” for the IWA or
any other large industrial union to

comply with all the requirements
of the act. : ;

Another unsuccessful amendment
by Frank Howard (CCF Skeena)
would have removed the fines which

now can be imposed on individual
trade. unionists.

Opposition members were not
Satisfied with the Provision defin-
ing the right of a worker to join
a union of his choice, They con-
ceded that the new section had
eliminated the obnoxious words
“is eligible to” which the Labor
Relations Board used in the past
to prevent workers from joining
the unions they wanted. But they
argued that retention of the words
“member in good standing” still
Save opportunities for the LRB to
interpret constitutions, The govy-
ernment however, refused to re-
move the offending sections.

_ The CCF spent a good deal of
time trying to return the LRB to
its former position of authority. In
this it had the support of the
Liberals. Premier Bennett flatly
refused to consider the demands,
arguing that the whole principle
of responsible government was in-
having the minister in
charge of the act.

Equally unsuccessful was the
amendment which would have
brought a single employee under
the protection of the act, by re-
cognizing him as a bargaining unit.
_A source of worry to the opposi-
tion were sections in the Act which
they claimed could open the way
to company unions. Leo Nimsick
(CCF, Cranbrook) tried to have the
definition of trade union amended
to cut out company. unions. An-
other CCF amendment would have
eliminated collective agreements
with uncertified organizations.

Rae Eddie (CCF, New West-
minster) tried without result to
have a section included which
would have prevented one union
from applying for certification in
a plant when the Union holding

certification was negotiating or
on strike.

Zs

Tn all, some 40 opposition amend-
ments fell beneath the government
battering ram as the act passed

the committee for its thi
final reading. ee ™~

ee ee
S. H. BROWN
PLUMBING & HEATING

371 Johnson Road
R.R.1 White Rock - Phone 5661

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — APRIL 23, 1954 — PAGE 2

East planning
On-to-Ottawe
jobless trek

HAMILTON

Plans for an on-to-Ottawa trek
this month of jobless workers from
Major centres in Ontario and Que-
bee were announced here following
a meeting of organizations of the

unemployed in Hamilton’s Labor
Temple. :
Present were representatives

from Toronto, Hamilton, Niagara
Falls, St. Catherines, Port Col-
borne and Welland groups.

The meeting agreed on a pro
gram to get jobs through trade
and public works, increased bene-
fits for the full period of uner-
ployment, medical and dental care
for unemployed. A broad steering
committee was elected which will
contact unemployed organizations
in Windsor, Montreal, Sudbury.
Brantford and other points.

‘Hoover Days’
return to U.S.

SEATTLE

“Jobs are getting scarcer every
day,” an editorial in The Washing-
ton Teamster declares.

The official paper of AFL Teai-
sters Joint Council 28 says the cur-
|rent recession reminds it “of the
dismal old days under Herbert
Hoover’s regime. . . .

“When the great depression was
at its worst, Hoover cheered us all
up with news that ‘prosperity wes
just around the corner.’ But we
didn’t turn that corner until we got
rid of Hoover.

“Now, we are told, President
Eisenhower doesn‘t think unem
ployment is so bad or that busi- .
hess conditions are serious. The
‘corner’ he said we would turf
this March has been moved up
several months.

“Unemployment, says Washin&-
ton, is not very bad, except for the
nearly 5 million people who are
out of work — and their families.
But nothing is going to be dope
just yet; if they are real patient
there may be a handout before
Snow falls again.”

Slight decreases in unemploy-
ment compensation claims, the
editorial concluded, are ‘accounted
for “because so many jobless meP
and women have drawn out their
accounts and must look elsewhere:
They must either go on relief oF
go hungry. For jobs are getting
scarcer every day.”

Alberta to aid
jobless miners

CALGARY

The government of Alberta will
spend $100,000 to help g00 coal
miners find new jobs. Four Alberta
mines have closed in the Crows
Nest Pass district, Brazeau, and at
Coal Branch. Problems of market
ing coal were held responsible.
The grant will try to place miner*
in other industries and was auth-
orized in a bill placed before tbe
legislature. ;

PACIFIC ROOFING
Company Limited

CE. 2733

2509 West Broadway

N. Bitz. - 8B. Kostyk : p