48 Friday, November 12, 1976 Vol. 38, No. 45 PACIFIC et —1 st sia wp, - Full employment fight more urgent than ever EDITORIAL According to the official figures unemployment rose from 7.3 percent September to 7.6 percent. The ‘‘seasonally adjusted” figure, which IS usually much lower than the actual figure, shows that 679,000 Workers in Canada are without jobs. oo The cost of living figures also released this week by. Statistics Nada show that Canadian workers are faced not only with growing Unemployment, but also with rising prices. The index for October Ows close toa one percent rise in living costs. : ; Despite this deplorable record, the federal government and its Anti- ation Board continue to boast of success in the fight against in- flation. Only Tuesday night the vice-chairman of the AIB, who recently replaced Beryl Plumptre, tOld an audience of businessmen in Toronto that the Liberal government’s policy has licked inflation. She Painted a glowing picture of Canada’s economy. pee We don’t know what world she or the Liberal governmentis living in. But we do know that the real world facing Canada’s working people is She of growing unemployment and rising prices. It’ s clear that this is NO accident. The federal government’s anti-inflation program is “designed to create massive unemployment and to shift the burden of the growing economic crisis onto the backs of the country’s working People. Much has been made of the report that the province’s rate of Unemployment declined by 1.2 percent in October after having been above the national average for many months. But working people in BC. will find little consolation in the fact that nearly 80,000 B.C. Workers are jobless. Nor does the October figure tell the true story of a Worsening jobless picture in B.C. In the first week of November the Orest industry report that 1,500 workers face layoffs, some into anuary, 1977. Labor’s fight to force the federal government to replace present Policies with a pollcy of full employment takes on greater importance and points to the need for more uni ted country-wide action. Proposed changes to the B.C. Labor Code which would require unions to make full financial disclosures to their memberships are “‘superfluous and somewhat insulting innuendo”’ B.C; Federation of Labor secretary Len Guy said this week. “The fact of the matter is that unions already make full in- formation on their financial status available to their members, and that this information is already required under the labor code, so this latest comment by the minister of labor is completely unnecessary,” Guy said. He added that section 143 of the labor code already carries such a provision. In addition to changes dealing with financial disclosure, labor minister Allan Williams said that National Student-Day marked ay Students in universities, colleges 8nd technical institutions across pepeda marked National Students ad on Tuesday this week to voice © concern over what the ational Union of Students has tTmed ‘‘a critical situation for Students in 1976.” Organized by NUS, the students’ ay saw rallies and. public wcetings in several post- “condary institutions and a Massive publicity campaign that Scussed on a number of student foncerns, A “This is a critical year for anadian post-secondary Education,” the NUS stressed in a — faflet distributed throughout the Country. “Politicians and some Members of the public question the Tole of technical, university and College programs yet offer no. Solutions.”” fi Student unemployment and ‘nancial aid were among the 'SSues raised by the NUS but Particular emphasis was given to ition fee increases which have “Come imminent at a number of Mstitutions as a result of cutbacks Mposed by provincial govern- Ments which have slashed grants aS part of a policy of ‘fiscal restraint.” ; At the University of B.C. where a €e increase has already been Cussed by the university’s board T S0vernors, students rallied ~ 4esday to hear several speakers, ncluding UBC president Douglas fees” discuss the issue of tuition Education minister Pat McGeer Who had prompted fears of tuition Nereases following his letter to College and university councils Nforming them of imminent grant b Uctions, was expected to attend ut did not appear. Instead, he was represented on the platform by an effigy. NUS representative Ed Abel told about 400 students at the noon meeting that cutbacks in grants to universities and colleges had been imposed in several provinces resulting in fee structures that have become insurmountable barriers for many would-be. students. ““What’s going to happen at UBC if there is a tuition fee increase — how many people will be able to come back?’ he asked. Abel stressed that the NUS maintains the position that education should be accessible to all — that no one should be denied access onthe basis of affordability. “The NUS has called for a national inquiry into post- secondary education and the funding of all post-secondary in- stitutions.’ he told the meeting, see STUDENTS pg. 3 he was ‘‘considering’’ other changes to the labor code which would require unions to elect their officers by secret-ballot, and would stipulate thata representation vote be mandatory in any certification application. One of the stipulations he proposed to the secret ballot was that all members be polled, if necessary by mail ballot. Jack Nichol, secretary treasurer of the United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union said that the proposed changes to the election procedures were “gross in- terference in the internal affairs of the province’s trade unions.” Nichol noted that many unions have provisions for referendum votes in their constitutions already and that other unions allow for special measures to guarantee the widest possible vote in the election of officers; but that «the. actual procedure which was to be followed should be decided by the union membership and not the government. He said that Williams’ statements were ‘mudslinging, pure and simple. By innuendo he is inferring that the unions of this province are somehow un- democratic. He should have it on very good authority that there is wrong doing in the trade union movement before he starts making these kinds of statements. “Tt’s a blatant smear on the integrity of the trade’ union movement.” Nichol saw Williams’ statements _ TheCanadian Labor Congress was absolutely right this week when . itdescribed the latest figures on unemployment as “scandalous.” Figures released by Statistics Canada show that the national | unemployment rate rose in October to the highest level since 1961. & @& as a ‘“‘warning to the trade union movement that the Socreds are going to ‘get tough’ with labor. This - has to be seen as part of a general campaign which the Socreds have conducted against the trade union movement since their election last December. see SMEAR pg. 3 Pressure from the provincial government and an attitude of - “callous indifference” on the part of Workers’ Compensation Board commissioners have combined to leave the WCB in a state of chaos, according to a number of key people in the labor movement. The chaoticstate of the WCB was highlighted with the firing late last month of board secretary and legal adviser Connie Sun after she of- fered to resign, saying that changes in WCB procedures have created a situation where it ‘‘is unreasonable to expect me to remain.” Her resignation was refused but the commission then fired her. Sun, whose job was to com- municate WCB decisions to claimants and to give the board legal advice said that her advice has been consistently ignored since see SOCRED pg. 12 This was the scene at Tuesday as students d issues on National S field worker Ed Abel 7 ey - * yee wie, *e te ie > Po pe 8 *. oo - r ; * “ ee) iz = ge * Hagia - e ¥ a ‘c ty oe universities and colleges across the country emonstrated their concern over a number of tudent Day. Here National Union of Students’ outlines the NUS position on tuition fees to 400 ae students at the University. of B.C. In addition to» Abel, UBC administration president Doug Kenny, NDP MLA Lorne Nicholson and Alma Mater Society officer Moe Sihota addressed the noon hour rally. ‘