Myth of Swedish ~

model exposed

By BRUCE MAGNUSON

British Columbia’s Premier
Bennett and his Labor Minister
seem to find it politically expe-
dient to peddle their proposed
labor bill — Bill 33, an Act
Respecting: Collective Bargain-~
ing and Mediation — as the
bringing to B.C. of the Swedish
model of some form of “demo-
Cratic socialism’.

But there are no valid reasons
why the Labor Statesman,
monthly organ of the B.C. Fede-.
ration of Labor should peddle
this myth, as it does in the form
of an article by Tom Berger,
NDP member of the B.C. Legis-
lature. :

But if the aim is to neutralize
the New Democratic Party op-
position in the legislature by
this tactic, and to bamboozle
some leaders of the trade union

movement, the time has surely ©

come to put matters straight on

. this mythical issue of the capi-

talist welfare state. There is no
“above class substitute” for
basic transformations that will
put a curb on private monopo-
lies, enhance the political role
of the working class, and begin
the march towards the realiza-
tion of genuine socialist aims,
through extension of the demo-
cratic process.

In 1936 when the Swedish
Labor Party won the power to
form a government, the banking
house of Marcus Wallenburg,
with headquarters at Saltsjoba-
den not far from Stockholm, per-:
Suaded Arbetsgivare Forbundet
(Employers Federation) to enter.
into negotiations with the lead-
ers of the Land Organization (the
trade union centre, representing
Over 95 percent of the blue-col-

t alf dewhurst

In 1964 there were 1,972,000
women gainfully employed out
of a total paid working force
of 5.3 million. Women workers,
half of whom were married,
made up 30.5 percent of the
work force of that year. These
figures do not include the thou-
sands who baby-sit, do casual
housework and numerous other
small part-time jobs.

The growth of the paid female
work force is outpacing that of
the male by a considerable mar-
gin. Since the end of the Second
World War it had grown 80.8
percent by 1964. This compares
with a growth in the male work
force of 30.2 percent in the same
period. 3 :

This trend is strictly attribut-
able to. the rapid development
of modern industrial society
with its newly developed pro-
duction techniques. Modern in-
dustry is rapidly changing the
ratio of proportion of workers
employed directly in production
and those employed in an indi-
rect way, i.e., research, program-
ming, administration, distribu-
tion and sales, with the change

favoring the indirect categories.

lar labor force organized in its
affiliated unions). The aim was
to reach an agreement on ways
and means of conducting labor-
management relations. The
agreement which was negotiated
over a two year period and sign-
ed in 1938, subsequently also
covered white-collar workers.
The terms call for national
bargaining of a master agree-
ment covering all union mem-
bers and setting the pattern for
all individual unions with respect
to economic and related issues.
The employers retained the un-

challenged right to hire whom-

ever they please, without any
encumbrances like our union
security provisions or the check-
off. . ;
The Swedish trade union lead-
ers also agreed to limit such

‘conflicts as may threaten “‘pub-

lic order and safety”. In return,
the employers agreed to the es-
tablishment of jointly agreed

‘proceedures to cover layoffs and

dismissals through a Labor Court
and a Labor Market Council to
settle quarrels arising from the
interpretation of union contracts.

The result of this agreement
is that for over 30 years labor-
management relations in Sweden
have been governed by a class
collaborationist establishment in
which the biggest employers
have acquired increasing power
to dictate the terms of wage
settlements and related labor
management issues.

This is the real. explanation
of Sweden’s “Utopia of Labor
Peace” and the _ so-called
“Miracle of Coexistence” be-
tween employers and labor.

The ever-present fear of so-
cialism has prompted the Swe-

dish ruling class to use its eco-

nomic power with extreme care,
while at the same time making
the most of every opportunity to
pass on the cost of social and
welfare measures to the wage

-and salary earners.

In Sweden, a single person
earning annually some 16,000
Kroner (roughly $3,000) pays as
much as 50.7 percent in the
form of direct and indirect taxes.
A married person with a similar
income pays about 47.7 percent.
While private and corporate
wealth contributes about 12 per-
cent of the government’s reve-
nue, the wage and salary. earn-
ers, farmers and | self-employed
contribute the other 88 percent.

Neutrality in two world wars
has proved profitable for the
Swedish ruling class. Rapid ac-
cumulation of capital by such

‘huge monopolies as Svenska

Kullager Fabriken (SKF), Scania
Vabis, L. M. Erickson, Volvo
and others, has placed Sweden
among the foremost exporters of
capital.

‘The ruling class has gained
much experience in political
manoeuvering to gain advantage
over its class enemies. The aim
is always to ‘divide and rule’.
Towards this end it alternates
between a policy of granting
concessions where such becomes
necessary, and of wielding the
big stick wherever possible.

In January the Danish Social
Democratic Government of Jens
Otto Krag suffered defeat on the
issue of imposition of wage re-
straint, which split the left and
opened the way for defeat, as in
Norway.

Let us hope that long before
next September, when the Swe-
dish electors go to the polls, the

leftward-moving forces of the

. On. target!

Swedish working people will
have forged that kind of united
action around a democratic. pro-
gram of action that will prevent
a similar defeat there at the
hands of the capitalist parties.
As for British Columbia, it is
to be hoped that a groundswell

HEY, ISN'T
THAT THING

Drawing by Pred Wright

of opposition to Premier Ben-
nett’s dictatorial and dangerous
Bill 33 will prevent its passage.

Working class solidarity and
mass action to defeat monopoly
aims, both in Canada and
abroad, is the only way to la-
bor’s success.

Equality and the working women

The result is a big expansion of
office jobs compared to those of
direct production.

The extensive growth in in-
surance, financing, consumer
credit; brokerage, private and
governmental group welfare
plans (including unemployment
insurance, medicare and hospital
schemes, pensions and baby bo-
nuses) and government admin-
istration at all levels, all add up
to the creation of thousands of
new office jobs in the recent
period.

The overwhelming majority of
these office jobs—clerical, typing
and business machines—are per-
formed by women. And as wom-
en win ever-wider recognition
of their rights, including the
right of access to higher educa-
tion, they will win their way to
the higher skilled office, profes-
sional, and supervisory posts.

There are traditional profes-
sions and occupations which
women enter in great numbers.
food catering, garment cleaning,
store clerking, domestic help
and charwork, needle trades and
other light industries. As mod-
ern techniques further lighten

the manual labor entailed in pro- »

duction, more and more produc-
tion jobs can be performed
equally well by women and men.

All of this has brought our
society to the position where it
is time to re-evaluate the tradi-
tional division of labor in pro-
duction which has existed since
man emerged from the animal
kingdom, i.e., male and female
jobs. It is time to scrap this
outmoded concept. The progress
of modern production processes
has created conditions favorable
for division of labor on a basis
of job content. With the pay for
such jobs being the same for
those who perform them — be
they women or men.

The alternative to this is the
continuation of the old outdated
system of male and female jobs
which is much desired by em-
ployers. For it is a reliable
source of super-profits based on
payment of lower wages for
female labor. While at the same
time it serves as a brake on the
general struggle to raise wages.

Because the drive for maxi-
mum profit-taking is a built-in
feature of the capitalist system

it can be taken for granted that
the employers will strive to

‘classify more and more jobs as

female in the same ratio as new
techniques make it possible to
do so. This coupled with female
rates of pay will have a general
tendency to keep wages down
for both men and women. In this
way working men and women
can be robbed of the fruits of
technological progress.

Even a cursory glance at the
areas of paid labor shows that
it is the areas where large num-
bers of women are employed
that are either totally unorga-
nized or poorly organized. The
trade unions are coming to a
realization that the interests of
the organized labor movement—
and of all working péople—ur-

' gently demand that these areas

of work be now fully unionized.
However, it must be said that
the doing of the job is all too
slow. :
Important signs point to the
fact that women are pressing
harder to win equal status with
men before the law, on the job
and in society—as witness the
appointment by the government

of the Royal Commission on the
Status of Women. Women’s or-
ganizations, some trade unions
and other public spirited bodies
are advancing and campaigning
for legislation towards this end.
Amongst the many demands be-
ing raised relative to the prob-
lems women face in this unequal
society, is one that calls upon
government to recognize in a
material way the contribution
millions of unpaid housewives
are making to the economic life
of the country.

However, and without mini-
mizing one iota the general
struggle for women’s rights, the
best guarantee for making
meaningful gains is organization.
Those women who are in the
ranks of the paid labor force
should join the union of their
industry or profession. If no
union exists in particular places
of employment, a demand should
be made on the trade union
movement for assistance to form
one. The fight for equality be-
tween men and women on the
job takes on real meaning when
it is conducted in an organized
way—the trade union way.

5 MARCH 15,41968:-PACIFIC TRIBUNE Page 5

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