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of sAmertea Regional Council No. 1

VOL XXIX, No. 13 VANCOUVER, B.C. 5c PER COPY a) Yale, 1562
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IWA NEGOTIATING COMMITTEE in Northern Interior consider

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settlement terms proposed by Conciliation Officer E. P.

Fisher and now under consideration by the membership affected. Chairman Jack Holst, Regional 3rd Vice-President is
flanked on his right by Regional Research and Education Director Joe Miyazawa, and on his left by Ross Inglis, Vice-President
ond Business Agent, Local 1-424, Prince George.

Hippocrates and Saskatchewan

“Doctors Organize Against Humanity”

By PAT O’NEAL
SECRETARY-TREASURER, B.C.
FEDERATION OF LABOUR

In Ancient Greece there
once lived a man called Hip-
pocrates, the Father of Medi-
cine. He was also the father of
the Hippocratic Oath, which

many schools of medicine still.

require their students to take.
Whether or not they take it,
the Oath is recognized as the
ethical base of all medicine. It
reads in part: “I swear by
Apollo the Healer . . . that the
regimen I shall adopt shall be
for the benefit of the patients
according to my ability and
judgement, and not for their

urt or wrong . . . whatsoever
house I enter, there will I go
for the benefit of the sick...
pure and holy will I keep my
life and my art.”

Hippocrates
and Saskatchewan

On July 1, 1962, 2,400 years after
Hippocrates, the doctors of the prov-
ince went on strike against the help-
less and halt, the lame and the blind.
They are even, God help us, on
strike against babies. So now the
doctors of that province have the
distinction of being the first of their
kind to organize against humanity.
Their regimen is not for the benefit
of the patients, They are not enter-
ing houses for the benefit of the
sick, Their art is not pure, and the
mark of shame will brand doctors
who say in the future: “I came from
Saskatchewan”,

Why the Strike?

Essentially, it is to stop the spread
of humanitarian medicine in North
America and to uphold Dollar Medi-

WHAT'S

INSIDE
Local 1-85

cine. But, like those who pleaded
for child labour and against public
education, they say they are fighting
for freedom. If they are sincere, then
they are a new kind of freedom
fighter—a kind dedicated to the de-
Struction of those they would de-
fend, Sincere or not, they are being
ably assisted by the American Medi-
cal Association, the Canadian Medi-
cal Association, our own B.C. Medi-
cal Association, and the usual array
of hired public relations hacks.

All these aver that if “socialized
medicine” comes in, no one will ever
again be able to mend a split spleen.
In all this, they are backed, of
course, by the Sun and Province,
those well-known West Coast Siam-
ese Twins.

The Strike and the Press

It is remarkable how these news-
papers can ignore issues when labour
is not the villain. Our local editori-
alists, who burn candles into the
night when a union is on strike, have
been mighty quiet about the doctors.
They have been quiet, that is except
for the Sun editorials which manage
to blame labour for what the doctors
are doing (presumably in aid of the
Liberal Party) and the Province
mealy-mouthed articles written in
the paper’s best “on the one hand
this and on the other hand that”
style—a style adopted only when a
sacred cow is in the wrong. Thus,
the Province on July 4th stated:
“They (the public) cannot whole-
heartedly condemn the doctors for
using the one weapon which has
been so widely recognized as the
most potent bargaining agent.”

The Implications

We mention these sorry sheets and
their positions only because they
bring us to the main issue. In a
democracy, no single group can take
direct action outside of parliament
to bring down a government. That
way lies anarchy and revolution.
That is why trade unions long ago
jettisoned the political strike.

As long as ballots can be cast, no
one should cast bullets, figurative or
real, The way to defeat governments
is at the polls. Labour has chosen
that way, and the doctors could do

likewise. Instead, they are on strike
against the law. They ape Fascists
and Communists who say: “Our way
or no way.” Everyone who supports
them shares their guilt.

Would a Union Do It?

If a union attempted to do what
the doctors are doing, the press
would quickly call for prompt action
by the courts and the government to
end the threat to the public’s safety
and welfare. Yet not even the most
radical union has ever advocated a
strike that would harm children. It
is gratifying, however, to note that
not all newspapers are evading the
issue. The Toronto Star has stated,
in referring to the doctors’ obvious
duty: “What is even more shocking
is that the doctors propose this ex-
treme course in the face of a thor-
oughly reasonable offer made to
them by the Saskatchewan Govern-

See “DOCTORS” Page 2

Jurors Pay
Questioned
By Labour

The B.C. Federation of
Labour has renewed its demand
for higher jurors’ pay. The latest
representations to the Provincial
Government are based on evi-
dence secured regarding losses
imposed upon trade unionists
acting on juries to hear lengthy
Doukhobor trials in Nelson.

Questionnaires were sent by the
Federation to those who served on
juries. A limited number suffered
no monetary loss because they hap-
pened to be retired or could ar-
range to take night shifts.

Most of the workers involved,
however sustained losses of amounts
ranging from $300 to $500.

As pointed out by the Federa-
tion, lawyers acting for the Crown
are paid at the rate of $150 a day.
lt is contended that members of the
jury have quite as important duties
to perform, for which the com-
pensation is distinctly inadequate.

NORTHERN INTERIOR

VOTES ON PROPOSED
1962 SETTLEMENT

Terms of settlement, based on the Conciliation Officer’s report,
have been recommended by the Regional Policy Committee for
acceptance by IWA members in the Norther Interior. A mem-
bership referendum for acceptance or rejection is now in progress.
Highlighting the proposed settlement is a wage increase of ten
cents an hour across the board over two years and a Health and
Welfare Plan almost identical with the Coast industry plan.

The dispute between the IWA Local Unions and lumber opera-
tors in the Southern Interior is now the subject of discussions
under the direction of Conciliation Officer John Sherlock.

Chief negotiators in the Northern
Interior were Regional 3rd Vice-
President Jack Holst, Research
Director, Joe Miyazawa and Vice-
President Ross Inglis, Business
Agent, Local 1-424.

The Northern Interior IWA nego-
tiators expect that the operators will
accept the proposed settlement.

The six-cent wage increase to be
made effective next September brings
the total of wage increases for the
year up to nine cents. A three-cent
Wage increase was made effective
last March under the expiring agree-
ment. Wage increases secured by the
Northern Interior over a period of
years are exactly equal to those
obtained at the Coast for the corres-
ponding period. The settlement as
recommended by the Conciliation
Officer is as follows. ;

It is recommended that the parties

renew the current agreement for a-

period of two years from September
Ist, 1962. This agreement to em-
body the following changes:

Wages

Wages to be increased by 6c per
hour effective 1st September, 1962,
and a further increase of 4c per hour
effective 1st September, 1963.

Health and Welfare

That a joint trusteed Welfare Plan
be established with payments on a
50-50 basis commencing June Ist,
1963. Such plan to provide the
following benefits: :

1. $5,000 Life insurance.
2. $5,000 A.D. & D.

3. Weekly indemnity of $35.00
for 26 weeks based on 1 and 6. Such
benefits will be operative from Sep-
tember 1, 1963.

Seniority
The agreement to embody the re-
vised seniority clause submitted to
the parties on July Sth, 1962, to-
gether with the interpretation of this
clause also submitted on July Sth,
1962.

Training Programme

(a) The parties to agree to nego-
tiate a joint training programme, in
conjunction with the B.C. Appren-
ticeship Branch of the Government,
with the object of improving the
knowledge and abilities of heavy
duty mechanics, millwrights, and

‘such other classifications as may be

agreed between the parties.
(b) Further, that the parties will

negotiate the establishment of an
apprenticeship plan to provide for
the training of employees in such
classifications.

Classification Adjustment ...

(a) Graders (holding an “A” Cer-
tificate) to receive a rate of $2.20
per hour.

(b) Scalers (Government licensed)
to receive a rate of $2.20 per hour.
Such rates will be established prior
to increases set out in item-1 above.

Transportation

Problems relating to transporta-
tion to be resolved by the exchange
of letters of intent.

The reasons advanced by the Re-
gional Policy Committee for recom-
mending acceptance are as follows:

The proposed wage increase of ten
cents an hour maintains the usual
relationship with wage rates paid in
the Coast area. The Northern In-
terior base rate will be raised to
$1.89 an hour in 1963.

The proposed Health and Welfare
Pian has been a major objective of
IWA members in the Northern In-
terior for many years. Experience in
the Coast Industry has proven the
great value of such a plan in the
added protection provided for mem-
bers in the event of death, acciden-
tal death and dismemberment as
well as weekly sickness and accident
indemnity. The provisions of the
proposed plan for the Northern In-
terior are equivalent to those now in
effect in the Coast area.

The proposed settlement improves
the seniority provisions of the con-
tract which will now be based on
length of service and ability to do
the work required.. As demanded by
the Union, departmental seniority
will be eliminated. The Companies
agree to give due consideration to
length of service in making promo-
tions.

The proposed training program
offers decided advantages to mem-
bers now employed in the industry
who may desire to improve their
skilis in order to keep pace with
technological changes.

A Grader (certificate “A”) and a
government-licenced scaler in 1963
will receive in 1963 the rate of $2.30
an hour originally demanded by the
Union.

Those companies which do not
now provide transportation will
meet with the representatives of the
IWA to resolve the problem.

bers, it was stated.

Interior Independents
Now Forced to Bargain

Independent operators in the Southern Interior will this year
be required to negotiate with the Union on the same basis as
those operators who bargain through the central employers
agency. The decision was made this week by the Regional Policy
Committee in order to bring Interior bargaining procedures into
conformity with the coast practice.

Instead of accepting statements of willingness to accept the
central settlement, each independent will be served notice to
commence bargaining as required under the Labour Relations
Act. The results will provide greater protection for [WA mem-

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