The United Autoworkers Union

research department has pro- ©

duced a fact paper to help fight
wage controls. Prepared by re-
searcher Sam Gindon the paper
proves the fallacy of the anti-in-
_ flation program and shows the
- economic arguments for the CLC
Day of Protest.
_ Following are some excerpts
_ from that paper that highlight the
findings of the UAW researchers:

PRIME MINISTER TRUDEAU
; ON THE
ELECTION TRAIL IN TIMMINS
— June 28/74
TIMMINS (Staff) — Prime Minis-
ter Pierre Trudeau maintained his
onslaught on Conservative price

fore a large noon-hour crowd here
j yesterday.
: “You can’t freeze executive
_ Salaries and dividents because
there are too many loopholes to
squeeze through.”
__ Mr. Trudeau said Conservative
‘Leader, Robert Stanfield had al-
ready said he would not freeze the
prices of farm produce and fish.
He could not freeze the prices of
“ U.S. imports or Arab oil, and he
admitted he would exempt hous-
ing prices. :
“So what's he going to freeze?”
_. Mr. Trudeau shouted. ‘Your
wages. He’s going to freeze your
wages.”
(reprinted from Toronto Star, Oct.
: 28, 1975)

AND WAGE CONTROL «.
_ The controls attacked working
people individually — by limiting
their wages. Moreover, by put-
ting restrictions on our unions
they were also attacking one of
the few organizations we have for
defending ourselves on a day-to-
day basis. Unlike the corporate
rich, we can’t live off ouraccumu-
lated wealth, nor if we want more
| income can we simply get up and
shift our investment to Paris, Af-
rica, Taiwan, or wherever returns
are higher. So our unions and col-
lective bargaining rights are abso-

ORGANIZED LABOR

and income restraint policies be-

lutely crucial to our wellbeing.
Naturally, if we were being asked
to accept sacrifices and restric-
tions on our unions, we would
‘demand guarantees that this
would really end up benefitting
the working people of Canada.

PRICES AND PROFITS?

“The government has shelved
plans to close a loophole which
costs the country ‘hundreds of
millions of dollars’ because Ot-
tawa cannot afford to the expert
investigators needed.

“The loophole involves multi-
national firms which set up foreign
subsidiaries and then divert in-
come out of Canada to lessen their
tax liabilities.”

— reported in Financial Times,

Feb. 23/76

CONTROLS AND JOBS

Canada has never had a strong
manufacturing base; we import
more manufactured goods per
capita than any other country and
— if we exclude the auto industry
— most of our exports are agricul-
tural products and raw materials.
Twenty years ago, our wages
were 30% below American
wages. But that didn’t magically
create a strong manufacturing
base in Canada — there was no
made rush to set up factories
here. And lower wages won’t

solve our problems now just as
they didn’t solve them then.
Aside .from the above point,
what of the argument that lower
wages mean more profit and more
profit means more investment and
jobs? The first part of this argu-
ment is certainly true — lower
wages will raise profits. But

workers with low income spend .

less and therefore business has
less reason to invest in expanded
capacity, And what guarantees is
there that the profits won’t simply
be ~given to stockholders in
Canada and the U.S.? Or rein-
vested outside of Canada — in
Brazil or Spain, South Africa or
Iran, Virginia or Texas?

Canada currently has a deficit
of more than $10 billion in man-
ufactured goods and this is of
great concern to us. This deficit
rose most rapidly in the 1971-74
period and it was also during this
period that profits rose by 111%
— so let’s not kid ourselves about
greater incentives (profits) to bus-
iness being any kind of an answer.

UNEMPLOYMENT HIGHER
FACT: Unemployment is now
higher than when controls were in-
troduced — 775,000 people are
looking for work (7.3%).

ae

For every one percent that
unemployment is reduced,

—the economy’s production
would increase by $8 billion;

— tax revenue would increase
by $3 billion:

— unemployment insurance
payments would decrease by $500
million.

(derived from analysis by The
Conference Board of Canada —
Spring, 1976)

CONTROLS AND FHE POOR

As long as there is high unem-
ployment, many workers suffer
from either the loss of income this
implies or from the lower wages
they receive because their bar-
gaining position is weakened by
the pools of waiting labor. Be-
cause the controls don’t solve the
unemployment problem, they
don’t solve the major cause of
poverty.

If we restrict our wages, there
is no mechanism in our society
whereby the money will go to the
poor — the corporations will poc-
ket anything we give up. If we
increase Ford’s profits by restrict-
ing our wages, will they turn
around and give it to pensioners?
Of course not — they won’t even
increase pensions to Ford retirees

to make for inflation. A govern-
ment serious about helping the
aged could do this by implement-
ing the CLC plan for a national
pension plan that would guaran-
tee a decent income for all re-
tirees. And as for the unorganized
workers, .why doesn’t the gov-
ernment stop the rhetoric and re-
move the barriers to their becom-
ing organized?

The government is not really
concemed about the poor. It’s
only using this issue to exploit the
concern of many working people
about the poor and to divide and
fragment working people.

At Daal Specialities in Colling-
wood 71% of the work force
earned under $3.50-an-hour. This
is presumably the kind of lower-
income worker the controls were
supposed to help. The AIB, how-
ever, ruled against their 50¢-an-hou
the company admitted that the in-
crease would not affect prices in
any way had absolutely no influ-
ence on the AIB.

CONCLUSIONS

As long as profits were boom-
ing, inflation didn’t bother the
government — but when labour
started to catch up to profits, the
Liberals suddenly began to sup-
port controls. The purpose of
controls: during the first year of
operation is primarily to protect
profits and maintain the status
quo (i.e., don’t let labour catch
up). In the second and third year

‘the aim is to go beyond just main-

taining the status quo and help the
corprations — at the expense of,
labor — to increase their share
even further.

The controls attack our unions,
demand sacrifices by working
people, do not control prices, and
do nothing about unemployment
or income distribution. They rep-
resent no “‘alternative’’ to our
problems; they are only an alter-
native to real solutions — which
would mean challenging (not rein-
forcing) corporate power. That,
in brief, is why labour opposes the
controls.

Why the Communist Party?

_ Last week’s column examined the
struggle for workers’ unity and the

principled position of the Communist

Party thereto. The column pointed out
that the stronger the Communist Party
the sooner unity of the working class is
achieved. ice

This statement caused a reader to ask |
why the Communist Party? Why not the.

_ NDP which enjoys a large measure of
support among workers? This is the

| number one question facing workers
everywhere.

eS.

____A short answer is that the working
| _ class needs its own party. A party that -

_ bases itself on the class of workers. A
party that has no other interests seperate

| and apart from those of the working

_ class. A party that is independent of the
capitalists as a class. A party that con-

| fronts capitalism and its ideology with

_ the ideology of socialism — scientific
socialism. ; e

The working class needs a party that

puts before the working people the aim

| of replacing the exploiting system of

capitalism with socialism — a system
that will put an end to the exploitation

of man by man in Canada.
ss ‘ * & *

On the other hand the NDP, while it

enjoys the electoral support of a sub-

_ Marxism-Leninism in Today’s World -

stantial section of working people, does
not base its program, policies and ac-
tivities on the vital interests of the
workers as a class. Its loyalities are di-
vided. For the NDP purports to defend
the interests of society as a whole. This
is an impossible task in a class divided
society as the vital interests of the two
main contending classes — working
class and capitalist — contradict one
another.

This being the case the NDP is not
equipped, nor capable of conducting a

real fight in defense of the basic needs of.

the workers, let alone lead the working
people of Canada to their socialist
future. : ;

The best the NDP can do Is to set

itself up before society as being an

‘tabove class’’ party, assuming the im-
possible task of trying to arbitrate the
irreconcilable differences that exist be-
tween the capitalists and the workers,
and of the middle strata and the
capitalist class.
* * * ;

This does not mean that the NDP has
no role to play in the daily workers’
struggle against capital. It can play a
most important role in helping to unite

the working people in defense of their

’ rights and interests as it enjoys the elec-

total support of a substantial section of
the working people who, understand-
ably, look to that party to act vigorously
on their behalf.

For instance, in working whole-
heartedly for all-out mobilization on
October 14 and after that national day
of protest to continue to fight for the
repeal of Bill C-73. and to scrap the
anti-working class AIB.

*x* * x

The working class fights the capitalist

class not only in the sphere of politics

and economics, but also in the sphere of °

theory and ideology. The ideological
struggle is of exceptional, vital impor-

. tance for the working class. The Com-

munist Party combats capitalist ideol-
ogy in the labor movement. It strives to
win politically conscious workers for
the theory and practice of scientific
socialism — Marxism-Leninism. Not
only for the purpose of achieving the
historic aim of socialism, but also for
the purpose of arming the politically
advanced elements in the working class
and democratic movements in their
everyday struggles against the exploit-

. working class. :

ing and repressive aims of monopoly
capitalism.

In the struggle for socialism as well as
for its immediate aims, the working
class needs unity of will, unity of ac-
tion, and unity of discipline. And unity
of will is inconceivable without organi-
zation. That is why the workers need a
political party that embodies the con-
cept of unity of will and unity of action

in order to successfully guide the whole

class in its struggle against capital.
* * *

Organization and class conscious-
ness are closely interdependent. The
higher the level of class consciousness,
the greater the degree of organization.
The Communist Party is the highest
form of political organization of the

The Communist Party unites in its
ranks the most class conscious and or-
ganized elements of the working-class
and the democratic movement. Armed,
as it is, with a knowledge of social de-
velopment, a clear program and fiexible
tactics, it is the best school for training
working Class fighters and leaders. Inits
ranks workers acquire the theoretical
knowledge and political experience es-
sential to guide the struggle of the work-
ing class in allits forms. That is its great
merit. Think it over.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—OCTOBER 8, 1976—Page 9