Hospital wage freeze
under fire from TUC

B.C. Trade Union Congress (TLC) strongly criticized the government’s “wage
freeze” for hospital workers and condemned overall handling of the hospital situation in

its annual submission to the

The labor brief suggested a
royal commission to “reassess
the administration and finan-
cial structure of the BCHIS.”

The delegation charged that
an increasing number of hos-
pital patients have suffered
from staphylococcus infection
(causing boils) and accused
authorities of “an obvious
attempt to hide its seriousness
from the public.”

The government “has its tongue
in its cheek” when it. says hos-
pital boards have local autonomy
in wage matters, said the union
spokesmen. “Under ‘the present
system hospital employees would,
in effect, be subsidizing the
BCHIS.

The brief also asked for a
chronic-hospital construction pro-
gram to release acute-illness

beds.

m nm m
Vancouver Civic Employees
Union, Outside Workers, has
written the government con-
demning the hospital wage
freeze, and has promised ‘full
support to Hospital Employees
Union; Local 180, in its wage
demands.
The hospital union is fighting
for a wage increase of five cents
an hour, a health plan and
fringe benefits. It plans to set
up a $50,000 defense fund ‘to
combat the  government’s wage
freeze. Arbitration proceedings
are under way in Vancouver
_ and negotiations have started
with the Royal Columbian
Hospital. in New Westminster.
“Hospital workers have vol-
untarily given up the right to
strike because of the nature of
their service, in return for an
agreement that all disputes in
bargaining can be finally sub-
mitted to binding arbitration,”
comments the union news bulletin
issued by Vancouver Civic Em-
Ployees, Outside Workers.
“If the government’s wage
freeze order is upheld, there
will be nothing left to arbi-
trate. Hospital workers will,
in effect, be deprived of their
collective bargaining rights.
“What the loss of bargaining
rights << mean can be seen

strikers who were running mates

John Brady, Céphas Gay, Albert
Walker and Cliff Harman. ,

cabinet this week.

VICTORIA, B. C.

in the case of B.C. civil servants,
who have never enjoyed these
rights. Salaries are sub-standard
and the turnover of labor’is quite
high. Such a policy can only

‘bitterness on the part of the
employees and a -definite drop
in service morale.

“All civic employees, all pub-
lic service employees, all trade

lead to a sense of frustration and |

unionists must give full support
to the hospital workers. If these
workers lose their bargaining
rights, it will be a green light
|for other public bodies to fol-
low a similar pattern in collec-
| tive bargaining.

“Tf the trade union movement
will speak out with one voice,
ae wage freeze will melt away,
| like snow in the spring.”

Brantford report

issued

beneficial
: TORONTO

Findings 6f a 10-year experi-
ment with, fluoridation of water
at Brantford, Ontario show a
60 percent decrease in decayed,
missing and filled teeth among
school children, it was reported
this week by the Ontario health
department. Purpose of the ex-
periment was to determine
whether the adding of 1.2 parts

GM striker
new mayor
of Oshawa

OSHAWA
A General Motors - striker
walking the picketlines of Local
222 of the United Auto Workers’
Union, has been elected mayor
of Oshawa. Union spokesmen
regarded the victory as a clear
indication. that all citizens back
the demands of 10,000 striking
workers in the GM plants here.
He is John Naylor, a trimmer in

Fluoridation proven

fluoride to each 1,000,000 parts
water would reduce the rate of
tooth decay to the level found
where water contains a natural
supply of fluoride.

Health Minister Phillips,
terming the decrease significant,

id the introduction of fluoride
“appears harmless and beneficial.”
The maximum _ concentration,
however, should not be higher
than 1.5 parts of a million Ree
water.

Brantford physicians and deus
tists found no clinically- obser
vable ill effects. —

Cost of fluoridation in Brent
ford has ranged between 12 and
17 cents a year for each resident
using the chemical sodium fluo-
ride. The use of sodium silico-
fluoride in the future may cut
the cost to six cents a person.

Surveys of communities, whose
water supplies naturally con-
tain from 0.2 to 5 parts of fluo-
ridé per million parts of water
have shown reduced tooth decay
up to 65 percent.

At Stratford, Ontario, the
water is naturally fluoridated
to the extent of 1.3 ppm.

Children of 6-8 years in Strat-

the North Plant, who served a
two-year term of office in the
post in 1943 and 1944. Fellow-

and elected as aldermen were

Backing a program to win a

| HUB HUMOR

“H he $ on improving we'll just
gael apna ser eR

Clothes or furnishings for

Christmas always make a
worth-while remembered gift.
Our selection is one of the
in Vancouver. Your
style, size and color is here.

45 EAST HASTINGS

ie

STE SIE WERE OSS VIE ERS SE a Behe I W8 SNS SEE ROE OT OA OH I OR GE OTIS

_| lic school expenditures, and urg-

new deal on education costs was
Doug MaclInally, a GM worker
backed by the union’s strike bul-
letin, who polled 1,524 votes.
MacInally advocated federal gov-
ernment grants to pay for pub-

ed a drastic cut in arms costs to

‘proved beyond any doubt the

ford show an average of 2 decayed
teeth compared to 8 in children
of similar ‘age in non-fluoridated
areas. Children of 12-14 years
had an average of 3. decayed
permanent teeth compared to
over 12 in children of the same
age im fluoride-deficient areas.
In addition, it has been ob-.
served that the decay occuring in
teeth of persons drinking fluori-
dated water is less sever: and
develops more slowly.

The Brantford experiment has

great value of fluoridated water

finance the measure.

SASS

{i

Fe eR RENG PRISM RINE RG oe CRN

XMAS GREET aoe

from

EB. WALSKE
CONSTRUCTION

BOX 502

ct teen
Best Wishes For
Peace and Progress in 756

from

HILLAND ELECTRIC

WEBSTERS CORNERS

in preventing tooth: decay.

and CONCRETE

HANEY, B.C.

APARARA PARANA REAR

i

‘Action urged
in coal crisis

NEWCASTLE, Alta.

The storied coal-rich Drum-
heller Valley will soon become

a valley of ghosts. unless action
is taken soon by governments
to solve the crisis in the coal
industry, Ben Swankey warned
here at a banquet held in honor
of his 10th anniversary as LPP
leader in Alberta.

Swankey called for immediate
“remedial action” to industrial-
ize the valley, calling ‘on the
federal government to:

@ Assist Drumheller coal to
help fill the central Canadian
market and stop the dumping of
U.S. coal into Canada as long as
Canadian miners are idle.

@ Establish industries in the
valley to process coal for its by-|_
products and use them to make
finished manufactured . goods
such as dyes, plastics, sulphuric
acid, medicines, coke. (Said
Swankey: “Our province has the
money’ and the know-how to
establish such industries today.
They are being held up because
of the opposition of the U.S.
oil and gas interests which
dominate provincial. government
policies.’’)

@ Build a petro-chemical in-
dustry which will use natural.
gas as raw material.

the Pacific

Vancouver 4, B.C.

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Editor ‘aarks birthday

Margaret Fairley (above),
editor of New Frontiers, na-
tional cultural magazine, is —
celebrating her 70th birthday
this month, and at her own
request, is asking that gifts take
the form of donations, pledges
and subscriptions to the
magazine. The address is: 153
Dunn Avenue, Toronto, Ont.

Ken Woodsworth wins

Swansea council seat
TORONTO

Ken Woodsworth was elected
councillor for the village ©
Swansea, one of 13 municipali-
ties in Metropolitan Toronto in
elections on December 3. A labor
lawyer, and a 14-year resident
of the area, he conducts a free
legal clinic in the union
and also does work for a number
of unions.

This year why not- give
a gift subscription to

Tribune ?

Circulation Manager, Pacific Tribune, Room 6 - 426 Main Oe

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