THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER >

NEW AGREEMENT SIGNED FOR
SOUTHERN INTERIOR TRADESMEN

The apprenticeship commit-
tee of the Interior Forest La-
bour Relations Association
and the IWA (Locals 1-405,
1-417, 1-423) negotiating com-
mittee reached tentative
agreement covering trades-

men in the Southern Interior.
May 17, in Kelowna.

The agreement covers the
trades of machinist, steamfit-
ter - pipefitter, electrician,
heavy duty mechanic and
welder. These trades people,
upon becoming certified, will
receive 21 cents per hour pre-
mium, retroactive to January
1st, 1969, provided they apply

' within 40 days of the signing
of the agreement.

In the event a person does
not apply within the 40-day
period, he will receive the
premium rate from the day
he becomes certified, with the
exception of the heavy duty
mechanic, who if he writes
and passes the provincial
heavy duty mechanic exam
will receive the 21 cents at
date of application, if he does
not apply within the 40-day
period. The heavy duty me-
chanic has a choice of the pro-

vincial exam or the IWA- .

FIR exam which was devel-
oped for the coast mechanics.
Persons employed as weld-

ers will qualify for the pre-
mium rate if they obtain or
hold a DPW No. 3 certificate.
It is not necessary that a per-
son maintain the certificate to
continue to receive the 21-
cent premium, Welders who

JACK MUNRO

now hold or obtain a DPW
No. 1 or No. 2 will automati-
cally receive the premium
rate.

In the event the company
requires a pressure ticket in
their operation or the Depart-
ment of Public Works re

quests a person to attend a
school to renew his ticket the
company will pay the exam-
ination fee, fare allowance
plus net lost time wages.

Spokesman for the commit-
tee, Regional 3rd Vice-Presi-
dent Jack Munro, comment-
ing on the agreement, stated
that it did not contain every-
thing that the committee had
hoped for, but he also point-
ed out that this is one of the
very few agreements that had
ever been reached with the
Association during the life of
a contract.

The union committee also
proposed the addition of other
trades to the agreement. How-
ever, the Association was not
prepared to include other
trades until the agreement is
finalized, at which time they
will meet on this point.

The same committee, con-
sisting of Jack -Munro, Re-
gional 3rd _ Vice - President;
Wayne Nowlin, Local 1-405;
Art Kelly, Local 1-417; and
Bill Schumaker, Local 1-423,
also met with the Association
on June 18th, to discuss the
establishment of a standard
tradesmen’s rate for the
Southern Interior. At present
the Southern Interior wages
are on an individual mill scale.

POLICE UNION-BUSTING

Commission which employs it of union-busting. |

Altes cities: with the sac ee
walked out of the Ass ion en masse, addi-
tional wage boost. Now the Commission says the lower-
ranking officers don’t need one.

\ Rs a ae
Metro Toronto Police Association has accused the — :

LABOUR ERA ENDS

The death of John L. Lewis
the powerful head of the
United Mine Workers of Am-
erica, brings to an end one of
the most colourful eras in the
history of the American la-
bour movement.

Lewis who died June 11, at
the age of 89, was so power-
ful that he could dominate at
will, the entire industrial
might of the U.S.

This Lewis did numerous

times during the thirties
when coal was the chief fuel
of the country.

His influence was so great
that he humbled the giant
auto and steel industries,
mocked the craft union setup

of the American Federation
of Labour by forming the

CIO for industrial workers,
and openly defied American
presidents when they dis-
agreed with his policy.
Lewis’ fight on the miners
behalf so endeared him to
them that they had a provi-
sion written into their con-
tracts that when he died they

could take a number of days

off to mourn his death.

One of his greatest achieve-
ments was his battle with the
coal owners over mechaniza-
tion in the mines. Recognizing
that mechanization would re-
sult in serious layoffs for his
members, Lewis forced the
owners to contribute so much
money a ton into a Union
pension and welfare fund.

Lewis’ father was a Welch
miner who emigrated from
Wales to Iowa. Lewis follow-
ed in the footsteps of his fa-
ther, leaving school in the se-

-venth grade to work in the

mines at 15.

He left home at 21, and for
the next five years wandered
the west working as a casual
labourer. He returned home
to take an active interest in
the miner’s union. He shortly
afterwards was elected a del-

egate to a national conven-
tion of the United Mine
Workers and from then on

, a his way up to the top,
MATERNITY LEAVE STILL PROBLEM WITH WOMEN

By THELMA CARTWRIGHT

While women continue to
fight for equality with men in
Wages and job advancement
there is one area where they,
are still discriminated against
but where they are confound-
ed by having no other stand-
ards to apply. This is in the
area of maternity leave. Ma-
ternity leave affects only
women. And it can affect them
to their disadvantage in terms
of their job security.

Recently the Canadian De-
partment of Labor undertook
to make a survey of maternity
leave policies across Canada.
It makes it clear that it is not
attempting to draw any con-
clusions from this first survey
but it does state that a num-
ber of questions have been re-
vealed that might warrant
probing in more depth.

Outside the Home

Maternity leave for women
is much more widely accepted
today than it has been in the
Past. This is largely due to the
increasing number of women
in the child bearing age group
who now work outside the
home. The participation rate
of women in the work force
between the ages of 20 and 24
rose by over ten percent in
the last ten years.

Legislation concerning ma-
ternity leave exists in only
two provinces. British Colum-
bia has had maternity pro-
tection legislation since 1921,
and in 1964 New Brunswick’s
Provincial labor standards
_ took maternity leave into con-
sideration. .

But employers across Cana-
da take a more liberal view

than the eight provinces that
still have no legislation to
protect pregnant women
workers.

Generally speaking mater-
ty leave is recognized and re-
spected as an obligation on
the part of the employer.

Length of Service

The first requirement for
maternity leave is length of
service. In some _ businesses
the service requirement may
only be three months. In other
it may be much higher — as

high as seven to twelve
months service.
Employers also demand

medical proof that the em-
ployee requesting maternity
leave is, in fact, pregnant.
This is usually done by a
medical certificate supplied
by the attending doctor.
Obviously these require-
ments are in the interests of
the employer. But the inter-
ests of the employees are also
considered. The question of
loss of seniority through time
off for pregnancy is one that

affects many women who
take maternity leave.
Seniority Important

The Department of Labor’s
survey seems to show that
seniority is generally main-
tained during maternity leave
although non-office workers
are likely to fare better in
this regard than their sisters
who work in offices.

Maternity leave still means
a loss of wages to most wo-
men. Workers who take time
off for illness often get sick-
ness benefits. Workers suffer-
ing from industrial accidents
are eligible for compensation
under their provincial Work-
men’s Compensation Act. Ob-
viously pregnancy is not an
illness, and, as the report
states, it is becoming less of
an ‘accident’. But as things
stand at the moment it is very
rare for a woman to be paid
by her employers during ma-
ternity leave,

As the Department of La-
bor points out early in its
report, this survey attempts

nothing more than to present
a picture of the status quo
concerning maternity benefit
policies across the country.

Valuable Information

What further studies or
recommendations might de-
velop from this one remains
to be seen. As a document it
provides valuable information
as to the mood of employers
across the country regarding
maternity benefits. It also
makes clear the indifference
of those provinces who still
have no legislation on their
books protecting the rights of

women workers
maternity leave.

Some of the more extreme
spokesmen for women’s rights
are already talking about
pregnancy and child-bearing
as the culprits for holding
women back from true equal-
ity with men. If well regulat-
ed maternity leave — with
pay, and with the assurance
of protected seniority — be-
came the norm, this kind of
argument would carry less
weight than it does now.

It is up to government, in-
dustry, and labor to make
sure this happens.

requiring

aes
DON’T WE ALL

The interior miil worker
was on the stingy side. One
day he went into a butcher
shop and asked for a quarter
Pound of steak.

“But, my dear man,” the
butcher said, “you’ve not nine
children. What in God’s name

are you going to do with such
a tiny piece of steak?”

“It ain’t for eating,” said
the millworker indignantly.
“I just like to have the smell
of steak in the house for when
the company comes.”

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