Contrasts-
show value
of union

exchanges

_ Those employers in this prov-
ince who insist that B.C. con-
struction workers don’t work
hard enough and aren’t
productive should have spent a
moment last week talking to
Ivan Kolesnikov. He’s seen
workers in the construction in-
dustry through much of Europe
and as the secretary for the 81
million members of the Con-
struction and Building
Materials Industry Workers
Union in the Soviet Union, he’s
more than just familiar with in-
dustry standards.

And, according to him,
building trades workers in
British Columbia are among the
fastest and most efficient that
he’s seen anywhere.

_ In fact, both he and his
interpreter, Vladimir Pan-
chekhin with whom he toured
construction sites and mills in
the province, were visibly im-
pressed with the speed at which
tradesmen work while still
oars the Soviets
er to be a high degree o
craftsmanship.

nship.

_Kolesnikov and Panchekhin,
himself an officer of the interna-
tional department of the
Medical Workers Union, spent
last Week in this province, tour-
ing sites in the Kootenays, the
O » Vancouver. Island.
and the Lower Mainland,
meeting with unionists and, on
one occasion, with contractors.

They were hosted here by the
B.C. Provincial Council of Car-

5

y

Soviet trade unionists Viadimir Panchekhin (left) and Ivan Kolesnikov look out over downtown

Vancouver from the Harbor Centre tower.

The two unions, the Soviet
and the Canadian, are not
directly comparable — the
Soviet Building Workers
Union, for example, covers
workers both in construction
and in plants and mills which
manufacture building materials
— but the comparisons that the
two unionists were able to draw
after a week long visit under-
scored the value of international
trade union exchanges.

Interestingly enough, the
speed of work which so impress-
ed them on the construction site
— a new shopping mall at
Castlegar — they found disturb-
ing in another setting, the
Hunting-Merritt shingle mill in
south. Vancouver. é

“We were frankly surprised
at the tempo of work — it ap-
pears to be very fast .and also
very hazardous,’’ Kolesnikov
commented in an interview with
the Tribune. ‘“‘You only have to
make a small slip and you can
lose your fingers or even a

practice which the International
Woodworkers had to wage a
four-year strike to end. The
Hunting-Merritt was one of
those mills which was out from
1972 to 1976.

Kolesnikov noted that many
functions at the mill ‘‘could be
mechanized — the Soviet Build-
ing Workers would have pressed
for such mechanization he said
— but added that he realized
that it was different here,
because jobs would probably be
at stake.

Some of the other conditions
also surprised the two unionists,
including coffee breaks, the lack
of shower facilities and the very
rudimentary first aid facilities.

Building workers in the
USSR get a 10-minute break
every hour, he said, while
change rooms and lockers. are

’ provided along with one shower

for every 10 workers. In addi-
tion, every plant has what is call-
ed a ‘“‘feldsher’’ station where
there is a full-time paramedic

penters as part of a reciprocal hand.” who is also assisted from time to

exchange which saw a delega- A dangerous occupation ever time by a local doctor.

tion from this province headed since its inception, shingle weav- The contrast in conditions be-

by council president Bill Zander ing was made particularly tween the two countries oc-
visit the USSR last September. hazardous by piece work, a cupied much of the time during

CONCERT:

dance troupe
SPEAKER:

Sponsored by B.C.

JOHN HARKER —

In Solidarity with Chile

on the 7th anniversary of the fascist coup

Federation of Labor

(in conjunction with
Canadians for Democracy in Chile)

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—SEPT. 5, 1980—Page 11

PUELCHE - traditional Chilean music
SERPICO — well-known singer from Chile

CHILDREN OF TAIKAYO — West coast Native

Canadian Labor Congress, |
spokesperson on International Affairs

SUNDAY —SEPTEMBER 14—8 p.m.
QUEEN ELIZABETH PLAYHOUSE

Tickets — $5. Available at B.C. Federation
of Labor office, Co-op Bookstore, Pacific
Tribune office or by phoning 254-9797

a meeting with carpenters in Ke-
lowna, where, after what
Kolesnikov described as an in-
itial ‘‘feeling of restraint,”’ the
Canadian unionists plied him
with a host of questions about
the volume of construction
work, the availability of jobs,
the level of wages, social in-
surance programs and the role
of trade unions.

“‘They had hundreds of ques-
tions,’’ he noted, ‘‘and it show-
-ed clearly just how useful these
exchanges are between unions in
the USSR and Canada.”

Wherever they met trade un-
ionists, whether they were from
the building trades or the [WA,
he said, they also met with
“great hospitality.”” But it was
more than that.

“These exchanges give us a
better idea how each of our
unions works and helps to fill in
the knowledge about our two
peoples,’’ he said, adding that
often that knowledge ‘“‘is in-
complete.”’

There are also the direct bene-
fits. Although the Soviets will
leave behind the example of
their relatively advanced work-
ing conditions, they’ll take back

“a with them some Canadian ex-

amples of how even more im-

provements can be made.
Among them are the example

of the camp facilities at B.C.

Kootenays, which. Kolesnikov
praised for the level of accom-
modation and the facilities pro-
vided for workers in an isolated
area. On their return, he’ll be
looking for ways to use the

conditions.
He’ll also be looking at ways

technology even in this country
— constructing apartment
buildings using a frame made
almost entirely of formed sheet
metal. He visited one such pro-
ject in east Vancouver, ap-
parently the first of its kind in
Canada, although the technique
has already been successfully
(applied in the U.S.

phillip
rankin stone
paul :

memurray

barristers & solicitors
500 ford bidg.
193 east hastings st.
vancouver, b.c.
v6a 1n7 682-7471

z
Te
“
=
oO
z
a
7)
i
o
e
°
=
w
z
2
2
c
=

Hydro’s Seven Mile Dam in the -

Canadian example in Soviet:

to adapt what is a relatively new

pie’.

Re,

Housing aid

Mary Billick, executive director,
Lower Mainland Community
Housing Registry Society, writes:
Your item, on Rentex in the People
and Issues of Aug. 22, 1980
prompts me to write to you. You
have frequently mentioned Van-

couver Red Door Rental Agency
and its work with low income peo-

ple. We would like to draw your at-

tention to the Lower Mainland
Community Housing Registry So-
ciety, which is also a similar rental
agency for people on low income.
We serve an area from New West-
minster to the north and south of
the Fraser Valley, as far as Mission,

’ and the other side of Langley.

You may not be aware that we
supported the Greater Vancouver
Renters Association when they pre-
sented a brief to Burnaby council
asking them to follow Vancouver’s
example of establishing a bylaw on
commercial rental agencies.

CLASSIFIED
ADVERTISING

COMING EVENTS

SEPT. 14 — Surrey’s second an-
nual mixed doubles badminton
tournament. Seafood barbecue.

12715-66th Ave. Sry. Registration _

11 a.m.*For info or pre-regis. ph.
585-9935 or 585-8374. Everybody
welcome. Rain or shine.

SEPT. 20 — 50th Anniversary Ban-
quet of the Federation of Russian
Canadians at 600 Campbell Ave.,
Van. Cocktails — 5:30 p.m., dinner
— 7p.m., dancing 9 p.m. on. Adm.
$8. Everyone welcome.

COMMERCIAL

ELECTRICAL, plumbing, appli-
ance repairs. Don Berg. 255-7287.

ROOF REPAIRS — Reasonable.
New roofs and alum. gutters,
277-1364 or 277-3352.

RON SOSTAD. Writer, re-
searcher. Will do: essays, letters,
manuscripts, labor and civic pro-
jects, labor journalism. 688-3709.

. ROLLO BOARD GAMES. Rent-

als for home or social games. For
info. phone |. P. Schwartz,
325-5059. 5445 Inverness St., Van.,
B.C. Bingo, bongo, coyote rollo,
trump whist, rollo bridge, full card,
royal flush, lone wolf, sad box and
wild horse race, rolleau, war game
and 2 king chess. Rent — 45c per
week or more. 10 weeks’ deposit re-
quired. Balance returned if less than
10 weeks.

LEGAL SERVICES

CONNIE FOGAL, lawyer, #8 —
Gaoler’s Mews, Vancouver (Gas-
town), B.C. 687-0588.

HALLS FOR RENT

RUSSIAN PEOPLE'S HOME —
Available for rentals. For reserva-
tions phone 254-3430.

WEBSTERS CORNERS HALL —
Available for banquets, meetings,
etc. For rates: Ozzie, 325-4171 or
685-5836.

UKRAINIAN CANADIAN CUL-
TURAL CENTRE — 805 East
Pender St., Vancouver. Available
for banquets, weddings, meetings.
Ph. 254-3436.

\G