f hese Negotiate in good faith _ Hamilton transit strikers marched on Hamilton-Wentworth Regional Council, Aug. 17 protesting the region’s refusal to negotiate a settlement to the two-month long __ Strike and to oppose any decision by the council to back the 6 and 5% wage controls _ being pushed on municipalities by the federal government. - Transit strikers blast _ regional council vote HAMILTON — Some 200 striking nsit workers arrived at, the Aug. 17 Tegional council meeting in a delegation Which had marched up King Street Chanting slogans against the federal 80vernment’s 6 and 5% wage control Pfoposal and for a settlement to their Own 10-week strike. : angry workers who were con- vinced the region would ‘‘buy’’ the 6 and % in view of the fact they had refused to Settle with the transit workers over the *s modest demands of 2% arrived farly to hold a short rally which was ad- Ssed by ATU Local 107 president Bob Jageard. He spoke on behalf of both € transit operators and mechanics in al 107 as well as the striking clerical | Staffin ATU Local 1589. tressing the unity that had kept the TU strike solid, Jaggard said that it was Unity of the whole labor movement that Would defeat the 6 and 5% too. Before the rally ended civic candidates Chael Davison, Ward 3, and Liz Row- €y, Ward 5, were invited to say a few Words to the strikers who greeted Davi- Son’s message of support for the settle- Ment from the New Democratic Party Council in the city. ; Rowley gave her full support for the Strikers and their very modest demands Stating that ‘‘council could end this strike tonight with a vote to instruct their nego- Hators to settle on the basis.of the ATU"s ~ she said. “‘They’re tired of being held up = tlODie< demands. “It’s time council listened to the people who live and work in Hamilton,” for ransom; they want this strike settled - and they want fair wages. No to the 6 and 5!’ she said. Inside the council, after a short debate and long interjections from the gallery, council voted 13-4 in favor of the 6 and 5%. Included in the ‘‘yes’’ vote were Dave Lawrence and Don Gray, both aldermen reputed to be members of the NDP. ; Transit workers leaving the meeting were disgusted with the showing, and left the hall shouting: ‘“‘We’ll remember! and “Settle now!” The 6 and 5 vote by council did not surprise many people, but many in the labor movement in particular were shocked by the two NDP aldermen’s vote. ‘‘That’s not~class politics,’’ Bob Jaggard said, ‘‘that’s just disgusting.” United Electrical workers Local 504 president Tony McNulty, speaking on behalf. of the Hamilton and District Labor Council said, ‘‘they’re trying to heap the blame on the victims of infla- ‘Tt shows just how imperative it is to change the composition of the council this year’, said Rowley. ‘‘What Hamil- ton needs is aldermen who are going to standup and fightforthe working people. .: > One of the gréat victories for the working class over the past half century has been the winning of paid vaca- tions. In Europe paid vacations stretch now on the aver- age to five and six weeks while in Canada the average 1s Probably under three. In either case, however, it is a long way in advance kind were the preserve of management and the rich. One of the by-products of paid holidays for working People however, is — coming as they do during the Months of July and August — governments and big usiness usually take advantage of the let-down in the Working-class movement to launch an assault on their d won rights. is summer is certainly no exception. All the pieces of the federal government’s wage con- trol program have been put in place and the whole pro- Vincial and federal campaign to further reduce the pur- Chasing power of working people has been advanced nother stage during the summer doldrums. Major Battle I just returned from British Columbia where the first Major battle against wage controls is being waged by the Titish Columbia Government Employees Union (BCGEU). More than 40,000 workers struck against the red government’s 0 to 10% guideline program. It was first ever strike for these workers and, as has been the Case in so many similar instances, they responded with a Unity and militancy which was exemplary. That unity and militancy remain, although a temporary return to Work has been worked out to facilitate further bargaining tween the union and company. Todiscuss this return to work 8,000 BCGEU members Pitched up for a meeting in’ Victoria (a record we are told), while in Vancouver the turn-out was so large as to a three separate meetings at the largest available S The surprising thing about the strike however, was not SO much the militancy of the government employees Which has been somewhat characteristic across the Country, but the failure of the general trade union move- Ment and labor as a whole to mobilize the kind of trade from the 30s and even the 40s when paid vacations of any - Fe al J. William Stewart union and public support needed by. the BCGEU. The attack by the government in B.C. is not limited to the public employees. The government has demanded that B.C. teachers forego the forthcoming wage in- creases negotiated as part of a two-year contract. The alternative they claim is the layoff of 5,000 teachers. Construction workers, 35,000 strong have been literally | forced onto the picket line by an intransigent Construc- tion Association which is itching for battle. The United Fishermen and Allied Workers’ Union settled after a short strike against demands for substantial cuts in fish prices by the fish combines. Everywhere, from the major lumber industry all the way down the line, employers are demanding concessions or at least that workers should settle for increases less than the cost of living. No Excuse for Inaction At this time, rather than reacting in a manner consis- tent with the brave words of the Canadian Labor Con- gress Convention, which declared war on concessions and wage controls, somewhat of a siege mentality seems to have gripped the top leadership of the B.C. Federation of Labor, and most certainly the leadership of the New Democratic Party. It would be unfair to minimize the difficult task facing the trade union and labor movement in B.C. to mobilize its ranks and go on the offensive in the face of this all-out attack. There is no doubt some wavering in its own ranks at all levels which stands in the way of the kind of fight-back required. This however is a problem, not an excuse for inaction. Unfortunately the major obstacle in the way of the kind of mobilization necessary, is the electoral strategy of the NDP, which seeks to avoid fighting an election in B.C. on the issue of wage restraint and is skating around Concessions fight needs leadership committing the party to support of labors’ economic struggles. The Communist Party in B.C. had expressed some appreciation previously for the concern of the NDP and had proposed that the struggle need not, and should not be on the single issue of wage guidelines but should embrace, as it-does, the whole range of education, health and social service cut-backs which negatively affect the big majority of the people of B.C. Such an approach could bring about an alliance and action which could isolate and defeat the drive of the Socreds and big busi- ness to win public support for their anti-people program. NDP Choice One can only conclude that the leadership of the NDP lacks sufficient confidence in the people of B.C. to re- spond to such leadership and is using its influence to cause labor to back off and not force the NDP to make a public choice between supporting a militant fightback, or distancing itself from it, which in either case in the NDP view would be disastrous for them. Thus the NDP seems to have learned nothing from its defeat in Saskatchewan, nor from the hostility it created in the labor movement by trying to subordinate the in- terests of the workers to the electoral fortunes of the NDP. The trade union movement in B.C. will have to come to grips with those elements in the NDP which, while demanding the unqualified endorsation by labor of the NDP as its political arm, do not respond with full support to labor in its struggles. The NDP must be made to understand that there can be no trade-off between labor’s political solutions and its economic needs. One must serve the other. At this stage it is the duty of the trade union movement in B.C. to undertake all-out mobilization in its ranks for the fight against wage controls, restraint and cutbacks. As well, it is the duty of the entire labor movement to give its full and unqualified support to these actions. The Communist Party in B.C. and across the country for that matter, has shown its readiness to do just this and is doing everything possible to help the process. The NDP can do no less. PACIFIC TRIBUNE—AUGUST 27, 1982—Page 3