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they do this too. They also deal with
lesser violations of public law such as
theft, injury or insult. However they
do not hand out sentences — their duty
to help offenders overcome their
anti-social behaviour. All meetings of
the Disputes Commissions are open to
the public.
' The Labor Code embodying these
Provisions has an interesting history.
It was adopted in 1961 after an amaz-
Ingly intensive public debate. In all
Over 350,000 meetings were held and
Over 23,000 amendments made, many
Of which were incorporated into the
final draft of the law. When the bill
did become law the working class and’
trade unions understaod it thor-

Sughly and supported it.

LABOR IN GOVERNMENT

The working class and the trade
Unions are very actively involved in

" Politics and in government.

The electoral system in the G.D.R.

18 considerably different from ours. The

“ountry’s five political parties and ma-
Jor public organizations are joined to-
€ether in the National Front. Here they

_ teach agreement on how many seats
_ Will be allotted to each party and orga-
Nization in the various levels of gov-

€fment from city councils to the high-
ee federal body — the People’s Cham-
r.

The most powerful and influential
Party is the Socialist Unity Party with
1.2 million members. It holds 128 seats
M the People’s Chamber. The other
four political parties have 52 members
€ach. The FDGB with 68 members is

© second strongest group: in the
chamber, The other four political par-
ties have 52 members each. The FDGB
With 68 members is the second strong-
st group in the Chamber. The Free
German Youth organization has 40
Members and the Democratic Women’s

€deration has 35.

» , But this. still doesn’t illustrate the

full extent of the influence of labor
M legislative bodies and government.
N the People’s Chamber 56.6% of its
Members are industrial workers while
% are office workers. Most people
Would agree, I am sure, that any coun-
in which over 80% of the elected
80vernment are workers is most un-
Usual, but such is the case in the G.D.R.
t verifies the decisive role of labor in
€very aspect of the country’s life.
thi at about wages? This is some-
Ing all workers here would like to
Ow about the G.D.R. :
In dollars and cents, wages in the
‘D.R. are lower than in Canada or
the U.S. The average monthly income
Of all workers both industrial and office
'8 approximately 680 marks ($170) . But

all workers know, it is not how

much you get but what you get for it
that counts. And here we must consid-
er some unique features of life in the
G.D.R.. which relate directly to living
standards.

e All hospital, medical, doctor and
dental care is without charge.

e All education is free right from
Grade 1 up and to and including uni-
versity. In fact 80 to 90% of students
receive a monthly stipend while attend-
ing higher institutions of learning. of
from 110 to 145 marks a month $27.50
to $36.25) .

e Almost all people in the G.D.R: live
in apartments and rents are unbeliev-
ably low — 3.4% of income, which
works out to $7.65 a month for a fam-
ily of three. For a larger apartment the
rent would be about $2.00 a month
more. In Canada or the U.S. that small
amount of money would take care of
just a little more than one day’s rent!

e The main meal of the G.D.R. is at
noon and these are provided at factory
and office restaurants ranging in price
from 12 cents to 25 cents. We had such
a meal in the factory restaurant in the
famous steel city of Eisenhuettenstadt.
A wholesome, big three course meal in-
cluding’ soup, meat, potatoes and vege-
tables as well as desert and coffee cost
only 20 cents..

e Creches for babies are 40 marks
($10.00) a month. Kindergartens are 10
to 16 marks a month ($2.50 to $4.00).
This includes meals and the care of
highly trained supervisors who must
take a three year course after finishing
high school. The unions in the G.D.R.
also operate 6,500 children’s camps
where children can go for their summer
holidays for the astonishingly low rate
of 4 marks a week ($1.00).

@ The trade union movement has 580
holiday homes of its own, most of them
in the mountain resort areas to the
south. It also has two holiday. cruise
ships. Holiday rates are low for trade
unionists — 30 to 100 marks for two
weeks ($7.50 to $25.00). Railway fares
for people going on holiday are reduc-
ed by one third. Children accompany-
ing their parents on such holidays are
charge a flat rate of 30 marks ($7.50
for two weeks.

e Entertainment is of a high quality
but low priced. Movies cost from 20
cents to $1.25; operas and concerts
from 65 cents to $3.75.

e In the G.D.R. they don’t know what
inflation. is. Prices have been going
down steadily. The price of any par-
ticular product is the same throughout
the country.

Members of an agricultural production cooperative in the district of Karl
Maix Stadt during the spring cultivation. They use the fertilizer distributor, the
“harrow, the Canadian cultivator and the seed drilling machine in a 5 metre work-

ing width,

The center of attraction for many Berliners and visitors is now the Lenin

MNUUUULANAUEGESGUNDUGDEOEELAGUEGUNUAGEODEDEEUEQUADOGNUOUANOGUEDUEGEGUEOUOUAGURDEOHEGUGGEGUOGUEGAOUEOAEQEEUOOUEQUODEOUEQUOGUGUEOOQGUOUEOEOGEOUEOEOUUOQUOUOQEOSUEOUEOUGGUOUEQEEQEOUEOCOUEGUUOEOUEOUEGEOUEGUEQEOLUOUEQEOOA OUEQOOQEOUEOUEGEEGEOUEOUEGEOUEOGEOUEGEEGEL

Square shown here with the new monument created by Prof. Nikolai Tomski.

I don’t want to give a one sided ac-
count of life in the G.D.R. The prices

. of some goods are still high. Television

sets, for example, cost from $400 to
$600, although 65% of all homes have
sets, and for Europe this is high. Cars
are also very high priced — probably
twice as high as ours and relatively few
people — about 12% — own cars. But
on the other hand bus and train fares
are low. In Berlin, for instance, you
can ride all day in the subway or bus
for 5 cents.

Bearing all of the above. on mind,
the conclusion I came to was’ that a
wage of $175 a month in the G.D.R.
was as good as a wage of three times
that amount in Canada or the USS.
What comparative figure you could use
when you bear in mind that in the

G.D.R. the worker has complete secur-.

ity and no fear of unemployment I
don’t know. Security is something we
just don’t have in this country and so
its difficult to put a price on it.

What about speed-up? If I may gen-
eralize from two enterprises that I
visited — the Wartburg auto factory
and a potash mine — I would say that
it isn’t problem in the G.D.R. Frankly
I was amazed at the reasonable pace
of work. I couldn’t see these workers
get any ulcers or a nervous breakdown
from being pushed too fast by a boss
standing over them! ~

This brings up another striking dif-
ference between workers in the G.D.R.
and the U.S. or Canada and that is
their attitude to work. Here most of
us work for big privately owned cor-
porations. Our job is to produce profits
for them and the harder we work the
more profits we produce for them. Our
wages don’t depend on our production
but upon the strength of our unions.

In the G.D.R. the workers own the
factories. What they produce belongs
to them, not individually of course but
to society as a whole. Every method
they can devise to make work easier

and increase production, to improve |

both the quantity and quality of the

products they produce, helps their so-
ciety and also brings immediate re-.
wards in the form of bonuses at the
place of work. As a result workers like
their jobs. And most of them are going
to night schools of some kind to in-
crease their qualifications and their
wages. :

There are several other features of
the trade union movement in the G.D.R.
that are worthy of mention...

Workers have their own credit unions
“Mutual Aid Fund” they call it where
they can get interest free loans to buy
TV’s, fridges or cars.

One of the highest educational insti-
tutions in the G.D.R. is the Fritz Heck-
ert College, run by the trade unions to
train trade union leaders, where three
year courses are provided.

The unions have 496 Houses of Cul-
ture, 11,000 club rooms, and 4,500 lib-
raries with 7 million books.

Workers get time off with pay for
marriage, at the birth of a child (the
father gets time off too!), when mov-
ing from one apartment to another, or
when seeing a doctor.

All 13 to 18 year old students spend
one: day a week in the factory or the
cooperative farm. Here they learn not
only practical work, but the value of
work itself.

‘About 80% of union members con-
tribute monthly to an international soli-

_ darity fund used to help workers in

foreign countries.
e
In conclusion I would like to suggest
two things.

One is that any Canadian worker
who is able to take a trip to Europe

' should include the G.D.R. in his travels.

It will. be an educational and interest-
ing trip.

Secondly I think Canadian unions
should begin a system of exchange of
trade union delegations with the G.D.R.
so that we may lear more about their
way of life and they will learn about
our countries.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, AUGUST 21, 1970-——PAGE 5