Mandatory overtime issue in Griffin strike Manitoba NDP divided over compulsory overtime legislation By PAULA FLETCHER WINNIPEG — Compulsory overtime and strikebreaking con- tinue to be the main issues in the seven-month-old strike at Griffin Steel, here, and so far Manitoba’s New Democratic Party govern- ment has failed to move on either of these questions in the interests of the workers. Labor Minister Russ Paulley told the Winnipeg Labor Council April 5 that the rider clause requir- ing an employee to work compul- sory overtime will be dropped from the province’s employment standards legislation during the current session of the legislature. However, the NDP caucus seems to be divided on the issue with Premier Schreyer reportedly of the opinion compulsory over- time should not be banned com- pletely. What will emerge in the form of legislation is still a ques- tion mark. A recent ruling by a three-man arbitration board in the case of a Shell Canada worker who refused to work overtime, found there was nothing in the current legisla- tion prohibiting employers from compelling employees to work overtime. Council delegates pressed the Labor Minister on whether or not Legislation now before the Canadian Parliament deals with such vital matters as immigration, human rights and jobless benefits. For the trade union movement these are vital areas of concern. Yet, far too little is being said and done to protect the interests of working people against a savage onslaught on democratic rights. Just a brief glance at the plethora of government bills now before the House of Commons in Ottawa exposes a dangerous trend to bureaucratic centralization. Bill C-27, the Employment and Immigration Reorganization Act, is designed to make things tougher for the unemployed and immigrant workers. It is an Act designed to legalize discrimina- tion against the chief victims of unemployment and_ inflation. When asked about the frightful increase in unemployment, Fi- nance Minister Donald Mac- donald said he was still in favor of Bill C-27, the government prop- osed law to make it tougher for the jobless to get unemployment insurance benefits. Under this new law it will take 12 weeks of work to qualify for benefits, in place of the present eight weeks. Said Macdonald: “I suspect people will just find a few extra weeks of work to cover the differ- ence.” Bill C-25, is referred to as a ‘‘Human Rights Act’’. But the fact is this bill, if enacted into law, will serve as a smoke-screen be- hind which discrimination will be practiced with impunity in many vital areas. To mention afew such areas: a) the proposed bill excludes political beliefs as the NDP condoned strikebreak- ing and he hedged by responding that the NDP “‘supports free col- lective bargaining.’’ He added that his party wanted to create a ‘‘fair climate for labor manage- ment relations’ and for ‘‘full and free collective bargaining”’. Griffin strikers don’t see much of this ‘‘climate’’ on a daily basis however as Winnipeg cops duti- fully escort scabs through their legal picket line. This is clearly a climate suiting only the company: The ‘‘free collective bargaining process’’ can’t take place when Griffin Steel is using police to smash the strike. MFL Position Clear In an unusual show of sym- pathy toward striking workers, the daily press here has been especially kind to the Canadian Association of Industrial Mechan- ical and Allied Workers (CAIMAW), using the notorious, raiding, break-away union to play up contradictions between it and the legitimate trade union move- ment. Manitoba Federation of Labor president Nels Thibault recently issued a letter to all MFL affiliates criticizing the media’s efforts to distort the federation’s position on the strike by creating the im- grounds for discrimination; b) the legislation proposed does nothing to prevent discrimination against non-citizens and immigrants; c) the bill pretends to enshrine in federal law the principle of equal pay for work of equal value by doing away with wage differen- tials between male and female workers. However, there are large loopholes. Section II) says: “‘it is not a discrimination practice to pay male and female employees different wages if the difference is based on a reason- able factor that justifies the differ- ence.’’ What is required is real equality and a genuine ban on dis- crimination, not tokenism, as in Bill C-25. Bill C-24, An act respecting immigration to Canada. This bill is retrogressive, anti-democratic and discriminatory. All persons who are not citizens, regardless of how long they have lived in Cana- da, must submit to fingerprinting and mug shots and could be re- quired to carry passes at all times under penalty of six months in jail -or $1,000 fine or both. Persons now immune from deportation af- ter living in Canada for five years by virtue of ‘‘Canadian domicile” will be stripped of such immunity and subject to deportation for the slightest offence. Extradition proceedings will be abolished, as persons wanted in other countries will be simply arrested and de- ported without any hearings. . Habeas corpus proceedings will not be possible for persons or- dered deported upon the signa- ture of two government ministers. The whole system will be geared to the search for illegals and per- PACIFIC TRIBUNE—APRIL 22, 1977—Page 8 A challenge and a Call to meet it pression the MFL is opposed to voluntary overtime and condones strikebreaking, because it won't swing its support behind CAIMAW. Thibault pojnted out the MEFL’s record is very clear on the question. The federation petitioned the province as early as 1971 to legislate voluntary over- time only into the Employment Standards Act and also demanded legalized strikebreaking be brought to an end. He noted a clear distinction between support- ing CAIMAW, and the federa- tion’s continued pressure on the NDP government to legislate on these basic issues. Accompanying the MFL letter was another by the Canadian Labor Congress over the signa- ture of President Joe Morris. The letter called on CLC affiliates to urge the government to act in the interests of workers on questions which face the working class where hard won gains are at stake no matter what union is involved. However, Morris warned that monetary support from CLC unions into CAIMAW coffers is providing money to defectors. CAIMAW Hypocrisy He noted the current pattern developing where CAIMAW sons ‘‘looking like’’ immigrants — Asians, Latinos, Blacks and Orientals — would be subject to discrimination as never before. Canadian citizens will be threatened as before long they too will be required to carry pass- cards to make the system ef- fective. We do not need immigration law and policy that will serve as the means of dividing residents of this country along racial lines. The immigrant worker must be offered employment on equal terms with workers native to Canada by birth or naturalization. With this formidable legislative assault on the rights of the work- ing people by big business and government, the trade union movement is facing a greater than ever challenge in every area, col- lective bargaining and legislative, economic and political. To meet this challenge, it is im- perative for organized labor to develop new initiatives, to mobilize its own forces for strug- gle, and to draw on large and powerful allies in the broad democratic struggle. Only such an approach can forge the kind of working class and democratic al- liance that can win majority sup- port to beat back the monopoly assault and force a change in gov- ernment anti-labor and anti- democratic policies. This is the time for organized labor to capture the initiative and to show the way forward to jobs, democracy and a better life for all working people of this rich and beautiful country. The motto must be unity, determination and struggle to: win. THEY'RE LOOKING FOR WORK Unemployment has reached record highs in Canada and young people have been made the main victims. Nearly 15% of young people between 15-24 are looking for work. These figures will swell when the school term finishes this June. “ll ne — raids a CLC affiliate, then be- cause of its weakness as a trade union has to appeal to CLC af- filiates for help. The strike in Kitimat, B.C. in 1976 is an example where CAIMAW conducted a strike with a local raided from the Steelworkers in 1972. Ironically while CAIMAW was accepting financial assistance from B.C. Steelworkers to back up the Kitimat struggle, CAIMAW was busy raiding Steelworkers’ locals in the Northwest Territories. In addition, recently leaked CAIMAW executive board mi- nutes show their mtention to raid the Thompson Manitoba Steel- workers’ local. : The MFL letter also exposed the hypocrisy of CAIMAW, posturing as the only union willing to do battle on the compulsory overtime issue with two examples of former steel locals raided by the ‘‘national union”’ at the Cana- dian Rogers Wester plant in Winnipeg, and the A-1 Steel Foundry in B.C. Griffin Steel management must have been aware of the prece- dents set by CAIMAW at thes¢ two locations when the uniol negotiated agreements droppins voluntary overtime clauses # both instances in favor of com pulsory overtime restrictions of four hours a day, and eight hou!) per week respectively. Strikers Bearing Brunt Bearing the brunt of thé CAIMAW leadership’s unprinc pled manoeuvring are the Griff! strikers, who though they hav the moral support of the majorly of Winnipeg workers are barre from material support from thé legitimate trade union move ment. Notwithstanding the militant sounding rhetoric against bus! ness unionism, union bureav@ rats, and international unions used by CAIMAW leaders to col fuse the workers, the Griffil strikers are seeing thé! CAIMAW’s policies end up by tearing Canadian workers awé)| from the mainstream of the 2” million-strong labor movemel and leaving them defencele® against the assault on their righ by their employers. Oshawa labor demands — put Canada back to work Special to the Tribune OSHAWA — Delegates to the April 12 meeting of the Oshawa and District Labor Council unanimously endorsed an execu- tive board recommendation blast- ing the federal government in a letter of protest condemning the Liberal government for not taking any action to solve the tragic un- employment crisis in its recent budget. Lynn Rak, representing the UAW ladies’ auxiliary called on the executive to include in the resolution a call on the govern- ment to institute a vast housing . construction program to provide shelter at prices working people can afford. She also called for the resolution to include demands for training programs for the unskil- led and re-training at union rates of pay, tax cuts for low and medium incomes, reduced hours of work to30 hours per week at 40 hours pay, establishment of child care centres, extension of trade to socialist countries and the third world, and a 50% reduction of the arms budget. Political. Action Committee chairman Russ Rak presented two resolutions calling on the council to endorse the sugges- tions of spokesmen for the Cana- dian Labor Congress to organize the unemployed, through mass unemployed demonstrations de- manding government action w solve the current jobless crisiS: The delegates unanimous!) asked for the CLC to forward 6¢ tailed information on the pro? osed CLC action as soon as p&% sible so that the Oshawa and D® trict Labor Council could full participate in these demo® _Strations. A second resolution w# unanimously passed calling © the CLC to convene an une® ployed conference. Noting the almost one-and? half million Canadian work? 4 unemployed, with predictions | ever increasing numbers of jo? less, and the clear indication b) Finance Minister Macdonald 4 bringing down the recent fede budget that the government plat to do nothing to solve the crisi$ unemployment, the resoluti® called on the CLC to “# mediately convene a special of ference of representatives ff" all provincial labor organizatio™ and CLC-affiliated trade uni, to discuss ways and means of 5°, ving the unemployment ¢™, around the slogan of ‘Put Cat Back to Work’.”’ — | Copies of this resolutio?: labor council spokesman said, being circulated to all local 1a", councils in Ontario urging the?” undertake similar action.