By MAURICE RUSH

May Day, labor’s international holi-
day which was born out of the struggle
for the shorter work day and labor’s
rights, finds the working people of
British Columbia facing new dangers
this year. .

The threat to labor and all demo-
cratic people on the Pacific Coast is
best illustrated by the Social Credit
government’s ramming through of com-
pulsory arbitration with a majority of
_Six votes at the recently-concluded ses-
sion of the B.C. legislature.

With the infamous Bill 33 the Socred

cabinet has taken on itself authority
to impose compulsory arbitration in
any labor dispute where it considers
“the public interest” involved.
. Along with that, it has assumed ar-
bitrary powers to impose severe puni-
tive measures against workers and
their union involving stiff fines and
prison. The Cabinet, and the mediation
commission it will appoint, places it-
self in a position to be able to use the
full power of the state in an arbitrary
manner against working people fight-
ing for better wages and conditions.

Thus the Socred government is the
first in North America to enact com-
pulsory arbitration laws. And this is
being done in a province where the
workers are among the most highly or-
ganized in North America and where
the militancy of the workers over many
generations has succeeded in establish-
ing wage and union conditions which
are among the highest in Canada.

The imposition of compulsory arbit-
ration in B.C. poses a threat to all labor
in Canada. If the Socred government
can get away with it in a militant and
comparatively highly organized pro-
vince like B.C. it will give encourage-
ment to every employer-dominated pro-
vincial government in Canada to do
likewise. All of Canadian labor has a
stake in defeating compulsory arbit-
ration in B.C. :

©
With the adoption of Bill 33, the
Socred government has moved sharply
to the right and has declared war
against the working people and trade
unions in the province. But experience
shows that when a reactionary govern-
ment moves to the right, chooses to
make the working class its first victim,
it never stops there. In recent months,
and particularly during the last session
of the Legislature, policies have been
put through which attack the living
standards of the great. mass of the
population, impose new tax burdens on
the people, and attack .the basic
democratic rights of the vast majority
of the population. -

e

What explains this sharp turn to the
right by a government which already
occupied a position right of centre?
What explains its strongly anti-work-
ing class and anti-democratic stand?

The explanation is to be found in the
vast economic changes that have taken
place in B.C. since the end of the war
and particularly since the Socred gov-
ernment came to office.

Taking over where the Coalition gov-
ernment left off over fifteen years ago,
the Socreds embarked on a vast pro-
gram of give-aways of B.C. resources
to foreign monopolies. Legislation was
pushed through which enabled the
Socreds to give away most of B.C.’s
vast crown-owned forest lands to U.S.
monopolies; the Columbia River treaty
handed over control to the U.S. of
this mighty river resource; U.S. com-
panies took over control of the pro-
vince’s natural gas resources and are

pumping hundreds of millions of cubic Ss

feet a day into the U.S. The province’s
oil resources are being actively ex-
plored and exploited by foreign mono-
polies who are given special privileges

’ by the government.

In recent months the Socred govern-
ment has entered a new stage in the
vast giveaway of the province’s re-
sources.- Japanese monopolies, who are
now entering a period of vast expan-
sion, have been engaged in a gigantic
takeover operation to make themselves
master of B.C.’s fabulous mineral re-
sources. In some instance Japanese and
U.S. capital together have been given
vast handouts, such as the Crows Nest
coal deal which Kaiser and Japanese
concerns are taking over together. °

The phenomena of big foreign mono-
polies joining together with a provin-
cial government in organizing the rob-
bery of the province’s resources — and
planning how it should be done—with
the state throwing its resources behind
the monopolies to facilitate this pro-
cess — is well advanced in B.C. under
the Socred government. :

In recent years the Socred govern-
ment under Premier Bennett has turn-
ed the economy of B.C. southward and
to the east and away from Canada—-
weakening its. economic ties with

“That's. what | like—team work!”

Common Cause (Australia)

wie

_ MAY 3, 1968—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 8

Socred government.

Canada. At the same time it has be-
come the tool of some of the most

powerful international monopolies who

have now in effect become economic
masters of B.C. It is this fact which

explains the anti-labor, and anti-demo- —

cratic and anti-national policy of the

©
The big monopolies and the Socred
government have been planning for
some time to force a showdown with
labor and impose restrictions on its
power. They are anxious to curb the
power of the most numerous, best or-
ganized and most anti-monopoly force
in the province. They formed associa-
tions such as the Commercial and In-
dustrial Research Foundation (CIRF)
a couple of years ago among whose
active leaders are some of the top men
of big business. It’s significant that
former Chief Justice J. Vi. Clyne,
chairman of MacMillan, Bloedel, and
an officer of CI'RF, was the man who
dictated the main features of Bill 33.
An illustration of how the Bennett
government serves the interests of the
big foreign monopolies in its attack
on labor with Bill 33 was the recent
statement by a group of Japanese big
business men who complained about
the high wage standards and militant
attitudes of B.C. labor. They were
hastily assured publicly by a B.C.
Board of Trade delegation visiting
Japan that they didn’t have to worry
about that because Premier~ Bennett
had taken care of that with Bill 33.

It’s unfortunate that the top right
wing leaders of the labor movement in

B.C. and the leaders of the NDP failed

to see the broad ramifications of the
Social Credit government’s program,
and the possibilities for wide public
opposition to its measures. This oppo-
sition has been shown by the fact that
more than 1,000 British Columbians
have recently taken part in lobbies in
Victoria, including PTA members, wel-
fare and tenant organizations, trade

. sionment and diversion among workers

who wanted action. :
_ Today this same defeatist line stands”
in the way of a genuine grass roots

united movement of labor, together

with its allies, to force the Socred g0v"

ernment to repeal its reactionary Pro _

gram and Bill 33. The line that “n0-

thing cari be achieved by mass public —

action” flies in the face of the e%
perience of B.C. labor over the yeals
and the successes which that kind of
public mass protest has achieved.

This defeatist line holds out 10
prospect of struggle to block the Bill
now and narrows the fight against this
measure which must also include

thousands of trade unionists who vote

Liberal and Socred but who would OP
pose compulsory arbitration. Unit
mass action against. unpopular an

reactionaty government policies nOW .

is what is needed to lay the basis for

replacing the Socred government in the ;
next:election by a progressive alterna

tive government.
@

An example of how labor can defeat

Bill 33 and win substantial gains in 4
year when most of the basic unions
of the province are coming up fof
negotiations, was given recently by the’
unions in the construction industry:

United in demanding substantial was?

increases and fringe benefits, the
union’s central body served notice of

_ the government that it would refuse t©

recognize the compulsory arbitration
features of the Bill. As a result of its
united, and militant stand the 8,000
construction workers won a settlement
which has set an example for all B.C-
labor.

- At present labor in B.C. has taken a

the stand that it will boycott the medi

ation commission by refusing to name
representatives to it; and that the B.C. Y

Federation of Labor will mobilize all it5__
resources to batk’ the first union that
comes under attack By Bill 33.°That is
all to the good. But without waiting —
for eventualities to arise, it is neces” .

sary for labor in B.C. to launch out of —

| ;

unions, women and others. It was

further illustrated by the B.C. teach-
ers convention which decided, despite
threats from the government, to launch
a province-wide campaign against what

‘it called the ‘anti-education” govern-

ment.
When Bill 33 was announced the
right wing union leaders like B.C. Fe-

“us.a7.on of Labor secretary, Ray Hay-

nes, adopted the position that public
protest and demonstrations “have been
tried and don’t work”; that the Bill
cannot be stopped, therefore all we can
do is work to elect an NDP govern-
ment.

This defeatist policy has tied labor’s
hands. Instead of a policy of action to
mobilize all of B.C. labor and the
general public against the government’s
anti-popular and anti-labor program —
at a time when the government was in
trouble over its policies and charges of
corruption in. the Highways. Depart-

ment — it lead to frustration, disillu- «

1968.

a mass public campaign to unite the
labor movement and rally the widest
public support for a militant policy

against the implementation of the Bill. —

Together ‘with that labor should seek
to unite with every other movement 1”

the province against the government’S —

big business policies and for alterna:
tive progressive policies which would
restore labor’s rights, restore dem0-

cracy, end the school freeze, roll pack —
higher taxes and end the sellout of the —

province’s resources to foreign mono-
polies. : ;
By fighting for such a popular pro-
gram labor can be the main catalyst
in blocking reaction and creating 4
public atmosphere in the province un-
der which the Socred government
would be unable and afraid to imple-
ment compulsory arbitration and en
the indiscriminate use of injunctions
in labar disputes. This is the big task
that faces B.C. labor this -May Day.
Pg Na Se ty ae

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