DECEMBER, 1974 THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER | EOR IWA MEMBERS DENIED U.I.C. FEDERAL ACTION PROMISED The following is a copy of the letter written by Regional Ist Vice-President Wyman Trineer to federal Labour Minister John Munro pointing out sections of the Unemploy- ment Insurance Act which deny universal coverage to woodworkers. The second letter is a reply from federal Manpower Minister Robert Andras who has promised action on the matter. While Trineer’s letter to Munro is generally self- explanatory, Section 57 of the Act provides that where an employee has worked for less than 25 days for an employer, no social insurance contribu- tions are made on behalf of that employee. Therefore, even until the employee has worked the necessary time, the ’ required. number of contribu- - tions have not been made nor have to be made on his behalf because of the said section. The reference made to regula- | , r | Wyman Trineer tion No. 173 (17) explanatory. Following are the letters: is self- By ALD. HARRY RANKIN City Council acted wrongly, on December 2nd, when it voted to close down the East Hotel on Gore Avenue because its owners refused a fire pro- tection system as required by city by-laws. And rentalsman Barrie Clarke compounded the wrong by issuing an order for the eviction of the hotel’s (actually itis a rooming house) 40 tenants. About 50 of the approxim- ately 180 rooming houses in the downtown eastside of the city (often referred to as the skid road area) have refused to install either a sprinkler system or a closed stairwell as fire prevention measures. When fires occur they become virtual death traps. Most - recent was the Georgia Hotel when three men died in the fire on October Ist. - These slum landlords are defying city by-laws in the ex- pectation that the city will close them down. Then they plan to renovate their proper- ties and turn them into com- mercial establishments. In the meantime the lives of the tenants are endangered. And the landlords couldn’t care less what happens to their tenants if and when they secure per- mission to evict them. In the case of the East Hotel we had the unique situation where the lawyer for the owners was arguing before City Council in favor of the city closing down the hotel because it failed to observe city by- laws! When I cross examined the tative of the owners, is what I found. This hotel _ has a commercial enterprise _ (some stores and a restaurant the cost of fire prevention in- stallations. This is the sort of jiggery pokery that even some of the biggest landlords are carrying on to buttress their phony arguments that they can’t afford fire prevention measures. And when City Council didn’t close down the hotel as its owners demanded, the owners proceeded to make life unbear- able for the tenants. The water and heat were cut off. No maintenance or repair work “was done. Dirty sheets and mattresses weren’t changed. And all this in defiance of city by-laws. The Downtown Eastside Residents Associativn (DERA) headed by Bruce Eriksen has been fighting to clean up filthy flea bag rooming houses and make then fit and safe for human habita- tion. We have been demanding not that City Council close them down, but that City Council force them to clean up and take fire prevention measures. My stand is that if the owners refuse to do it, then the city should order it done and send the landlords the bill. My contention is that we have the right to do this under the city’s charter. But Mayor Art Phillips and his TEAM major- ity on Council say this is a “‘no- no.”’ The Mayor now says we must close them down if they refuse to obey city by-laws, ignoring the fact that these tenants will be forced to seek accomodation in other build- ings just as unsafe and dirty or more so than the buildings from which they were evicted. What our Mayor and his Coun- cil are doing, in effect, is siding with the slum _ landlords against the tenants. It is hard for these tenants, most of whom are poor people, to fight their case alone. They need all the help they can get — from the trade union move- ment and all civic minded ees See. groups who believe justice and fair play. The Hon. Mr. John Munro Minister of Labour House of Commons Ottawa, Ontario Dear Sir: Re: Unemployment Insurance Further to our discussion in Vancouver regarding the above, and more specifically Section 57 of the Act, I men- tioned that I had recent specific instances in mind when I drew to your attention the problém involved and referred to on Page 11 of our Brief ‘Re: UNEMPLOY- MENT INSURANCE AND REGULATIONS THERETO”’, submitted to the Honourable . Rober K. Andras in February 1973 and also a copy of his reply. I am enclosing herewith a copy of a letter we received from Mr. Anthony A. Smith which emphasizes the import- ance and the urgency for amendments to Section 57 that would provide: UNIVERSAL COVERAGE TO THOSE PER- SONS EMPLOYED IN FOR- ESTRY, LOGGING, AND LUMBERING. Also enclosed is a copy of a letter from Mr. W. E. Hawkes, Secretary of I.W.A. Local 1-85, to the Minister of National Revenue which was prompted by a letter to Mr. Hawkes from Mr. I. R.. Westmacott ‘For Director-Taxation’’. Mr. Westmacott in the last para- graph of his letter says, “‘It is ‘the opinion the Statutes are administered equitably and impartially, and there is no intent to exclude any class of workers except as provided by law’’. I believe the above statement makes our point. We do not argue with the ad- ministration of the law; but we do argue that Section 57 is an unjust law and denies our members who are regularly employed in the forest industry from which they attain their living; equality with persons employed in other industries should they through no fault of their own be laid off. I would be remiss not to emphasize that FORESTRY, LOGGING and LUMBERING in Western Canada is not casual, intermittent, or seasonal employment and should not be grouped in with Agriculture, Hunting and Trapping. Therefore, amend- ments to the Act in this area are urgent and necessary, and deserve immediate attention. Talso take this opportunity to raise another obnoxious Regulation which was also dealt with in our Brief - 1973 — the allocation of Retroactive Pay. We respectfully request that you review our argument presented in 1973 and set out on Page 10 in respect to Regula- tion 173(17) “RETROACTIVE INCREASES IN SALARY OR WAGES SHALL BE ALLO- CATED TO THE WEEK IN WHICH THEY ARE PAID”. This Regulation is most unfair, insidious, and vicious, it is brought strongly to the fore at this time when thousands of. I.W.A. members are being laid off or their employment ter- minated. MORE FOR STRIKERS The IWA Regional Executive Board voted at its Decem- ber Board Meeting in Prince George, to give the IWA stri- kers at Huntting-Merritt, Red Band Shingle, Meadow Lake Sawmills and Dyck’s Containers, an extra $40.00 each on top of their usual Strike Relief money, for Christmas. During 1974 Master Contract Negotiations, the I.W.A. con- - cluded an Agreement that in- cluded a program (RATE DETERMINATION) that pro- vided for Category Rate Revisions and Retroactive Pay. That program has only now been ‘detailed and imple- mented, and the implementa- tion will produce retroactive pay for not only those who are employed but also to those who through no fault of their own have been laid off. We reiterate that Retroactive Pay was earned while the employee was working which in some in- stances in this case was earned even prior to June 15, 1974, which was the expiry date of the Agreement. We maintain that Retroactive Pay should not be ‘‘allocated to the week in which they are paid’’, but should be considered wages for the week(s) in which they were earned. , We again request that Regulation 173(17) be re- considered and amended in such a manner as to remove this unjust feature. Thanking you in advance, Yours very truly, T. Wyman Trineer, Vice-President, I.W.A. Regional Council No. 1 Dear Mr. Trineer: This is in reply to your letter of October 8, 1974, to my Col- league, the Minister of Labour, concerning certain aspects of unemployment insurance. Irealize that Section 57 of the Unemployment Insurance ( Regulations, requiring 25 days of work and $250 in earnings in order to establish insurable employment, can adversely affect a woodworker’s entitle- ment to benefit in certain situ ations. Therefore, I have asked that an Interdepartmental Committee of the Unemploy- ment Insurance Commission and the’ Department of National Revenue / Taxation make a study of possible amendments to this regulation and its effect on employment in lumbering and logging. When the study is completed, which should be in the near future, I will let you know what has been recommended in regard to the present regulation. The Department of National Revenue / Taxation is involved as it is responsible for the administration of those sec- tions- of the Unemployment Insurance Act and Regulations concerning the determination of insurable employment and the payment of unemployment insurance premiums.” Regarding Section 173(17) of the Regulations in respect to retroactive increases and wages, I can advise you that your representations have been given positive considera- tion and it is intended to re- commend an amendment to delete this regulation in the - near future. I want to thank you for bringing these points to my attention and I will inform you of further developments in regard to these matters. Yours sincerely, Robert Andras. The provincial government is initiating an equal employ- ment opportunities program to ensure equal treatment of all job applicants within the gov- ernment and public service. The program will include the creation of an office of equal employment opportunities in the public service commission to ensure that jobs will be available equally to all members of society. The Office of Equal Employ- ment Opportunities will take necessary action and recom- mend programs to the govern- ment so that native Indians, women, handicapped persons, and other groups who presently have under-repre- sented or unfairly represented employment will be accorded equal treatment. 5 The Human Rights Commis- sion will provide consulting advice to the Public Service Commission to create greater employment opportunities for the disadvantaged groups in our society. The province’s new Human Rights Act administered by the Department of Labour prohib- its all types of discrimination, but the Equal Employment Opportunities program is designed to improve’ an existing situation. “In order to correct the .- inequities of the past, we must take affirmative action to restore or otherwise create the condition of equal employ- ment,” said Labour Minister Bill King. “That means encouraging government departments and agencies to hire women, native Indians and others for a variety of jobs, while ensuring, of course, that all applicants are suitably qualified.” Meanwhile, Ms. Gene Er- rington has been appointed provincial Status of Women co- ordinator, effective January 1, 1975. Ms. Errington, formerly om- budswoman for the Vancouver Status of Women and a member of the B.C. Human Rights Commission, will be attached to the office of the planning advisor to cabinet, of the Provincial Secretary’s De- partment. ee