a. ee ee

BY BRUCE MAGNUSON

Monopolies, backed by the
government, will go on trying
to make the working people foot
the bill for its own profit infla-
tion. At the same time, employ-
ers are stepping up their resist-
ance to wage earners’ demands
for more. wages.

The Government has no inten-
tion to combat the rise in prices.
On the contrary, it is trying to
find excuses to cover up for the
price gougers, while using new
forms of taxation of workers’
earnings to subsidize the cor-
porations and the rich. The Gov-
ernment declares its main con-
cern to be economic growth, but
hundreds of thousands of work-
ers remain unemployed.

It is on this background that
this column as long ago as Aug-
ust, pointed to the robbery of
the working people and the
need, not. only for escalator
clauses in all collective agree-
ments to meet rising prices, but
to seek re-openers of long-term
centracts to ‘negotiate for sub-
stantial wage adjustments to
meet the inflationary cut in buy-
ing power of the workers’ wage
dollar.

Buying Power Cut

The opinions expressed at that
time seem’ to have been fully
justified now that | Statistics
Canada begins to reveal facts
and figures that prove our con-
tention that workers are suffer-

TLC backs

TORONTO. — The Toronto
Labor Council issued a sharply
worded condemnation of the
continuing attacks on _ trade
unionists in South Africa at its
meeting last week. Pointing out
that the South African govern-
ment has now “speeded up the
process by shooting black work-
ers who are striking for improv-
ed conditions,” the resolution,
which passed unanimously, call-

HAMILTON — The Hamilton
and District Labor Council, on
recommendation’ from its exe-
cutive, agreed October 4, to
form a committee of five -or
more from the floor of the Coun-
cil, with Nancy McDonald as
the spearhead; “to gather
names for an advertisement to
be inserted in the newspaper
(Spectator) expressing our con-
cern for the Chilean people. . .”

Work was begun the follow-
ing morning on the ad, whose
preamble “‘condemns the Cana-
dian Government for recogniz-
ing the blood-stained junta” and
calls upon the United Nations
to take actions to safeguard
lives in Chile, particularly those
of the political prisoners. The
draft of the ad points out that
the over-throw of a democratic-
ally - elected government ‘by
weight of arms is a threat to
democracy around the world.

Along with its chairman, Nan
McDonald (CUPE), the commit-
tee is so far made up of: Bob
McKenzie (Steel), Terry Fraser
(IBEW), Brian Hinkley (Steel),
and Paul Tin -(Steel).

In a separate action, Council
decided to forward a letter to all
members, of City Council; -stat-

fering both a relative and abso-
lute decline in buying power as
a result of inflation.

It is therefore most timely
for the Canadian Labor Congress
to call on its affiliated unions to
take a more militant stand at
the bargaining table to keep
workers’ wages ahead of rising
prices as well as to keep pace
with increasing productivity.

One way of doing this, of
course, to go after substantial
wage increases to claim for labor
a greater share in rising national
income, and to guarantee this by
making due demands to cover
increases in living costs. Unless
this is done, rising prices will
soon eat up any and all mone-
tary wage increases and begin
to eat into the workers’ buying
power to the point of forcing
living standards down.

It is to prevent this from hap-
pening that cost-of-living esca-
lator clauses in collective agree-
ments are necessary, and are
beginning to be part of trade
union demands in bargaining for
new contracts.

Reopening Contracts

At the same time, it is equal-
ly necessary to give thought to
provision for reopeners to re-
negotiate basic wage rates, in
contracts that cover a _ period
longer than one to two years.
It may also be necessary to seek
the reopening of contracts al-

ready in effect if they run over
a fairly lengthy period, in order
to seek wage adjustments.

The money to pay is there in
view of rising productivity and
higher earnings of monopoly,
whose profits rose by 49% in
the first six months of this year
compared-to the same period
last year. It is the employers,
the huge corporations and mo-
nopolies, who benefit from the
price inflation. It is monopoly
that rigs prices to suit its profit
hunger. That is why the rich
get richer and the poor get
poorer.

It is shameful that at the time
of greatest productivity and
profits in history, wage gains
should be wiped out and labor
income as a share of national
income sinks lower and lower.

At the same time, as the Com-
munist Party states elsewhere
in this issue of the Tribune, the
labor movement must carry the
struggle over from a defensive
to an offensive one, that seeks
to put an end to the system
which breeds inflation.

This means political as well
as economic action to bring pub-
lic ownership to the key sectors
of the economy and to institute
democratic planning of the eco-
nomy. This means working class
political power, exercised by a
government dedicated to bring
an end to monopolies and infla-
tion.

South African boycott

ed on “our affiliated member-
ship to respond to this brutality
through refusal to buy South
African goods and to protest the
involvement of Canadian cor-
porations operating on South
Africa and profiting by the low
wage policy of apartheid.”

The resolution also urged the
Canadian Labor Congress to

“make a vigorous approach to
Ottawa government

the de-

ing that the Hamilton and Dis-
trict Labor Council is deeply con-
cerned with the unnecessary
continuation of the. strike of
civic workers and the loss of
services to the taxpayers of this
community; and urges consider-
ation of these proposals:

(1) that there be an immedi-
ate resumption of negotiations
between the parties with the
aim of incorporating the one
outstanding issue (new employ-
ee’s rates) with the cooperative
wage study already initialled by
the parties in previous negotia-
tions. Failing this,

(2) that the parties agree to
process the issue to arbitration
for a decision as to its incorpor-
ation into the cooperative wage
study or as the City. proposes.
This would result in the imme-
diate resumption of work at
City Hall and a return to proper
services for the taxpayers of
Hamilton, the Labor Council
argues.

When the newly-elected City
Council met Oct. 5, each mem-
ber had a copy of the Labor
Council recommendation, while
Hamilton workers watched for a
strong fight on the issue by
labor-endorsed corfdidates.

PACIFIC, TRIBUNE, —, FRIDAY, OCTOBER,12, 1973 -— PAGE 8

manding they condemn these
murders and support the United
Nations position of world-wide

sanctions against the South Af-

rican state.” Affiliated locals
were also urged to advise the
South African Embassy of their
protest against the killings.
Working Women
The newly appointed commit-
tee on’ working women issued
its first report at the meeting,
which outlined the general areas
of responsibility it intended to
deal with. The concerns that the
committee plans to bring forw-
ard are: representation in the
labor movement; equal pay and
equal job opportunities; organiz-
ing; and existing legislation.
Addressing herself to the pro-
posals on equal pay and equal
job opportunities, delegate April
Coulton said, “equal pay legis-
lation cannot be a substitute for
equal pay provisions negotiated
into collective agreements .. .
“Equal pay for equal work is
not enough either,” she said. “It
only allows for comparisons be-
tween forms of work that are
identical, or nearly so. We
should seriously look at the con-
cept of ‘equal pay for work of
equal value’ as a means of end-
ing discrimination in this area.”
Other business before the
council included constitutional

. amendments. After years of try-

ing to make changes in commit-
tee reports and to democratize
the council’s. proceedings, the
majority of the delegates agreed
to new constitutional amend-
ments that allow for amending
a report from the floor. The con-
stitutional committee’s. recom-
mendation was referred back
with the instructions that am-
endments to reports can be
made with a simple majority
instead of the two-thirds origin-
ally suggested by the constitu-
tional committee.

cae a ROSES: Saha TM Re

REGINA — William Beeching,
Saskatchewan leader of the
Communist Party, is contesting
the present civic elections as
mayoralty candidate.

My program, he said, is a pro-
gram to meet the growing crisis
in daily living,.a program to
bring down the’ rising cost of
living, to raise wages, to pro-

-vide low-cost housing; and job

through programs which resolve
the needs of the people for
schools, housing, rapid mass
transit and recreation.

Mr. Beeching said that the es-
sence of his proposals was to
help a democratic movement of
the “ people come into being
which would place the needs of
the working man on the agenda
for action. The people need im-
mediate wage increases, welfare
and pension increases, tax cuts
and improved education facil-
ities.

Unfortunately, he said, the
institution of the ward system
this year in Regina has resulted
in the fragmentation of the Left.
Everyone has concluded that he
or she can get elected now with
the ward system and without
program and without thought
for the needs of the people. The
election in Regina, he said, is
being turned almost into a cir-

- cus this year, and it will be the

working people who will be the
losers.

The only way the grip of big
business~can be broken over

city council, Beeching said, is,

through the widest unity of the
trade union movement, ~ the
NDP, the Waffle, the Commun-
ists and the poverty and_ten-
ant’s groups. What I would like
to see, he said, and what I will
work for is a coalition of such
groups in a struggle for. jobs
and justice for the poor. The
failure to achieve even a sem-
blance of unity on the Left in
this election opens the door to
the reelection of a big business
city council. :

WILLIAM BEECHING =~

Mr. Beeching said that he had
originally intended to run as #
aldermanic candidate in his ©
ward but that when the Wa ‘
announced the nomination: of | ;
Native Peoples’ candidate in hi
ward, he considered that’ is
order to give substance t0 Mi
anti-racist position he sh0U.
not run against Mrs. Rosé ef
shop, but should support Le
struggle to win equality ©
justice for her people. :

He said that he would cope
ate with all those on the Left!
the elections, and congratulat®
the trade unionists who are ™ ;
ning as independents an
the Waffle and the NDP.

He said that his campalé?
would call for the develop
of Regina, for action to ts
down the cost of living, ing
ing criminal proceedings ag e 4
the big chain profiteers, "= x
new tax deal for the homeoW
and small businessman; for 1,
support to the struggle 0 ‘and
unions for higher wages” of
better working conditions, ind
equal opportunities for wor ty
women; for an anti-pove 4
program, for tenant powel,

The Young Communist League, protesting the fasci
in Chile, has issued the above poster calling for a free > —
Its Central Executive in a recent statement to young.
dians said that “the time to mourn is past. Now it 5 ~

to°dct Sess

Sarat ries i759"

for improved medical care:

Cana”
time

CPO BY