An Action Program

The Communist Party ‘ad-
vances these three points — a
Program of action — against infla-

tion, unemployment and
€conomic crisis:
THERE IS A WAY TO

TACKLE INFLATION!

Adopt legislation to prohibit
further price rises.

Institute price and rent controls.
Undertake government subsidies
On’ essential foodstuffs where

necessary.
Prosecute the profiteers.
THERE IS A WAY TO

TACKLE UNEMPLOYMENT!
Implement the 30-hour work week

LABOR
SCENE

By BRUCE MAGNUSON

The. Canadian economy last
year had a real growth rate of
0.2%. This compared with a
STowth of 2.8% in 1974. It was the
Worst performance in 21 years.
The 1954 growth rate was 1.2%.
At this point in time the future
looks even bleaker — especially
for labor.

But the after-tax profit for
Canada’s 10 chartered banks to-
talled up to $183.7-million in the
three months ended Jan. 31 1976.

whopping increase of 37.3%
Tom a year earlier.

But while organized labor must
face the gim reality of controls,
the major steel producers in
Canada have simply notified the
So-called Anti-Inflation Board

- that they plan to raise prices on a

Variety of steel products between
6 and 9%. Notification of the price

Changes have already been sent to

Industry customers. No sign of
Price controls here.

In any case, the control prog-
Tam allows price increases to
Cover higher operating costs and
there are many methods of de-
termining what is allowable for
Various classes of companies.

In the case of Stelco, claimed
Cost increases include a 4% rise in
Cost of coal, 7% in ore prices, 5 to
10% in price of steel scrap, 47% in
Natural gas prices and 20% in fuel
Oil prices.

Bribes, Price Rigging

AIB chairman Jean-Luc Pepin
has already warned that there
May be a new round of price in-
Creases as businessmen discover
What they can get away with un-
der the selective pay and price
Controls program. (See story cap-
‘lloned ‘Pepin warns of price in-
Creases as guideline uncertainty
€ased’, Toronto Globe and Mail,
March 11, 1976). Mr. Pepin is
Quoted as saying that his board
has already agreed with business
to take a wider (sic) interpretation
Of the guidelines than was origi-
Nally envisaged for price increases

Nn the basis of product line.
_ The multi-national corpora-
tons engaged in a trade war, with
State support, are in the driver’s
Seat of power. In the U.S. and
Other countries huge industrial

bes are being probed. As an

Official of Lockheed Aircraft

at 40 houfs* pay.

Undertake a vast housing program
of 400,000 housing units annually
for low and medium incomes.

Such a program would provide
jobs, bring cost of housing and
rents down and lessen inflationary
pressures.

Extensive trade with the socialist
countries, Western Europe, Latin
America and other countries on a
mutually satisfactory basis.

THERE IS A WAY
TO TACKLE THE
ECONOMIC CRISIS!

Undertake democratic control and

public ownership of the U.S.
branch plants and resources in
Canada, the banks, trust com-
panies and insurance companies.

This would enable Canada to de-
cide its own economic policies. It
would enable funds to be available
for vast, independent economic
development in Canada.

The Communist Party calls
upon the working class and
democratic movement to unite in
support of such a genuine attack
on inflation and the crisis policies
of monopoly. This three-point
program and the 10-point prog-
ram of the CLC constitutes a real
alternative to the wage-cutting
program.

Capitalism in decline —

nightmare for workers

Communist Party Labor Secret-
ary Bruce Magnuson.

Corporation said to a Senate
sub-committee: ‘‘We don’t con-
done this ... but it was the only
way we could sell aircraft.”’ A jus-
tice department investigator has
admitted: ‘‘Where it will stop,
nobody knows. Price rigging and
payment of illegal inducements

_... have become a way of life.”’

Hide Profiteering

In the period 1973-75 food
prices increased as much in three
years as they had in the previous
23 years. Monopoly concentra-
tion is to blame. Presently Cana-
da’s four largest food retailers are
Weston-Loblaw, Dominion,
Canada Safeways and Stein-
berg’s. These giant chains handle
as much as 93% of food sales in
certain areas of Canada, accord-
ing to a study of the now defunct
Food Prices Review Board.

These companies hide their
profiteering by claiming higher
costs, which they are then passing
on to the consumer. Here is the
way it’s done. When Loblaws
raised their price of bread because

of increased cost to the supplier, .

the supplier was of course Wes-
ton’s, which owns Loblaws. Wes-
ton in turn said it had to raise the
price because of increased cost of
milk and sugar, the three com-

panies supplying the milk and

sugar being Weston subsidiaries.
Then the price of flour was
blamed, along with rising distribu-
tion costs. But the flour mills and
distributors involved are all sub-
sidiaries of Weston’s. So Garfield

Weston gets his cut at each stage
of production and distribution and
passes it on to the next stage until
it reaches the consumer.

Below Legal Minimum

Since a growing proportion of
working people’s income is spent
on food, this means a constant
drop in living standards. The
same applies to shelter and clo-
thing, which is part of the three
basic necessities for human sur-
vival. The racket is now being ex-
tended to include the demolition
of social services and community
welfare systems.

In Ontario employable welfare
recipients are going to lose their
benefits unless they take the first

job offered. The definition of

employment is being altered to
include seasonal, part-time and
non-regular work, at wages which
may be below the legal minimum
or less: than income provided
through welfare. This places
employers in a position to exploit.
unskilled workers, forced by a
goverment work-or-starve ethic
to take any job, however dirty,
dangerous or physically exhaust-
ing it may be for a worker not
in good physical condition. This
new rule is to apply to both men
and women, even mothers of small
children.

Halt This Racket

So here we are, in this much
vaunted free society. Where is the
freedom of choice when mothers:
are forced to take the first job of-
fered at any price_or lose their
welfare benefit? At the same time
appropriations for children’s aid
are being cut. All this at a time
when unemployment is high and
growing, with no improvement
in sight.

But while the people at the bot-
tom of our social register, who do
all the work, are being squeezed,

‘governments are prepared to

subsidize private profits, finance
the U.S. Lockheed Corporation
and spend more money on arma-
ments.

The time has come to call a halt
to this racket of monopoly exploi-
tation and begin working for the
socialist alternative, for real
peace on earth and good will to all
men, with permanently rising
standards.

CLC SAYS NO
TO TRUDEAU

OTTAWA — The leadership of
the Canadian Labor Congress
turned down an offer by Prime
Minister Trudeau two weeks ago,
in a special meeting called by the
PM, to collaborate with the gov-
ernment on its wage cutting prog-
ram.

CLC president Joe Morris
would not comment on the meet-
ing’s content other than to indicate
that he would be reporting to the
CLC Executive Council on the dis-
cussions, this week.

COMMON FRONT
SUPPORTS CLC
MARCH 22 DEMO

MONTREAL — The Quebec

Federation of Labor, the Confed-

eration of National Trade
Unions, and the Quebec
Teachers’ Federation, currently
negotiating together in a common
front of public service unions,
with the provincial government,
announced March 11 their agree-
ment to join forces in province-
wide demonstrations and the
March 22 CLC anti-wage controls
protest on Parliament Hill in Ot-
tawa.

The three labor centrals called
on all Quebec workers who havea
legal right to strike by March 22,
which includes some 220,000
workers, to walk out that day and
participate in the demonstrations..

CPU OUTRAGED
BY CABINET
REJECTION

MONTREAL — Canadian
Paperworkers Union president
Henri Lorrain, March 11, termed
the federal cabinet’s rejection of
the union’s request to overturn
administrator Donald Tansley’s

wage roll-back decision in the Irv-
ing Pulp and Paper case, ‘‘an out-
rage’’.

Lorrain charged that the cabinet
had treated the union’s appeal
‘with the same arrogance and con-
tempt which has been their stan-
dard procedure in matters relating
to labor unions and working

people.’’

REGINA LABOR
MOURNS
COLLECTIVE
BARGAINING

REGINA — Regina Labor
Council marked the opening of
the provincial legislature March
12 with a funeral procession com-
plete with flag-draped coffin, to.
mark the death of collective bar-
gaining and democracy in Canada
as a result of wage controls.

Labor Council president
George Smith, said March 11 that
the procession would be timed
with the arrival of the Lt. Gover-
nor to read the throne speech and
that the marchers would try to
have the coffin buried in the
flower beds in front of the legisla-
ture.

PROTESTS
CONTINUE
ON LAGGING TALKS

MONTREAL — About 40,000
nurses, maintenance workers,
and clerical staff at about 50 hos-
pitals began holding study ses-
sions March 11 joining a wave of
protests over Quebec Govern-
ment > foot-dragging in current
public service negotiations.

A statement by the Quebec
Teachers’ Federation March 11
said that more than 20,000 of its
members and affiliates staged a
half-day work stoppage on March
11, in line with the mass protests.

SUE ATR
WORD CANTOR

TORONTO — Pickets have been set up around the St. Lawrence
Center, here, by local 58 International Alliance of Theatrical Stage
Employees (IATSE) since early December. Money issues have been
settled but the union is fighting to prevent language changes in the
agreement that would allow the Center to bring in non-skilled workers to
perform work presently done by union members and skilled technicians.

{

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—MARCH 26, 1976—Page 5