| smell tll STRIKE STATISTICS SHOW the rising militancy _of Canadian workers ANADIAN workers are, growing more and more dissatisfied with their working conditions in general and their wages in particu- lar, especially in the face of rising living costs and the increasing pro- fits of the big corporations. This dissatisfaction is perhaps best expressed in the increasing number of strikes that have taken place in the recent period. During the first 11 months of 1965, for ex- ample, there were 529 strikes in - Canada involving 254,932 workers and a loss of 2,243,980 man days. In comparison, in the whole of 1964 there were 329 strikes involving 100,214 workers and a loss of 1,- 572,220 man days. . What are the reasons, aside from the basic economic ones, for this upsurge in militancy among work- ers? This question is discussed in a recent issue of the Research Bulle- tin of the United Electrical Workers ‘union. One reason is the large influx of young people into jobs in organized plants caused by the current eco- nomic boom. These young people are more interested in direct wage gains rather than long-term fringe benefits. They are impatient and not conditioned by the different labor laws as they now prevail. Many of the wildcat strikes that have occurred in the past year are a direct result of this impatience of these workers with the ponderous machinery of conciliation, which drags on endlessly before legal strike action can be taken. It has been estimated by some qualified observers that up to 50 percent of the strikes in Ontario in 1965 were illegal under the definition of the Labor Relations Act. Another reason is the relatively new one of job security in the face of technological change. Two major strikes in existence in 1965 with this reason as the basic issue were these of the International Typogra- phical. Union against the Toronto newspapers (in effect since 1964) and of the Oil and Chemical Work- ers against British-American Oil. Still another reason is the activ- ity of sections of the work force new to organized labor. Last year saw white-collar workers, civil ser- vants and professional workers on the picket lines, for example: the Quebec Hydro professional engin- eers, school teachers in Quebec, and the nation-wide strike of the postal employees which stirred up a de- bate among civil service federations regarding the right to strike. One of the reasons also was the availability of other work created by boom conditions in the economy and a shortage of skilled labor. Many workers took employment elsewhere, maintaining token pick- et lines, and stayed out until suffi- ciently high settlement offers were made. _ Probably the largest strike in Ontario in 1965 was that of the construction trades. Other impor- tant Canadian strikes, to list a few, were those of the Heinz workers, Montreal transit workers, Anacon- da, Massey Ferguson, American Motors, Canadair, De Haviland and the grainhandlers. Although the number of strikes in 1965 was more than twice the number that took place in 1946 (when the total was 26), the total time lost did not reach anywhere near the 1946 figure of 4.5 million man days lost. - ~The reason for this is that in 1946 Canadian labor, in a solid militant body, was able to shut down whole sections of industry to establish economic gains and union recogni- tion. The. automobile, electrical, steel, rubber, textile, mining and logging industries were all struck in 1946 for periods ranging from 87 to 132 days. Since then, as a result of the dis- unity now prevailing in the Cana- dian labor movement, strikes are conducted on an isolated basis, usu- ‘ally in individual shops and seldom ‘on an industry-wide scale. There- ‘fore, in 1965 there were more stop- ‘pages with a lower overall time ‘loss. ' At times of industrial unrest, like the present, there is always a seg- ment of the public that bemoans the time lost in strikes and cries about organized labor not consider- ing the “public interest.” — ' Yet the facts are that the time ‘lost due to strikes is infinitesinsal compared to time loss due to unem- ‘ployment. For example, let us com- pare the figures for the 10-year period 1954 to 1963: “Ne. ef working days lest per THOUSAND werkers ‘Year Due te strike Due te unemployment 1954 338 14,700 1955 ta eas 13,900 6 270 10,700 Goons 317 14,900 8 562 21,500 9 — 435 18,200 1960 138 21,100 1 248 21,800 2 258 17,800 3 163 16,600 Ten-year — : average 315 17,120. (These figures are calculated from statistics covering the whole Jabor force). : Many Canadians would probably be surprised to learn that strike Recent Oshawa picketline shows continuing militancy in 1966. activity in Canada is substantially higher than in most European coun- tries. An international comparison: of days lost per 1,000, workers due to strikes over the 10-year period of 1955 to 1964 shows United. States leading with 1,044, followed by Italy with 875 and Canada with 597. The others are: Denmark 509 (manu-— facturing only); Belgium 498, Ire- land 495; Japan 391; France 3363 Britain 294 and West Germany 52, * De This increasing militancy of the Canadian working class will very likely continue through 1966, con- sidering the expanding labor force and the wider sections of the labor force that are discovering the valué of collective bargaining. : One result of this will be attempts by the different governments under employer pressure to impose furth- er legislative restrictions such as compulsory arbitration, so-called fact-finding panels and other meas- ures to further limit the workers’ right to strike. : The coming period will require greater labor unity than ever in Canada, Situations like that of the Toronto Typographers, just to men- tion one, could not occur if there were real labor unity in action and solidarity in support of all striking workers. (This was most recently demonstrated in the united action of labor against the use of court injunctions in Oshawa and Peter- borough.) Real jJabor unity will be required to not only prevent further en- croachment on workers’ rights but, more importantly, to establish in law the recognition of the right to strike on all ynresolved issues and to bring about the repeal of such Paper TERRE tools as the injunc- ion. March 18, 1966—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 5