ce! BERT WHYTE
on Staff Correspondent

RE 3 MOSCOW
worker millions of Soviet
rig ill have shifted
p. the ss the five-day week

IS year Binning Bt November
Niversary (nat is, by the 50th
I the October Re-

= as Successful, pro-:
ees. and other
at 0 follow suit. In
He me lear about two
“day ae transferred to
: ot (Without al-
umber of work

is pj
oe News, but oddly
‘Union StS Visiting the
‘ teres less attention
Mm’ pec. oPMent than t
ees Of | i .
industrial life.

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ttle dispute
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ae unions en-
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Yo
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Gry 'Ything ‘Se eomplaints;
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WE GETS BETTER

‘om generation to Generation

working class. So they under-
stand the problems as well as
we do — usually better, or they
wouldn't hold their “jobs. So
when there is some trouble over
working conditions, or safety
regulations, or anything like
that, we sit down and talk it
over and try to find a solution.
Usually the trade union propo-
sals are accepted. If not, we
keep on meeting until agree-
ment.is reached.”

I asked my friend Ivan, who
works in an elevator repair shop,
if the workers were satisfied
with their wages.

“Well,” he said, “I suppose
all of us would like to earn
more money, but wages aren't
too bad. I recently got a raise,
from 140 to 150 roubles a month,
and on top of that there's’ the
monthly bonus for fulfilling our
work plan. As you know, I'm a
foreman. Most of the workers
make from 120 to 140 roubles,
plus bonuses. My only complaint
is that workers who drink too
much and take too many days
off are treated too leniently.
They can be fined part of their
wages, but I can’t fire them.

“Don’t get me wrong, I don’t
want to fire anybody. I have
a wonderful crew. In fact, there
are only two fellows who drink
too much. The point is I just
don’t know how to solve this
problem. These fellows are let-
ting down the other members,
and should be penalized. That's
why I'm in full agreement with
the steps taken recently by our
government to crack down on
excessive drinking. Of course
I'm no teetotaller myself. 1 like
a drink on weekends. But I never

“miss work because of drinking

too much. I'm not a member of
the Communist Party, but as @
Soviet citizen I want to improve
the quality of work in my de-
partment,”

I talked to a taxi driver about
the cost of living, and asked him
if he found food costs high.

“Well,” he said, “my basic
wage is 120 roubles, and I make
quite a bit more in tips. My wife
is working, too. Yet 1 must say
that we spend about 65 percent
of our combined income on food.
Yes, food is by far the biggest
item in our budget. Our rent is
only five roubles a month, and
we have no medical or dental
expenses in our country. We live
in two rooms, have a radio, &
TV set, and a refrigerator. Our
daughter is going to university
and this couldn’t have happened
in the old days. My father and
mother were illiterate peasants,
they could barely write their
names. I received a middle
school education, and my
daughter js training to be a

Poe BP genome

Seen erg At pedis ae oe
rT re tai eR va Hy

scientist. So you see, life gets
better from generation to gener-
ation. You could say I’m a reas-
onably happy man. Sometimes if
get a bit fed up driving this car,
especially when I’m on night
shift, but I have no real com-
plaints.”

All the workers | talked to
said they received annual paid

vacations. Some travelled, others ’

went to rest homes or sanatoria
run by their trade unions; a few
had ‘“dachas” in the country and
spent their holidays fishing and
gardening.

A trade union official told me
that collective agreements are
signed every year in all plants
and shops with more than 100
workers. He said these agree-
ments deal with production sche-
dules, wages, safety conditions,
educational facilities, cultural
and sports questions, etc.

Do Soviet trade unions en-
courage sports and cultural ac-
tivities? The answer is a re-
sounding YES, and indeed, the
question is regarded here as a
somewhat silly one. About 30
million people participate in
sports activities, and all plants
and factories have sports clubs,
as well as dance, drama and
musical circles.

As for sick pay, 1 learned that
as soon as he, gets a job every
worker is automatically covered
by social insurance. If he falls
sick he draws from 50 to 90 per-
cent of his normal wages, de-
pending on his length of service
at the plant. And, as 1 said be-
fore, this is a country where
there are no hospital or doctor
bills.

“What about automation?” 1
asked. “Does this lead to lay-
offs?”

“Not at all,” he replied. “The
introduction of automatic lines
is necessary to increase produc-
tion, and is proceeding at a rapid
pace. All workers taken off one
job as & result of automation
as immediately transfered to
new shops, at no reduction in
wages, because our plants are
constantly expanding. We don’t
worry about over-production in
our country. Our aim is to in-
crease the living standards of
everyone.”

It appears, therefore, that the
average Soviet worker has not a
few advantages over his Cana-
dian counterpart. Above all, he
enjoys a sense of security, which
leads to a more relaxed and hap-
pier life. His working week is
being shortened, his living con-
ditions are constantly improving,
and he knows that in the near
future his wages will go up and
prices of goods will be reduced
as production soars. So he is, on
the whole, a satisfied man.

giont passenger jet plone.

One of the workers manning the Soviet Union’s 3,500 meterolo-
gical stations and 8,000 weather observation posts is Nikolai Simakin,
above, taking a heliograph reoding ot the “Gaudak” station in
mounteins of Turkmenia. Bottom: workers ossembling the new TU-134 |

™

= “wpril 14, 1967

= LEP