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\S 4

Soviet research helpful

OFL studies safety

of

high tension power workers

TORONTO — Research in the

viet Union on the possible
harmful effects to the human
body of high voltage electrical
Power is being studied by the On-
lario Federation of Labor and its
task forces investigating indust-
Nal health problems.

A report entitled ‘High voltage
and Labor Protection’? was ob-
lained by the embassy of the
USSR in Canada and forewarded
Upon request to Ed. Waddel, So-

Services Director for the
OFL and co-ordinator of the task
forces,

Waddell said that the Soviet re-
Port indicates a real possibility of
the heed for a thorough in-
Vestigation of high tension power
Systems in Ontario.

The report also indicated, he
Said, that a higher safety level on
PoWer grid construction was im-
POsed in the USSR than is general
in North America. He pointed to
One instance in the report where a
Major power line in the Ukraine is
being reconstructed following
sts which indicated a higher dis-
Charge of electrical energy than
that allowed.

The Soviet document showed
how the safety problem was ap-
Proached from three different as-
Pects. One team of medical
Specialists including biologists,
Physiologists, biophysicists, and

Ygienists, working with electri-
engineers, studied the effects
Of high tension fields on the hu-

N system. A team of engineers

Oked at the electrical fields at
Sub-stations and in the area of ae-
Hal cable lines to project future

designs that would lessen the
safety hazard. A third team had
the responsibility. of introducing
new protective measures and
elaborating upon the old ones.

Concern over the possible
damage to the human body from
these high voltage electrical sys-
tems was first expressed in 1972 at
the International Conference of
Grand Electrical Systems in
Paris. It was here that the Soviet
delegation made a report quoting
extensive research and data on
the harmful influence of the elec-
trical field of extra high voltage
power plants on the plant person-
nel. Prior to this report which also
described accepted standards in
the USSR as well as protective
means and methods, the entire
question of possible health
hazards in this line of work had
not been considered.

The repercussions of the report
were wide-spread internationally
and the topic generated much dis-
cussion at the next session of the

conference in 1974.

Some countries including the
USA regarded the Soviet stan-
dards as ‘‘unjustifiably rigorous’”’
and rejected the need of applying
protective measures in power
plants of 500-750 KV. The report
points out however that ““data ac-
cumulated in the USSR and some
other countries over the past few-
years confirm the correctness of
Soviet researchers’ con-
clusions.” _,

The OFL is now in the process
of obtaining copies of the scienti-
fic papers prepared by the inves-

tigative. teams for more basic in-

29,000 more jobless
Since June, figures show

_ OTTAWA — With the impend-
Ng national work stoppage
aainst federal government wage
Controls as a backdrop, Statistics
anada released the country’s
latest unemployment figures Aug.
Showing an increase in the
fanks of the unemployed by
29,000 people over the level of the
Month of June.

In actual numbers the new
figures show that in the month of
July there were 775,000 enem-
Ployed compared to 709,000 .a
Year ago. From an unemployment
late of 7% of the work force in the
Month of June the new rate has
Climbed to 7.3% for the month of

July, .

The figures show that much of
increase occured in the 15 to
age groups with 12.3% of
Women workers in this bracket
Unemployed, while the same rate
Or men of this age groups in-
teased two-tenths to 13.2% of
work force.

There were 10,000 more
Women between the ages of 15 to
24 out of work in July than in June
and 11,000 more over the age of

5. Meanwhile the level of unem-
Ployment for men in each of these
8toups rose by 4,000 bringing the
\ tal increase to 29,000...

NDP leader Ed Broadbent
'ermed the figures a ‘‘national
Scandal’? and predicted that the
Numbers of unemployed could

Well increase to 900,000 to one
; TTT
4 Bruce Magnuson is on vacation.
: column will be resumed on his
urn.

‘million by Christmas. He also
said that Canada was ex-
periencing the longest bout of
high inflation since the depression
of the ’30’s.

Speaking for the Communist
Party Alfred Dewhurst told the
Canadian Tribune that the news
bore out the warning that the
Communist Party has been issu-
ing for some time, that the present
federal government’s policies are
not aimed at easing unem-
ployment but at increasing it, to
tackle inflation at the expense of
the workers.

“It’s all part of the federal gov-
ernment’s stop and go policy of
heating up the economy with in-
flation, the cooling it down by
creating the conditions for higher
unemployment’’, Dewhurst said.

He also said that the picture
could get worse by winter and ad-
ded that the present situation was
very bad during a period when.
unemployment is _ traditionally
lower than the rest of the year.

“These policies geared to
unemployment must be scrapped
and new full employment policies
created,”’ he said.

Dewhurst also pointed out that
the fight for new economic policy
was part of the labor movement’s
present battle for greater democ-
ratic and economic rights.

‘*One of the main reasons for
the National Day of Protest’’,
Dewhurst said, ‘‘is to force a
change in policy from one geared
to deeper unemployment, to one
of full employment.”

formation. ‘‘For example’’,
Waddell said, ‘‘the Soviet article
says that besides the introduction
of protective measures, workers
involved in such power systems
are provided with what the
Soviets call ‘favourable remuner-
ation’ and special leave arrange-
ments. I would like to know more
about this aspect.’’ he said.

The federation didn’t exactly
have an easy time getting the
document they now possess. The
first copy of the report which
Soviet authorities say they for-
warded from Moscow to the OFL
headquarters in. March of this
year, never got to the OFL.

All the OFL is interested in is
the health and welfare of its
800,000 members and the general
work force at large. Available
information says Waddell indi-
cates extra high voltage trans-
mission lines and substations
could be related to damage to hu-
man organs, blood, and the cent-
ral nervous system.

‘In matters of industrial
health,’’ Waddell said, he would
go to any source which ‘‘can pro-
vide him with the information
needed to protect the lives of in-
dustrial workers.”’

Strike in

third month

WINDSOR — The strike by
Local 725 of the Canadian Food &
Allied Workers (C.F.A.W.) and
K-Mart is entering its third

“month. The strike began on June |

9, when 170 K-Mart workers, at

‘two Windsor stores, walked off

the job.
The K-Mart workers average
hourly wage‘as of May, 1976 was

$3.00, but it is company policy to,

start everyone at the minimum
wage ($2.65/hr.) and give them
nickel and dime increases every
year or two. Paltry wages not-
withstanding, there is no guaran-
tee of a 40 hour work week. Re-
duction of part-time hours ap-
pears to be company policy, with
instances where workers’ hours

_were reduced to only eight hours

weekly, not being uncommon.
Benefits are virtually non-
existant: 4 hrs sick pay per

month, a pension after 20 years of ©

$49 per month, no medical or
hospitalization and restricted
holidays.

K-Mart refuses to grant the
normal union security provisions,
which are contained in almost év-
ery collective labor agreement in
Canada, even though 60% of the
eligible workers elected to join the
union. .

The Windsor Star, part of the
Southam chain, runs a full page
advertisement daily of K-Mart’s

‘‘inflation fighter’’ one day spe-

cials. K-Mart must view Windsor
as a particularly serious victim of
inflation, since these specials are
not being offered by K-Mart in
their Chatham, London, or To-
ronto stores.

However, when the C.F.A.W.
approached the Windsor Star
with an advertisement detailing

the union’s position, the Star ini- ~

‘tially refused to run it. Only after
the intercession of officials of
Locals 195 and 444 of the
U.A.W., did the Star feel compel-
led to run the advertisement.

CLC CALLS

ONE-DAY PROTEST

OTTAWA — The Canadian
Labor Congress, representing
about 2.2 million workers, has
called for a national one-day
‘‘withdrawal of services’’ to pro-
test against federally imposed wage
controls. A date for the walkout
was expected to be set Aug. 12. The
federal government plans to retain
controls until the rate of inflation is
reduced to 4 per cent annually or
until the three-year timetable set
for the anti-inflation program has
expired.

TRANSIT WORKERS

PROTEST JOB CUTS

SAINT JOHN — The 55
drivers and mechanics of the
Amalgamated Transit Union’s
Local 1182 walked out Aug. 9 in
protest against maintenance re-
ductions by City Transit Ltd. that
will cost *five mechanics their
jobs. They also want an end to
split shifts begun as a belt-
tightening measure in February.

But union officials said they
didn’t want to inconvenience the
public. And so, instead of walking
a picket line or simply going
home, the drivers hopped into
their own cars and drove to bus
stops all over the city to pick up
passengers.

BOYCOTT OF
CANADIAN PRESS
SOUGHT

TORONTO — Fourteen mem-
bers of the Canadian Wire Service
Guild walked off the day shift at
the Toronto operations of The
Canadian Press Aug. 9.

The walkout was one of the
union ‘‘study sessions’? being

staged at different times across the
country since negotiations for a
first contract broke down on July

{ LABOR ™ BRIEF

WINNIPEG — In the third demonstration in as many months, labor in

Carolyn James, a guild spokes-
woman, said those who went out
met editorial employees from the
Toronto Star and The Globe and
Mail on their respective lunch
hours to explain the guild position
and seek support for a boycott on
handling CP material.

QUEBEC HOSPITAL
STRIKE ENDS

MONTREAL — The longest
of Quebec’s hospital strikes
ended Aug. 10 following a vote
the night before by hospital tech-
nicians to accept new contract
proposals arrived at earlier in an
extended bargaining session.

Officials of the technicians’ -

union, affiliated with the Con-
federation of National Trade
Unions, said the vote was more
than 70% in favor of a com-
promise which would concede the
principle of: wage parity for the
technicians with the province’s
nurses but postpone achievement
of parity until 1979.

DISPUTE ON WAGES
REFERRED TO AIB

VANCOUVER — A bitter wage
dispute involving nearly $4-million
in possible penalties was referred
to the so-called Anti-Inflation
Board last week.

The dispute knocked out the
publication of Canada’s west coast
daily newspaper, the Vancouver
Sun for three days before the
referral. A sister paper, the
Province, also failed to appear.

The dispute centers on a
first-year wage raise of 16%. The
company contends it cannot pay
more than the 81/2% of the federal
wage control guidelines unless it
gets Anti-Inflation Board ap-
proval. The dispute touched off a
wildcat walkout, then the com-
pany locked out its employees.

Manitoba made its opposition to the wage controls program publicly
visible with anoon hour picket in front of the Winnipeg Regional Office of
the Anti-Inflation Board. About 100 people took partin the picket, held on

~ July 16.

.PACIFIC TRIBUNE—AUGUST 20, 1976—Page 3