ML UL | BET Ai Lalanee of for &Xxact] my end I'm,holding up ASS : SAS Last week this column referred {0 criticism advanced by dele- 8ates to the Canadian Labor Con- 8ress Convention of a Manifesto Calling for tri-partite sharing in the €conomic and social decision- Making on a national basis after Wage controls are removed. d While granting a strong man- ate for the calling of a general Strike, delegates were firmly op- Posed to any and all class col- Tationist efforts to suck the ade union movement into solv- I capitalism’s crisis at the work- ig peoples’ expense. They made Itclear beyond all doubt that they Would not accept increased €xploitation and productivity as a Means of guaranteeing high Profits for the corporations. The battle to enlarge the scope Collective bargaining must pro- Simultaneously with the fight democratic nationalization democratic planning under ob lic ownership and control. To Xpand the rights of the trade 5 ons to a voice in economic and Cial policy means to, at one and . © same time, restrict the power oy and its influence on x €mment. As long as capitalist nopoly power remains intact, satay or ‘‘social partnership” labo €s- with it a class col- < Tationist content. In such a Nditions, tripartism means in- hoon of the trade unions into 2 Mechanism of state monopoly Pitalism to the detriment of, and cl © expense of the working aSs, Useful for Monopolies : Itis well to remember this when Tu CLC will meet with the deau government on June 17, tion 2,08 month after the adop- N of the Quebec City CLC en Manifesto. It is not labo.» fortuitous that the federal Wwe department commissioned a een, Of West Germany's nomic and industrial relations ONLY MILITANT STRUGGLE CAN streng system by Charles Connaghan, a vice-president of the University of British Columbia whose report reached Ottawa some three months ago. In its May 24 issue, the Finan- cial Times of Canada reports that the federal government wants to give organized labor a greater role in the formulation of national economic policy by implementing at least one of the elements of West Germany’s Concerted Ac- tion Program (CAP) initiated in 1967. Under this scheme representa- tives of West Germany’s unions, managements, the banks, com- mercial institutions and govern- ment are brought together once every three months under the chairmanship of the federal minis- ter of finance. The participants do not make decisions, but are merely expected to use the infor- mation they receive for collective bargaining purposes, or in setting commodity prices or interest rates. But it is mainly to moderate expectations of labor in collective bargaining that these brainwash- ing, high level educational ses- sions find their greatest useful- ness to the West German monopolies. Thomas Eberlee, federal, de- puty minister of labor is reported as having told the Financial Times that the ‘‘concerted action program has a heck of a lot of merit. where we are working on some changes and what Connaghan has recommended fits in with what we are doing.”” In arecent speech to an indust- rial relations seminar at Queen’s University, Kingston, Ont., Mr. Eberlee is reported as having stated: ‘“‘A proposition like Mr. Connaghan’s, if applied in Cana- da, would enable collective bar-' gaining, on the basis of a broad information picture, to take place ACIFIC TRIBUNE—JUNE 11, 1976—Page 5 hen: labor's voice We are right at the point in a context that would influence rational decisions.” Labor’s Real Role However the real basis for a new role for labor in policy-making will not be found in a policy of class collaboration along the lines of Connaghan’s report, but in a militant struggle against monopoly and government for the following immediate and* minimum objectives: 1. A policy of full employment based on the recognition of the - right of every able-bodied Canadian to a job at décent wages. . .2. Full restoration of meaning- ful collective bargaining. 3. Extension of the scope of col- lective bargaining to-include a say over economic and social policy, technological change, investment policy, safety, health, production, the moving of plants, manpower training and manpower planning. 4. An end to the arms race —a main culprit in distortions of the economy and _ inflation ‘along with monopoly profiteering. . Alongside this the working class must fight for democratic nationalization .and democratic planning, and for a democratic coalition government which will implement such a program. Only in this way can the tendency to- wards corporatism, including the booms and busts which typify capitalism, be replaced by a soci- ety free from periodic crises, pov- erty, unemployment and inflation. It is in this context that the his- toric decision of the CLC Con- vention to undertake the organi- zation of a general strike takes on real meaning. In this context a general strike will, by its very na- ture, be an important political dct on the part of the working class. AFL PREPARES GENERAL STRIKE ‘EDMONTON — The Alberta Federation of Labor (AFL) has named its central strike committee to co-ordinate Alberta’s participa- tion in a Canadian Labor Congress-called national strike. AFL president Reg Basken said May 27 that labor has tried to tell the government the anti-inflation legislation is unfair. ‘Tf the controls are not re- “moved, then there will be a general strike.’’ he said. SASK. CUPE HITS COLLABORATORS REGINA — Delegates at-the annual meeting of the Saskatche- wan division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) passed a resolution de- claring ‘‘determination to deny support to any political party which supports wage controls.” The resolution also recom- mended ‘‘that this convention urge all CUPE members to regis- ter their categorical rejection of the provincial government policy with respect to wage controls and that all CUPE members presently affiliated with the NDP actively consider proposals for so register- ing that protest.” HEALTH WORKERS WANT ACTION HALIFAX — The union repre- senting 12,000 hospital employees in Nova Scotia says its members will begin a series of job actions unless the health department meets with them to resolve a contract dispute. : Harold Martel, a national rep- resentative for the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), said May 27, Health Minister Allen Sul- livan was invited the previous week to meet with the union but so far . has not responded to the invitation. LABOR ™ BRIEF ALTA. CUPE PLANS SEPTEMBER STRIKE EDMONTON — Alberta’s 14,000 members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, com- prising municipal government and school board employees, are gear- ing for a provincial strike in September. A strategy meeting with the Al- berta Federation of Labor is scheduled for June 3, the CUPE western’ regional director confirmed May 27. ““CUPE won’t go alone,” the union leader stressed. ‘“We’re looking for a possible strike call by the Federation (Alberta: Federa- tion of Labor). g HOSPITAL SHUT-DOWN STILL POSSIBLE MONTREAL — Contract negotiations for 80,000 common front non-professional hospital workers resumed May 31, for the first time in almost two months in a last-ditch effort to avert an un- limited general strike set for June 7. “Tt now all depends on how negotiations go this week,” a union spokesman said. ‘‘We’ve got up to Sunday night (June 6) to sec. Z LABOR COUNCIL BACKS STRIKE CALL SUDBURY — Delegates to the Sudbury and District Labor Coun- _ cil May 28, voiced their support for the call by the Canadian Labor Congress for a general strike. Council president Elmer McVey Stressed that if and when such a strike took place it would have to be organized, and that the leaders of the CLC, the larger unions and national trade unions would have to play the major part in its suc- cessful organization. MONTREAL — Demonstrations such as this one of Common Front hospital workers may soon develop into a general strike unless gov- ernment negotiators respond to union demands. The 80,000 non- professional hospital workers voted May 27, 65% for such action to back union demands.