702-S PEE FRIDAY, JULY 26, 1957 Doctors back nurses in pay hike battle B.C. division of the Canadian Medical Association has publicly thrown its weight behind the nurses at New Westmin- ster’s Royal Columbian and Vancouver’s St. Paul’s hospitals. The nurses are prepared to strike to back up unanimous con- ciliation board recommendations to raise their monthly wage from $240 to $260. Dr. G. G. Ferguson, execu- tive secretary of the B.C. di- vision called for “fair and ef- fective means to arbitrate dif- ferences.” In New Westminster, the io- cal medical association, in a letter to the hospital board said: “We are convinced that the conciliation. board has made a correct decision regarding an increase in salaries for nurses. We earnestly urge the board to accept this immedi- -ately.” A total of 215 nurses are in- volved at Royal Columbian and 230 at St. Paul’s. In Penticton, the hospital board averted a strike by settling on the basis of a con- ciliation board recommenda- tion. The nurses accepted the salary hike recommended, on the basis of an eighteen-month contract, instead of the 12- month pact suggested by the conciliation board. As an aftermath of the dra- matic struggle of British Col- umbia’s 1,000 provincial gov- ernment employees for high- 2 er wages and _ bargaining rights, the B.C.” Government Employees’ Association last week accused the government of an “astounding breach of faith.” ‘ The charge arose out of ‘the circulation through the Social Credit League of a letter writ- ten to the association by pro- vincial secretary W. A. Black. The letter is being distribut- ed through the mail in those ridings where byelections are scheduled to take place. The letter was designed to place a favorable light on the gov- ernment’s role in the recent dispute. A spokesman for the em- ployees said: “It was agreed that neither side should make any more announcements. Fu- ture statements were to come from Chief Justice Sloan. Now this happens.” Noel Murphy, president of the B.C, Social Credit League replied by claiming that the letter had beén. released to the. press. Mine-Mill ‘crisis’ meet — to he held in Toronto A crisis conference of “the Internation Union, Mine, Miil and Smelter Workers (Can- ada) is tentatively scheduled for Monday, August 5, in To- ronto. Representatives from all across the country are ex- pected to meet and discuss the near-crisis in hard rock min- ing and allied trades, with par- ticular emphasis on lead, zinc and copper. This proposed meeting is the cutcome of a conference held in Kimberley last weekend. The conference was called by the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Council*of Mine-Mill. John Clark, International president from Denver, Colo- rado, attended the meet, along with the entire Canadian ex- ecutive, and representatives from Britannia local and the big Sudbury: local covering In- ternational Nickel Company. According to Les Walker, secretary of Mine-Mill’s B.C. district office, the main item on the agenda of the Toronto con- ference will be the closing down of base metal mines and plants. All locals in Canada _ will be urged to send delegates. Walker pointed out that a leading aerial surv@y company in B.C. has announced that it does not expect to do any more Mining survey work this year. : y% Named top rider at the famous Calgary Stampede in the North American saddle bron@ riding competition was cowboy Guy Weeks. bucking horse. Photo shows the Texan mastering a mea! £ Help from unions coast to coast By WILLIAM KASHTAN needed to win three key strikes’ TORONTO It is high time the entire Canadian trade union movement exerted its entité strength in more active support of the workers currently on strike in Murdochville a® Arvida in Quebec, and at Lever Brothers in Toronto. expense of others but becau I mention these strikes not at the se in these strikes the workers are carrying on hero! struggles against giant monopolies which appear determined’to smash the unions in’ volved. In Murdochville one striker * was killed and two others»ser- iously injured as a_conse- quence of a dynamite explo- sion. While the facts are not available one thing would ap- pear to be clear — the com- pany and the provincial police whose main efforts appear to be to help the company, bear no little responsibility for the situation. . In the Lever Bros. strike the company is using every trick of the trade to break the back of the Oil and Chemical Work- ers’ Union — from. the use of injunctions to the provocation of “incidents”. and back-to- work movements. Only in Al- can so far, where the Syndi- cates are on strike is there an appearance of “calm.” These and other develop- ments of the past period illus- trate quite sharply that, rath- er. than. waning, the_ class struggle is becoming sharper and is likely to continue so. In the face of this, one ele- mentary fact stands out — the need for labor to improve its most precious weapon — unity and solidarity. It is unfortunate indeed that since offering its services ‘to the Duplessis “government for the settlement of the Murdoch- ville strike nothing further has been ‘done, at least in a pub- lic fashion by the Canadian Labor Congress to assist the Quebee copper miners, the aluminum workers and the Lever Bros.’ strikers. Nor are the provincial fed- erations of labor in Quebec and Ontario doing everything they should in this situation. July 26, 1957 — Is it not a commentary this! the death of a striker has see™ ingly evoked no protest fro” organized labor? : The time has arrived whel® as in the heroic Ford strike }” 1945 some supporting solida! ity movement needs to be 5° up-by the trade union mov ment nationally and prov}? cially, in cooperation with th® unions directly involved in t struggle, so that every oun’, of energy and strength of vA one-million-strong trade unl movement can be thrown 12 the. battle. f es Involved in these strugs! are not only economic issu®! decisive and important as the i are; equally involved is 3 existence of the unions co! cerned. PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PAGE