SACTU visit cements solidarity in Alberta Special to the Tribune The first visit to Alberta by Peter Mahlangu, South African Con- gress of Trade Unions (SACTU) Tepresentative to Canada, was a whirlwind of activity and a great success. Maureen Werlin, spokesperson for Citizens Against Racism and Apartheid (CARA), in Edmon- ton, told the Tribune, ‘“‘This was the first visit to Alberta by our brother from SACTU and we re- ally faced him with a full agenda.” His visit began with an after- Noon educational and social with CH 5, ea during his Alberta tour. CARA members on Oct. 18. This was followed the same evening by a session with Singers for Peace, the group which provided the acappella singing in the CARA sponsored play ‘Born in the R.S.A.”’ which was featured in Edmonton’s Fringe Festival last summer. They wanted to meet with Mahlangu, himself a fine singer, to learn more South Afri- can freedom songs and to relate culture to the liberation struggle. Up at the crack of dawn, Oct. 19, he travelled to Calgary where _he spoke to a meeting of ranking A graphic from South Africa. Mahlangu stressed the need for ongoing Support for the liberation and democratic movements in South Africa officers and full-time staff mem- bers of trade unions from all over Alberta. The meeting had been called by the Alberta Federation of Labour to mobilize the fightback against free trade and Mahlangu was invited as a special guest of the AFL. He also met with the AFL Executive Council and spoke at the Calgary Labour Council meeting that evening. Back in Edmonton Oct. 20, Mahlangu met with the Editorial Board of the Edmonton Journal, was sponsored by the Young New Democrats at a public meeting on - the University of Alberta Campus and appeared as a guest onEdmon- ton PM, a regular CBC afternoon feature program. When he spoke to Grade 10, 11 and 12 students at Victoria Com- posite High School, the session, including his speech and the ques- tion-and-answer period, was filmed by CFRN and was car- ried on the evening news broad- cast. The full video tape is now available for future use through CARA. The same evening Mahlangu spoke at a public meeting and so- cial at McDougall United Church sponsored by CARA. Singers for Peace provided the cultural entertainment. Finally, the SACTU rep- resentative met with the Social Policy Committee of the New Democratic Official Opposition Caucus on Oct. 21. Mahlangu had stopped over in Alberta on his way from the Commonwealth Conference in Vancouver. His stopover and side trips were sponsored and supported by CARA and the AFL. : The theme of his speeches and interviews were based on an analysis of the Commonwealth Conference, the Parallel Com- monwealth Conference and the | -maintenance workers who have been locked out for the last three _ _ onthe question of staffing requirements which has been the major _ _ bers of Local 41M of the Graphic Communications International _ Union (GCIU) have been locked out _ the Gazette obtained an injunction which prevents union mem- a ByALAN TATE, = _ MONTREAL — Negotiations have again broken down be- tween the Montreal Gazette and its pressroom, mailroom and — a months. The newspaper rejected a new proposal from the union — One hundred press and building maintenance workers, mem- Ur out since July 10. They were — joined by 80 mailers on August i4- = _ Since the beginning of the conflict the Gazette has been pub-_ lished by scabs. In a full-page advertisement Oct. 13 in the English language daily, its publisher Clark Davey accused the - union of damaging one of its regional offices. The company — claims the attack was carried out by people carrying placards — belonging to the Quebec Federation of Labour (FTQ). Although the union denies it was responsible for the incident bers, their sympathizers and the FTQ from entering Gazette offices or from trying to stop anyone else from entering. A spokesperson from Local 41M said that meeting the com- pany demands for concessions would put the union back 40 years. The main issues in the dispute are staffing requirements, jurisdiction, job security and hours of work. At the beginning of this month the FTQ launched a vast boycott _ campaign against the Gazette and its major advertizers and the _ '_ GCIU has issued a financial appeal to all its Canadian locals. _ need for the implementation of mandatory, comprehensive sanc- tions by Canada; all Common- wealth countries and other coun- tries worldwide as the only alternative to continuing and escalating violence in South Afri- ca. He also called for increased aid and unconditional support for the Front Line states along with, but not as an alternative to, sanctions. Brother Mahlangu stressed that the struggle in South Africa is not a Struggle between the Blacks and the whites; it is a struggle against the brutal system of apartheid and those opposed to the ‘‘system”’ are Blacks, Indians, Coloureds and whites. He also stressed the need for support for the liberation move- ments and democratic forces — the African National Congress (ANC), the United Democratic Front (UDF), the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), the South African Congress of Trade Unions (SAC- TU), as well as the South West Africa Peoples Organization (SWAPO), in Namibia. “Peter Mahlangu’s visit was very important to us,”’ said Ms. Werlin. “It has already inspired greater interest in the fight against apartheid and we hope to have him back in Alberta as soon as possible.” -_—— | Labour briefs Labourers return to CLC Over 10,000 building trades workers, members of the Brit- ish Columbia section of the Labourers International Union have rejoined the Canadian Labour Congress. The La- bourers, along with other building trades unions had left the CLC after refusing to com- ply with the Congress’ stan- dards for Canadian autonomy. CLC president Shirley Carr Said she hoped the return of the Labourers would encourage €ven more building trades to eteturn. to .the. €LC..The application from the B.C. La- bourers was unanimously ap- Proved by the CLC executive council. Steelworkers demand election Gerard Docquier, Canadian director of the United Steel- Workers, called the proposed free trade deal between Cana- da and the U.S., “the most massive sell-out of Canadian interests in our history,’’ and demanded that the Mulroney government call an election on the issue. _ Ina statement issued Oct. 5 : Docquier said that “the real in- terest being pursued by the Government of Canada in this agreement is not in the eco- nomic interest of this country; it is the political and ideological interest of the right-wing of the Conservative party.” Many other large unions 1n- cluding the CAW and CUPE as well as the CLC have also de- manded that an election be cal- led before a free trade deal is signed. Unemployment and flex time An extensive study con-. ducted in 12 member countries of the European Economic Community is examining flexible working hours to stop mounting unemployment. The survey of 12,000 work- ers (1,000 from each country) found one-third would favour shorter working time if it did not affect their wages and over half those interviewed would welcome changes in the work- ing day. The most mentioned change called for a fixed num- ber of monthly working hours arranged at the mutual conve- “ nience of worker and employ- er. The majority of the 8,000 “employers questioned backed © flexible work time, saying it would allow for the more rapid adjustment to production changes. They estimate flex time would increase the num- ber of jobs by three per cent a year. Their solution involves a work week of less than 30 hours, with cuts in pay. But is creating one or two part-time jobs in the place of one full-time job addressing unemployment, or does it represent increased under- employment? This is particu- larly significant considering two-thirds of those workers interviewed wanted longer working hours, Flexibility is on the agenda in Europe, half the enterprises within the EEC plan to extend it into their workplace in the coming year. But this unemployment cure may have unknown side ef- fects. One is the difficulty finding skilled workers to complement those working re- duced time. The others fall in the social sphere, mainly the effect of re- duced income and irregular hours on home and family life. Lastly it is doubtful that the powerful European labour movement would accept the concessions involved in im- plementing the program. See PACIFIC TRIBUNE, NOVEMBER 4, 1987 e 7