COMMUNIST LEADER SAYS:

‘Councils must get back

to the bargaining table —

By ALD. HARRY RANKIN

Something has to be done to get municipal employees and their employers, the municipal councils, back to the bargaining table. Unless the present impass_ is resolved, we’re heading directly for a strike or lockout with all the curtailment of services and _ in- conveniences that these involve.

My stand has always been that since the issues in dispute have to be resolved in any case by negotiations, why not keep on negotiating now until a settlement is reached rather than negotiating a settlement after a strike or lockout.

The present state of affairs is this.

The Labor Relations Depart- ment of the Greater Vancouver

» Regional District, which includes

all the mayors of the region, put its

settlement proposals on the table.

een I HEAR THE WORD saucer I REACH FOR MY GUN! 12 The unions did the same, declaring

‘Crisis not yet a depression’

TORONTO — Ina seminar on the question, “Recession or Depression in Canada,”’ introduced by William Kashtan, leader of the Communist Party of Canada, all

aspects of Canada’s economic and’

political life’ were subjected to scrutiny and analysis. The seminar for Communist Party members and friends took place on Saturday, March 15.

After backgrounding the current crisis in the capitalist system, noting the coinciding of the further deépening of capitalism’s general crisis with a serious cyclical crisis, Kashtan pointed out that. the deepening of the general crisis of capitalism even when the present cycle ends, “inevitably will lead to more and more countries leaving capitalism and seeking a new path of development.”

He noted two important facts in the present-day struggle of the Canadian working class as com- pared with the thirties. “‘One, the workers don’t go along with the

idea that the way to solve the crisis

is for them to be the victims. by’

tightening their belts, accepting wage cuts, accepting layoffs and so on. Two, there’s no acceptance of the idea that the government has

no responsibility; ‘the state has a

responsibility.”

Discussing the terms recession and depression, the Communist leader said that, ‘““when we speak of a depression, we speak, basically, of a decline of the economy to such an-extent that there is a very low rate of economic activity for a very long time.”’ (In*1929 it dropped about 25%:) There is, secondly, a massive liquidation of assets, to reduce prices.”’

He said that “today, monopoly has such a hold on the economy, that whether the economy goes up or down they can maintain prices. They reduce production and make more profit.”” The ‘‘normal’’ features of such a crisis are not evident at this time, he ag

“There’s a decline in production, but not a serious collapse- of prices.” Also, we have serious unemployment, but. not massive unemployment characteristic of 1929.

“Canada is in a decneaing crisis,’’ Kashtan said, “but it is not yet at the level of a depression. Our slogan, Stop. the Depression is sound,” he said, “because it is based upon the possibility that if the working class unites its efforts it can compel the government to undertake measures that conceivably could stop the economic cycle collapsing to that extent, and protect the working people to some degree.”

Kashtan warned, however, that it would be wrong to conclude that we could not be faced with another 1929; the monopoly system tries to solve the crisis in part by local wars, while the working class is called upon to combine its battle on the economic front with the fight for peace

Drift to:

that their objective was parity with other public service employees in the community such as_ those employed by the B.C. government and B.C. Hydro. But as soon as the unions placed their proposals on

the table, the Labor Relations’

Department of the GVRD abruptly broke off the negotiations without even considering the union’s position. *

The unions are charging that the Labor Relations Department of the GVRD is really under the thumb of the Employers Council of B.C., which they describe as a “‘reac- tionary grouping of big business interests which is determined to keep down the wages of municipal employees.’”’ They have a point.

' The Labor. Relations Department

is affiliated to the Employers Councils and almost all the mayors are businessmen closely tied in with big business interests.

The unions further charge that their negotiations are being used for political purposes by right wing municipal politicians, that municipal employees are being used as pawns in a political power play by municipal politicians against the NDP provincial government. The many _anti- government statements’ by

Alderman Volrich, Mayor Phillips”

and others certainly bear out this contention.

It seems to me that the dif- ference between the increase of- fered by the Labor Relations Department of the GVRD and what the unions consider parity are not only negotiable but must be negotiated. The Labor Relations

Department and the mayors are pursuing harmful and disruptive tactics when they break off negotiations. This has all the earmarks of deliberately trying to force the unions to resort to job action and strikes and then use this as an excuse for a lockout.

The Labor Relations Depart- ment of the GVRD and the mayors, under the present setup, have altogether too much power. They can force a confrontation and declare a lockout without even consulting municipal councils. In effect negotiations have been taken

out of the hands of the elected rep-

resentatives of the people.

My proposals to resolve this

situation are: -1,The Labor Relations Department and the mayors must end their arrogant stance and get back to the bargaining table with the unions.

2. The Labor Department and the mayors must not make any major decisions such as breaking off negotiations or a lockout without the expressed consent of municipal councils.

3. The Labor Relations Department and the mayors must take their directions only from municipal councils and not from any outside source.

HOUSE PRICES JUMP

The average sale price of a house in B.C. in 1974 was $43,168. This is the highest average in Canada and

was 36 percent more than the year

before, The average for all of Canada was $41,133, an increase of 27 percent from the previous year.

May Day-40th anniversary issue

Plans are going ahead to produce a special 20-page May Day-40th Anniversary issue of the Pacific Tribune on April 25. This special edition will carry many interesting features, including articles on

“The On-To-Ottawa Trek,” and the “Battle of Ballantyne Pier’’ which were two major struggles that coincided with the founding year of the paper, 1935.

In addition, there will be many interesting and entertaining

features on the 40th anniversary of —

the paper along with many colorful illustrations and pictures. It will not only be an interesting issue — it

will be an historic’ one which |

readers will want to keep. Advertisements and greetings for this special May Day-40th Anniversary issue must be in the PT office no later than Friday, April 18. Place your advertisement early. Also, order a special bundle for distribution to your friends, neighbors and workmates.

Relations | |

A “Joyal Opposition” in parliament or outside of it is .

supposed to be a sort of balance wheel or a safety valve in our democratic way of life, to keep the prevailing government policies on an even keel; a sort of watchdog carefully protectihg the livelihood and interests of John Q. Public.

This concept, inherited from the long past, is very much:

a pipedream in today’s “‘free’”’ world, since all so-called “Joyal Oppositions” have been at one time or another the governments of the day. And most of them, like the Socreds of yesterday, enacted policies which consisted mainly in giving a grasping monopoly everything it wanted, and John Q. Public everything he didn’t want. This applies with equal emphasis to Tories, Liberals and other hybrid political products where either performs in the role of the loyal Opposition. Their loyalty consists of remaining steadfastly loyal to the vested monopoly in- terests they slavishly served — and wish to serve again as a government rather than a loyal Opposition. Their performance as a ‘LO’ invariably centres around the digging up of manufactured dirt, slander and worse to heave at the ‘in’; a carping criticism which would be far below the dignity of a garrulous fishwife, but seldom on the issue of basic policies. On that score they know all too well — as John Q. Public also knows, that they didn’t and couldn’t do a damn bit better than the ‘‘ins” they now seek

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 1975—Page 2

to smear. In all likelihood, from past experiences, probably a hell of a lot worse.

Here are a few examples of loyal Opposition as it func- tions in the banner province of British Columbia. Following 20 years or more of a monopoly-dominated Social Credit gang that masqueraded as a government, the people of B.C. in their majority voted into power a New Democratic Party government. A well-intentioned government, socialist in everything except socialism. But with all its drawbacks, by far and away the best govern- ment this province has had since the halcyon days of Amor de Cosmos. And brother, we have had some dillies in between, ranging all the way from hard-nosed Tory reaction to Tory-Liberal coalitions down to give-away Socreds who chanted a noisy hallelujah every time (which was all the time) they gave away a chunk of this banner province to the vested interests of big business!

Now of course an NDP government, with or without socialism is anathema to the tycoons of big monopoly, be they boss loggers, mine operators, ripoff landlords, real estate sharks or what have you. It is also poison to the political hacks of the ‘“‘loyal Opposition’ regardless of their partisan stripe.

Thus when an NDP premier gets into a temporary

hassle with some provincial egg producers the Liberal |

leader of Her Majesty’s loyal Opposition publicly com- pares him with British ex-minister of defence Profumo, who gallivanted around with the choicest of British call girls in pursuit of his “defense” duties. For this brand of “opposition’’ this Liberal yahoo didn’t even receive the customary slap on the wrist from a magnanimous NDP, let alone a stretch in the cooler for malicious slander. Without going so far afield, he might have compared the premier’s egg omelette with the affaire d’amour of Tory leader Hees with the glamorous Gerta Munsinger, but

that would have disturbed his Tory ‘loyal Opposition’

colleagues no end. Better try and put the NDP premier in |

the Profumo category.

Then to top it off we have this “loyal Opposition” hysterically yodelling anent some $200 cheque for NDP “election expenses,’’ and horror of horrors, from an ex- convict at that. A measly two hundred upsets Tory, Liberal and Socred ‘‘loyal Oppositionists,” who deal in hundreds of thousands from their wealthy monopoly backers ‘‘for services rendered,”’ either in vast resources giveaways or hard cash to these same backers — with

- promises of more to come once we “get rid of the NDP.”

And all the above is only a flea bite in the campaign of lies, slander and innuendo directed against the NDP by al organized if somewhat diversified “loyal Opposition” — the political jumping jacks of a predatory monopoly oligarchy. And an alleged free press and general media. provided: the fullest coverage of it all.

“The NDP,”’ they say, “‘is going too far and too fast.’ OD the other hand, John Q. Public, scenting a strong odor of political pollution, says ‘“‘it isn’t going half fast enough, and taking too much damn time to get there.”

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Pacific Tribune

t edition, Canadian Tribune-

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