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LABOR SCENE

Grain workers union calls for takeover of elevators

Amidst calls on the federal

Communists warn of new restrictions on BC labor

In the wake of the stern criticism emanating from the trade union movement over the NDP government’s back to work order to BC firemen, the government moved quietly and quickly last week to proclaim those controversial sections of the new labor act that were

F filial own policy and we have our tactics the GWU will ‘‘definitely 4 f th | }

i i ’s di t to nationalize the prepared.” with the Canadian Area °

used during the firemen’s dispute. government prepa j tt i Area if)

With little fanfare a CBC radio news report on Monday of this week Sain ‘pools in Vancouver sae The Perry mediation report TLWU” but that dispaniae ort announced that sections 57 and 58 had been officially proclaimed. Bet eon ties ae recommended: a:- two. year ee sould be somewhal ©

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“Proclamation of these sections is grounds for serious concern by [Labor Minister John Munro have aakrons ua wong ae be iin As far as local Ssge cone the trade union movement,” commented Nigel Morgan, provincial broken off with the grain com- W° 1 eS ee benefits. Com. the Perry report will move tity, secretary of the Communist Party, ‘‘bringing these two sections into years p ng .

law, giving the minister of labor power to forcibly impose formation of dissolution of the freely chosen collective bargaining agency of any trade union, is a retrogressive step.

“Tt means every BC union faces the same kind of arbitrary dictation that was used to break up the firemen’s strike in five lower mainland municipalities last week and impose totally unsatisfactory and unjust

conditions on them.

“Tt marks a significant step towards an arbitrary state in- terference in the internal affairs of a trade union and parallels the kind of anti-labor legislation brought down under the Socred’ ad- ministration. This is no more acceptable from an NDP government than it would be from a Socred government. Labor and democratic. forces should join forces and insist that these two new odious features

be rescinded without delay.”’

panies steadfastly refusing to negotiate any further on the Perry mediation report, widely accepted as the best possible basis for a quick settlement.

While Munro told press reporters that he was ‘‘optimistic’’ after the talks broke off, Henry Kancs, business agent for the 600 mem- bers of local 333 of the Grain Workers Union told the Tribune Othis week, ‘‘We’re not basing anything on these discussions. We will wait a reasonable time to see if any results come but in the meantime we are developing our

SPARKED BY AUTOMATION ISSUE

pany spokesmen have termed the proposals ‘‘inflationary’’ and alleged that it would amount to a 61% increase. Kancs pointed out that the companies, the Employers Council and Munro all have dif- ferent figures, none of which bear any relation to the Perry Report. “The Perry report with all the extra benefits included would amount to a 38% increase,’’ Kancs said, a reasonable demand con- sidering inflation could hit 18% or more this year and next. Even Munro has been forced to disassociate himself from the company’s position.

The GWU called on the federal government last week to nationalize the grain pools and get Canadian wheat moving again.

td ‘Kanes said that they had received no response from Ottawa but ‘“‘no

As the Canadian Labor Congress throws the weight of its organization behind the demands of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, an increasing volume of mail from the labor movement is bearing the stamp of the postal workers appeal, ‘“‘boycott the postal code.”

The national boycott of the new postal code, officially launched at the recent CLC convention in Vancouver, is the postal workers’ response to the adamant refusal of the post office to allow the union an effective voice with respect to the massive automation program that will be introduced with the code.

The automation program will mean the phasing out of thousands of mail sorters who presently sort mail by hand, and the introduction of a new classification of postal workers, postal coders. The coders, who are not covered by the terms of the last collective agreement, have had their wage levels arbitrarily set at 50 cents per hour less than the established contract rates for manual sorters.

Postal workers faced with the prospect of losing their jobs or accepting a lower classification, with severe income losses reacted last April. with wildcat strikes throughout the country, after union leaders complained that the “consultation mechanism” that had been established with the post office was not working. The union’s complaints met with an apathetic response from the post office who said in a statement that they were “surprised” because they thought “all was going well’. One post office official was quoted as saying, ‘“‘We will just have to wait till they play their trump card.’

The union played its card and as the boycott gains momentaum they are showing a stronger hand in negotiations. ‘‘We know we're having an effect,’’ Frank Walden, western regional director for CUPW, told the Tribune, ‘‘the post office has indicated that to us and they have had to keep the in- dependent mediator from the April 16 wildcat to continue discussions with us.”

With the union-post office talks in Ottawa stalemated and the present agreement expiring on December 31, Walden said ‘‘we’re now in- tensifying the effort’’. The focus of _ the boycott is just coming to British Columbia as the in- troduction of the code itself is being “streamed’’ out from Toronto westward. If post office plans go ahead unchecked the seven major post offices in Western Canada will be automated by July, 1975.

Upon request of CUPW, CLC president Joe Morris has asked all affiliated unions ‘‘to cease using the postal code and actively promote the boycott’’. Walden said the CLC appeal-has had a “good response’ from BC unions and many arenow stamping all of their correspondence with the rubber boycott stamp issued by the postal workers.

In his appeal to unions Morris noted that the question of job classifications is still a ‘‘non- negotiable”’ area under the terms of the Public Service Labor Act and that a boycott could ‘‘oblige’’ the post office into meaningful negotiations.

“Non-negotiable’” or not, job classifications will be a number one issue in the new contract talks. The post office is holding firm on its position that the new coders are unskilled labor despite the fact that a coder is required to have 60 to 80 hours of specialized training prior to being placed on the job. Coders are required to achieve a basic standard of efficiency before being placed on the job, achieve a higher standard through a probationary period, and maintain that ef- ficiency when given permanent status on the job.

Although a manual sorter requires a greater knowledge of general information about sorting, the union says that this is more than offset by the fact that a coder has at least double the productivity of a manual sorter.

CUPW has made itself clear to the post office that they are not opposed to increased efficiency in the mail service but that the consequences of automation on wage levels and job security should be subject to negotiation and agreement. This principle had received tacit recognition from the post office when discussions about the code first commenced in December of 1971. The post office agreed that they would retrain postal clerks for the new jobs without. loss. of pay classification. Five months after the agreement the post office unilaterally introduced the new coder classification at a lower rate of pay. When postal clerks refused a cut in pay the post office simply hired new employees on a tem- porary basis for the single function of coding, and of course, paid them

less.

The Postmaster-General has said that the new system will give Canada the most efficient postal

service in the world. The posties.

ask~ justly, “‘efficient in whose interests?”’. And so while the

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 1974—PAGE 8

or:

postmen and public alike look forward to any measure that will improve our mails, hopes rest on the boycott to ensure it is not at the expense of the postal workers.

(Cartoon by Y. Kershine from

“Sovietskaya Rossia”, Moscow.)

Liberal policies blamed

Cont'd from pg. 1

drastic effects it has had on Western Europe and Japan.

It will also have a decided effect on the B.C. economy, Morgan emphasized. “Despite good markets in the pulp and paper

sections of the industry, the layoff:

of more than 3500 woodowrkers — more than 10% of the workforce in the industry — is bound to have a ‘severe impact on our economy.”

if

He pointed out that lumber

production accounts for roughly’

fifty cents our of every dollar of production in B.C.

“This acute crisis can only be overcome by decisive government action to make money and land available for housing,”’ Morgan stressed. “It means immediate programs for the construction of Iow-cost, low rental housing.”

He also called for an expansion of Canadian trade with the socialist one-third of the world and em- phasized “‘there’s no crisis in those countries and their economies and the living standards of their people are expanding at a rapid rate.

The Communist Party em- phasized the need to bring “strong, mass pressure’”’ to bear in order to compel the government to act.

matter what happens, we will insist that these giant pools be taken over and placed under the jurisdiction of the wheat board.”’ The ~wheat board now controls sales of wheat and transport to the terminals but lacks effective control once the wheat is in the terminals. ‘“‘These big grain pools are deliberately bottlenecking grain in the harbor and impairing our exports to foreign countries,” Kancs charged, ‘‘and if they do it here, for sure they do it on the Great Lakes as well.”’ Kanes added that the union has received in- formation that both India and Bangledesh have made _ urgent appeals for Canadian wheat that cannot be supplied because of the bottlenecking. ‘‘We realize our responsibility to hungry people “in these countries,’ Kancs said, ‘‘but the grain pools do not. They should be taken over.”

The grainworkers are deter- mined to hold out for a settlement that will move them closer to their long term objective — parity with other Vancouver’ waterfront workers and in particular with

i Longshoremen. Kancs said that

Greek Communist Party leader Tony Ambatielos 3 conference in Athens August 2 following his release fe K with fellow Communist leaders Mina Yannou, Grigoris Farakos. On behalf of the Communist P

rain or shine.

the right direction, but nothing tant |

will do. ‘‘Under no circums oot

will our membership ever # |

anything less than the diet

report,’”’ Kancs said, “We

the picket line first.” * * # - tril |

The Vancouver and a Labor Council have backed int! Vancouver and New West if Building Trades Count oi branding the $3.4 million Be afl Hotel complex at Georé! ver Beatty in downtown vancou™ | “unfair’’.

The Sandman, owned Gaglardi, son of former is minister Phil Garlardi, thes! ploying non-union labor ee pt ¢ in what is seen as an 2 work institute a ‘‘right 10 ition movement in BC, in Opprs it? union labor. (See August ? oot the Tribune for a fuller re the “right to work mover wild)

Charlie Shane of the cout Trades Council told 5 delegates that contract? red vicing the site have plastt st painted over their fir not © trucks so that they. Mr | identified. He said "oa ia Building Trades Council < il representation to Vancoul Council insisting that they ti city bylaws which necess! ray {he commercial re =| name of their firm. |, pate

The VLC_ pledged oe assistance is possible ; wing building trades in uniop® Sandman project. ‘

*

“ig 1 ] yal The nineteenth AMM ty couver Island LabOl ai! scheduled for Septembet 17 git Parksville Community ~~

Dl Among the many events ,

driving contest. oni Speakers at the plC ne NDP MP for Cowicha™ jillit Douglas and Jae eo: 4 provincial organiZeh Communist Party. |

4 if : | speaking ion pr dis sf m Proudly i arty, Mr. til d rs al demanded that the new government “punish the torture pizikise 3 who supported the dictatorships of Papadopoulos 4 ,

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