The widow of one of the four carpenters who fell to their deaths after a platform col- lapsed during construction at the Bentall Centre last year is su-

In doing so, ‘Carol Davis has had to forfeit half of $1,200 a month benefits from the Workers’. Compensation Board, according to board regulations. Davis filed the suit in the B.C. Supreme Court against the Toronto-based An- thes Equipment Ltd., seeking damages and related costs under the Family Compensation Act. Carpenters Guenter Otto Couvreaux, Brian Stevenson, Yrjo Mitrunen and Donald Davis fell 36 stories in January, 1981, when the ‘‘flyform’’ on which they were working col- lapsed. Since then a construc- tion worker in Calgary has been killed in a similar mishap, also involving an Anthes flyform. Davis’ lawyer Craig Paterson has written labor minister Jack Heinrich asking that the Workers’ Compensation Act be rewritten to allow full compen-

{| | Members and supporters of | the Canadian Association of In- dustrial, Mechanical and Allied Workers staged a brief occupa- tion of the Labor Relations Board offices in Vancouver Feb. 18 to protest the LRB’s de- cision to deny a vote on union representation at the Cominco operations in Trail and Kimber- ly.

The action followed a presen- tation by a small delegation of area CAIMAW representatives ofa 2,000-name petition to LRB chairman Stephen Kelleher de- manding the LRB allow Comin- co workers to choose between representation by CAIMAW and the incumbent United Steel- workers of America. During this period about 45 Trail area

Unionists at the Columbian newspaper in Coquitlam cap- ped a three-day occupation of the paper’s cafeteria — the-first ever strike/lockout at the

for the Vancouver Typographi- cal Union, the Mailers, i Arts and the Guild, termed the occupation, which was called after management attempted a lockout, a ‘‘success, since Guild members formed strong links with the rank and file of the other unions.””

But the ‘‘saddest thing”’ was

Widow sues company over Bentall tragedy

sation during damage suits, terming the benefits cut ‘“‘a totally outrageous and outdated

concept.

The WCB announced last month that it was prepared to sue Anthes Equipment on behalf of the families of the four carpenters, an action hailed by provincial Council of Carpenters president Bill Zan- der as ‘‘a breakthrough in press- ing workers’ claims against negligence in safety practices.”’

Usually the WC Act prevents such action by the board, but since Antes is an out-of- province company, it is outside the scope of the Act. The other three families have yet to decide whether to allow the WCB to represent them, in which case their full benefits would be re- tained.

A coroner’s jury found the

‘Anthes flyform to be ‘‘under-

designed,’’ and the board has since established new regula- tions governing flyforms. Meanwhile, the carpenters union is. investigating other

: possible flyform accidents.

Union occupies LRB

CAIMAW supporters arrived by bus and filed into Kelleher’s office.

At Kelleher’s request the demonstrators vacated and moved to an adjacent board- room where CAIMAW vice- president Peter Cameron and others outlined plans to appeal the LRB decision to the board and the B.C. Supreme Court.

In a Feb. 19 press release, B.C. Federation of Labor presi- dent Jim Kinnaird branded CAIMAW’s action ‘‘a childish attempt to deflect attention away from their own incompe- tence.” The comments followed similar remarks made earlier by International Woodworkers president Jack Munro.

Paper strike settled

craft unions won wage increases of 26 percent compounded over two years. The contract also gives them parity with the Print- ing Pressmen’s Union which had signed a separate agreement outside the council giving its members a 51-cent premium.

The pressmen officially left the council last December and refused to agree to restoring wage parity, said Glavin, who added that ‘‘craft unionism’’ has always been a problem in achieving unity among news- paper unions.

Glavin said the newspaper agreed to include as employees and Guild members three pho- tographers who had been work-

ing on a contract basis. Guild.

spokesman Patricia Lane said

not being able to achieve the _ other benefits include improved Guild’s demand for catch-up vacation, sick leave and pension for the lower paid clerical and _ plans, paid maternity leave and

| maintenance employees, he _ the night of pregnant women to said. transfer from video display ter- In the settlement, the three minal work without loss of pay.

LOR

Wage controls on public employees held ‘unjust,

immoral and ineffective’

Continued from page 1 day government employees enter

contract bargaining without any reference to the wage control agen-

cy. “‘We do not have the slightest in- tention of recognizing the existence of their wage rollback bureaucracy to be headed by Mr. Peck any more than we have given recognition to the Essential Services Advisory Agency under Mr. McKee or theill- fated Mediation Commission under Justice John Parker,”’ Rich- ards told a press conference at BCGEU headquarters Tuesday.

JACK GEROW ... workers made scapegoats for govern- ment ‘economic ineptitude.’

“Our reaction to this unrealistic wage control program of the pro- vincial government is quite simply that we intend to take the premier at his word.”’ In his address to the ‘people of B.C. last Thursday, premier Bennett said ‘collective bargaining will take place in the normal manner.’ This is also the policy of our union. We intend to negotiate a catch-up increase for our membership whose pay che- ques have been so badly eroded by inflation over the last three years.

“‘We intend to secure the same catch-up increase that the govern- ment has so generously given itself and all its management personnel before announcing a wage control program for the people who actu- ually do the work,’’ he said.

Contracts covering some 36,500 BCGEU members are up for re- newal July 31. Union members are in the last year of a three-year agreement which gave them only eight percent increases each year.

“We have already shown re- straint, plenty of it, over the past three year period during which time our wages have increased by 24 per- cent while living costs in B.C. eg 38 percent,’ Richards

She Hospital Employees’ Un- ion, which has already been in pro- tracted negotiations with Health Labor Relations, representing about.120 hospitals since last year, also declared this week that it will continue talks without reference to the wage control program.

Gerow also made it clear that the union will be taking action to de- feat the government’s program — and the government itself in an election.

“We are going to become politi- cally active because the only way to Sa the program is to change

the government,’ he said.

Gerow added that as much as

| PACIFIC TRISUNE—FEB. 26, 1982—Page 12 _

$100,000 could be made available by the union in an election to sup- port candidates ‘‘who say they are against introducing arbitrary and discriminatory controls in an at- tempt to take the government off the hook for its economic inepti- tude.”’

For all of the unions in the public sector, the program is ill-conceived and an attempt by the provincial government to make public em- ployees the scapegoats for a de- pressed economy.

Richards charged that Bennett was appealing to ‘‘reactionary forces’’ by levelling his wage con- trol program at the public sector. “Picking on government employ- ees may be politically appealing to certain reactionary forces in the province — but it will not under any circumstances produce eco- nomic recovery,’’ he emphasized.”’

He termed the wage control pro- gram ‘unjust, immoral and, in our view, ineffective.”’

Recent statistics bear out how unjust wage controls are in any form, let alone those imposed on the public sector.

According to Statistics Canada figures, calculated against increases in the Consumer Price Index, wages fell significantly below prices in the period of controls and re- mained there for two years follow- ing the end of the controls period in 1978. It was only in 1981 that wage increases even began to match the

NORMAN RICHARDS .. . Ben- nett seeking to appeal to ‘cer- tain reactionary forces.’

JIM KINNAIRD

ation over wage controls.

level of inflation which itself been surging as a result of incre in energy, food, housing, auto

surance and several other com

modities. Emil Bjarnason, director of

Trade Union Research Bureau i Vancouver, cited the current Stats-

Can figures which show wage creases running at an average

12.1 percent for the first nine mon

ths of 1981 compared to an incre in the CPI of 11.4 percent for year.

It was because wages, after y

of being behind inflation, began

catch up, that employers and g ernment have mounted press for the reimposition of wage c trols.

There is much the same ba ground for Bennett’s controls é though most observers agree that his program was a ‘‘knee-jerk”’ 1& action to a provincial budget crisis and an attempt to exploit whatevel

sentiment there is for wage cont to use against the public sector.

BCTF president Larry Kueht

also emphasized the depressing

straint program will have. He t

the Tribune Monday that betwee!

1,500 and 2,000 teachers will be of a job in September as a direct sult of the curbs on public spe

ing. The BCTF has called an emer

gency representative assembly

warned — government earlier of confront |

in-

OV’ '

ef

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oul

27 and 28 in Vancouver at wil@!

some 115 representatives fr

will meet, together with the executive, and the presidents local associations to discuss the re

Address City or town Postal Code

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