acilic

RIBUNE

702 BES

SAN MM PE

SOVIET CHALLENGE

‘We'll end test

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1958

OFL

parley supports

two Ontario strikes

TORONTO

Two Ontario strikes commanding national

attention have been given the official backing of the Ontario Federation of Labor, the country’s largest, in a determined move to point up the need for increased solidarity of the trade union movement against management’s current offensive.

Delegates of the 500,000- l body voted at ition last week Mine - Mill strike

4

against International Nickel at

member ce

their cenver!

to back the Sudbury and Port Colborne. Declaring the

idarity with and support of

convention’s

their

with

resolution

employers,

was nevertheless

marred by a smear of militant Mine-\ i

, contain-

with the

trade union move-

become associated

“legitimate” ment. How the OFL could declare

the STT1LK 2] the striking

its support of smelterworkers and brand the union of their mate, was something only the top rightwing framers of resolution

Earlier the OFL convention urged support for -workers at Stelco in Hamilton and took up a f

collection of close to $700 to aid the strike.

choice illegiti- the could answer.

the steel-

Leslie Morris (above), national the Labor-Progressive Party, will

executive member of be the guest speaker at a pub- lic meeting to be held Novem- Auditorium

ber 9 in Pender

here.

Wh

I]

{| director M.

R

WINNER OF THE CANNES FILM FESTIVAL

“THE CRANES | ARE FLYING”

| Mosfilm Presents orous and eloquent drama of Kalatozor knows how to the movie medium a science as well as art... —Les Wedman, The Province.

Russian Dialogue

THURSDAY, FRIDAY & SATURDAY

| OCTOBER 16-17-18 | VARSITY THEATRE

| 4375 WEST 10TH AVE. | PHONE AL. 0345 | DOORS — 6:45 P.M. — SHOW — 7 O’CLOCK

1OVE-. |. make

— English Subtitles

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if you do so’

UNITED NATIONS -

would stop nuclear tests at once if Britain and the United States would accept an imme

end to tests ‘for all time.”

A pledge was given to the UN last week that the Soviet Unie

diate

Soviet delegate Valerian Zorin said the U.S. proposal that the UN should “sit back oF its haunches and await the deci-ions in Geneva” could not be accepted .

Speaking after Cabot Lodge, he said the American dele- gate’s speech had greatly dis- appointed him, failing as it did to submit “concrete pro- posals relating to the cessation of nuclear-weapon testing.”

Zorin charged the U.S. with wanting to talk about the end- ing of tests and other disarma- ment questions, but do nothing about it.

He said the U.S. had con- ducted 140 tests altogether and Britain 21, whereas, aceording to the U.S. press, the Soviet Union had carried out about 60.

The Soviet Union had, no obligation to stop its tests until it had equalled the total car- ried out by Britain and the U.S. since the Soviet Union temporarily halted explosions on March 31.

It was essential first of all to discuss cessation of nuclear- weapons testing. Solution of this question, in the opinion of the Soviet Union, was “fully prepared.”

Continued testing and de- velopment of nuclear weapons accelerated the atomic arma- ments. race and* made them less expensive and more readi- ly available to less-industrial- ized countries. Thus a new as- pect of the question could be the “joining of the race by other states.”

The atomic industry - in France was being “developed at full speed” and France was preparing to test nuclear weapons in the Sahara. There were “serious indications” that intensive preparations for nu- clear weapons production were also afoot in West Germany.

Referring to the rise in the level of atomic radiation be- cause of nuclear testing, Zorin said the Assembly’s Scientific Committee had already point- ed to the danger. The Assembly must deal with this warning from the scientists. :

The question whether the testing would be stopped or continued “stirred the emo- tions of the peoples of the whole world because it direct- ly affects the interests of every

human being regardless of country or continent,” said Zorin.

Bennett s

wage claifl

won't stand scrutiny

Special to Pacific Tribune

de Premier W. A. C. Bennett had two good reasons for @ dressing the B.C. Government Employees Association con

yer

tion held in Georgia Hotel here last weekend — the first ti he has done so since Social Credit came to power in 1952. : : One reason was his need to mend his political fences; Pal ip

ticularly if he has any intention of calling an early prov!

There been a steady deterioration in

tions between the government

election. has

rela-

. oe e and its civil servants as rep-

resented by BCGEA.

reached the 1957 when tne government’s arro- gant attitude towards its em- ployees and its persistent re- fusal to give them collective bargaining rights evoked the threat of strike.

These relations

breaking point in July

His second reason was his obvious desire to use the con- vention platform in an effort to soften the determination of delegates to win an 11 percent wage increase in 1959 and so narrow the gap between gov- ernment wage scales and pre- vailing wages in private in- dustry for comparable work.

Even the government’s own Civil Service Commission has

indicated that the wage in- crease is justified and _ the

membership of the BCGEA has indicated its ‘temper by its authorization of a strike vote if necessary.

Bennett’s speech to dele-

gates centred around this ex- travagant claim: “Since the

‘Social Credit government took

over the reins of administra- tion in the province of British Columbia, more improvements have been made in the work- ing conditions of government employees than over any simi- lar length of time in our his- tory.”

To bolster this statement he cited various figures ,contend- ing that percentage increases in salaries for certain classi- fications over the period since

October 17, 1958 —

1952 had ranged as high @ : to 59 percent. ‘di How well does his C#m stand up to examination? He admittedly inclu yearly increments. (It from four to six years’ many government employ” to reach their maxim salary.) But increments: nol ally: are regarded as P#” the existing wage struc and cannot be construed wage increases. : He also ignored the fact tt the 7.5 percent wage incl® a 7 and other concessions ere last year were won ha job action by the BCG which noted in a press ® it ment commenting on Benne claims:

SER

“The association agree "7 many improvements have ip made in these condition, og the past six years, put iy’ usually followed stone j documented association entations.

“However, in spite of “a gains our comparable is, if anything, less fav°™ am ; - . Wages have incre yittle recent years, but by 0°" and too late.” sack

Finally, there is the pot Th also ignored by Bennetl ip f all wage classificatlOP>'ye Th government service 188 ~ . j hind similar .classifical® private industry. aid

The BCGEA howev@? 93 not ignore this in it rae statement. As it pointed og “The fact remains tha yal? increases were in@ ‘5 Government employee wee, even with the increase® 1968 behind in 1952, behind an and behind’ in every y between.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FA

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