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-S WE ENTER 1970, more than

a million Canadian workers

are going after more money in

their pay envelopes in this

year’s round of new contract
negotiations. ;

Among the industries in-

_ volved are the automobile,

electrical manufacturing, logging, pulp

and paper, construction, mining, chemi-

cal, air transport, shipping, railways,

Communications, public utilities, federal

and provincial civil service, municipal

employees, manufacturing and retail

trade.

The universal demand in these con-
tract talks will be more take-home pay.
The Sharp increase in food costs, hous-
Ing, clothing, health needs, transpor-
tation, taxation and recreation makes
workers’ take-home pay — what is left
i the pay package after income tax
and various other deductions are taken
off his or her gross wages — totally in-
adequate, even for bare sustenance liv-
ing from hand:to mouth.

The cost of maintaining homes and

amilies — rising rents, higher interest _

and mortgage rates, property taxes,

pales taxes and endless other items’
at eat up a worker’s income — swal-

lows everything and more. Working
People exist only by going more heavi-

ly into. debt.

: All this explains the militancy, soli-
arity and determination to stick’ it out
On the picketlines during long and hard-
fought strikes in 1969.

pine Struggle in 1970 will, if any-
4 ng, be tougher on the background
4 government and monopoly propa-
face Campaign to promote the idea
a Workers’ demands for more wages
meet steadily rising living costs is
€ Prime cause of inflation.”
his is a Big Lie to cover up the
Teal situation,

WORKERS ROBBED ©

oe takes the average worker all of
Ne tT months’ work to pay his total
ee taxes. Rent, or upkeep of a
. me, now takes between one-third and
ne-lalf of a family bread-winner’s in-

_. Come. That leaves only about two to

ee months’ earnings for food, cloth-
one transportation, medical, dental,
Creational and other expenses. Neo
ceed with children that depends on
eee can live today on one person’s
its a alone without going heavily
Pee ebt. Most average working class
ings ea he two or more persons’
coal © cope with rising living
4 areas Witnessing today in Canada
was Ive impoverishment of the work-
Bai ass. The area of poverty is ex-
“ ng at the lower income levels. At
miu) Same time, fabulous wealth accu-
ates in fewer hands at the top of

© Income heap.
sae orkers are the victims of inflation,
i ‘8 with farmers, professionals, small
Siness and all middle income people.

CLOBBER THE VICTIM

hc ;bovernment and big business
ene Ormed an unholy alliance to
" State monopoly capitalist aims
; aximum monopoly profits. This is
- Meaning of the Trudeau govern-

Ment?
aie S austerity program, supported by

_ “ Capitalis itici :
mists. t politicians and econo

Technological change has increased
productivity and reduced the unit cost
of production. Yet, prices continue to
climb. These are administered prices.
The large corporations control the
markets and pass on costs, including

_ taxes, in the form of higher prices.

(This was seen recently in steel and
nickel, where relatively modest wage
increases won after long strikes were
used as the excuse for price increases.
Revenues from these price increases
amount to several times the cost of
wage increases granted.)

The government’s austerity policy
serves these monopoly interests by de-
liberately planned unemployment aim-
ed to weaken labor’s resistance and
force cheaper settlements.

Along with this, employers seek phy-
sical speed-up, as well as new and
amended anti-labor Jaws, court litiga-
tions to rob union treasuries, and stifl-
ing of rank-and-file militancy.

Attacks on workers’ right to strike is

part of the planned assault on wages,
conditions of work and trade union
rights”

TRUTH ABOUT INFLATION

Modern inflation arises from mono-
poly domination of the market and mo-
nopoly price fixing. Monopoly seeks to
continually increase its profits. The
aim of monopoly is super-profits.

To attain its goal monopoly has two
alternatives. One is to freeze and/or
cut wages. The other is to increase
prices. If the former cannot be accom-
plished because of the strength and or-
ganized resistance of labor, monopoly
resorts to the second atlernative, name-
ly, to raise the general price level.

Inflation, or a general rise in the

price level is, therefore, a modern: form*>

of wage cutting.

The arms program and imperialist
military adventures constitute a charge
against the rest of the economy and
clearly feed and add to inflationary
pressures. The clearest example of this
is the United States aggressive war 1n
Vietnam. Aig

The big corporations make billions
in super-profits from arms contracts.
Most of the funds for this comes from
taxes collected from workers’ wages
before they even see their money.
Government tax policies are a form of
public extortion at the expense of
working people and the middle class,
in order to subsidize monopoly.

DEFEAT AUSTERITY

Our country has more than enough
resources, technical know-how and
skilled workers to produce abundance
for all Canadians. Only the system of
state monopoly capitalism with its
quest for super-profits stands in the
way.

Millions of young workers, men and
women, who have entered the labor
force in recent years refuse to accept
this state of affairs. They seek security,
proper housing, ability to raise their
families in decency and comfort, and
without the curse of deliberately-fos-

tered unemployment.

NO ACCOMMODATION

The strategy of government and of
the big bosses is to use both a soft and
a hard approach. The soft approach is
to seek top labor-management col-
laboration to bargain for the workers

~ Workers need more wages
to restore lost buying power

MIT

without their active participation. The
hard approach seeks to impose laws to
limit or ban strikes, and to impose com-
pulsory arbitration.

The concept of some sort of natural
“partnership” between labor and its
employers is a myth in our private
profit system. But more than that, such
collaboration is sought after as a means
to increase profits for the bosses and
decrease the money in the workers’
pockets.

The right to strike, including periods
when a collective agreement is in force,
is fundamental to the achievement of
better wages, shorter hours, and hu-
mane conditions in place of employ-
ment.

Organized labor does not seek strife
as a way of life between itself and
managements. The necessity of strug-
gle to improve wages, hours and con-
dition of work arises from private own-
ership and monopoly control of the in-
struments of production. It is inherent
in the private profit system, an insep-
arable part of capitalism.

To adopt a policy of no struggle, as
the “labor-management partnership”
idea suggests, is to be tricked into con-
tract settlements that serve the inter-
ests of the employers and not the work-
ers. The labor movement needs to re-
ject this false concept with the full
scorn it deserves.

Unions must never sacrifice the needs

of their members, or give up defending -

the interests of their class. There can
be no reliance placed on some mythical
“good will” of the state and the bosses.

Union members will not accept, and
will repudiate any of their leaders who
may accept, any incomes policy which
has as its aim the freezing or reduc-
tion of labor’s income.

Rank-and-file members of unions will
not be so naive as to place their faith
in some small committee of top officers,
and to vest in them the power to make
binding contracts with top manage-
ment. Any idea to circumvent or abol-
ish membership ratifications of contract
settlements is not acceptable. Such a
fundamental right is not negotiable.

A REALISTIC PROGRAM

In the current situation labor has no
alternative but to advance and fight for
a wage program aimed at restoring
buying power and protecting the gains
made. This will also make a useful con-
tribution to the fight against poverty.

For 1970 such a program should in-
clude:

(1) Substantial wage increases to
meet real needs and a rejection of the
proposal for any incomes policy based
on restraint of labor income. No con-
cessions of the absurd idea that wages,
the price paid for labor power, is, or
can ever be, inflationary;

(2) Upward revision of low wage
categories which tend to get relatively
worse as a result of percentage wage
increases;

(3) Cost-of-living escalators. in all
wage contracts for the protection of
workers take-home pay in the face of
rising prices, rents and interest rates;

a

(4) -A guaranteed weekly income
based on full pay for every week start-
ed, even if less than normal hours of
work are put in;

(5) Employers to pay full cost of
medical, insurance and sick pay plans;

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STATEMENT OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY ©

(6) Full provisions for safety and
health protection;

(7) Complete elimination of wage
differentials between male and female
employees;

(8) Job security through shorter
hours without loss in pay; ;

~) Maternity and sick leave with
full pay;

(10) A proper adjustments of ap-
prenticeship, job training, seniority and.
retirement to meet changes by negotia-
tions before they occur;

(11) Improved pension plans and full
labor participation in control and ad-
ministration of pension funds.

(12) The right to strike during the
life of a contract on matters not cov-
ered in the contract if such cannot be
otherwise settled within a certain time
period;

(13) Contracts of no longer than
two years’ duration;

COORDINATION AND UNITY ’

As producer of all real wealth work-
ers must win a larger share of that
wealth. The keys to a victorious strug-
gle to win their objective are coordina-
tion of bargaining demands, unity in
action, and solidarity along the whole
front of struggle. This means:

(a) .Bargaining coordination wher-
ever it can be usefully applied;

(b) Joint bargaining on an industry
basis where practical and possible;

‘ (c) Mutual assistance in support of
strikes and for striking workers facing
both employers and the forces of the
state, such as the police and the courts.

To block efforts to impose anti-strike
and compulsory arbitration laws on the
labor movement calls for mobilization
of the community and public sympathy.

Plans for this must be provided for
as the unions in British Columbia have
been doing.

Such an effort is needed on a coun-
try-wide scale.

The reliable road to victory in all
struggles of the unions is the involve-
ment of the workers, unity between
one union and another, and adequate
public relations machinery during a
strike situation to keep the public in-
formed of issues involved and to expose
the propaganda of the employers and
government.

LEADERS MUST LEAD

Central labor bodies have a special
responsibility to provide leadership.

The Canadian Labor Congress and
the Confederation of National Trade
Unions are moving in the right direc-
tion when they seek unity to confront
the government on economic policy.
This must be extended to the bargain-
ing front and to elimination of inequa-
lities which now exist in the wage
structures between French and English
Canada.

A common union front, regardless
of affiliation, to bring the whole
strength of organized labor to bear on
the situation, is the need.

The Communist Party stands pledged
to do what it can to bring about such
unity on the wage front in 1970.

Communist Party of Canada.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE —JANUARY 30, 1970—Page 5