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WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER

Parliamentary Group
Side With Gaitskell

by KENNETH C. RATHBONE

Hugh Gaitskell M.P., was re-elected leader of the Parli-
amentary Labour Party with 166 votes against the 81 given
to Harold Wilson M.P., who opposed him. Only seven of
the 254 Labour M.P:s failed to vote; four were in the U.S.A.,
one spoiled his ballot paper and two deliberately abstained.

This vote shows quite clearly
that the Parliamentary Labour
Party does not accept unilateral
nuclear disarmament and the im-
plied withdrawal from NATO
which was approved by a small
fnajority at the recent Labour
Party conference.

To Avoid Split

Not all the 81 who voted for
Harold Wilson are unilateralists,
and Wilson himself is not an uni-
lateralist. Apart from the unilater-
alist M.P.s, who total about 30 or
40, many voted for Wilson because
they thought he would be more
likely to avoid a party split, and
reach some compromise, than
Gaitskell.

Gaitskell has been much criti-
cized for being stubborn and un-
compromising, arrogantly reject-
ing the conference decision, and
holding firmly to his own view.
Some also believe that Gaitskell is
not really very keen on the T.U.C.
—Labour Party defence statement
which was rejected by a small
majority at the conference. {t is
thought that at heart he still clings
to the belief that Britain should
manufacture her own nuclear
weapons, and have her own nu-
clear deterrent.

Left of Centre
Generally, the Labour Party has

always been best led from the
centre. In the past it has been
considered advisable that such a
party, in which there have always
been differences of opinion on
some issues, should never be led
from the Right or Left wings.
Harold Wilson could be described
as Left of centre.

It is now being hoped that Gait-
skell, having re-established him-
self as leader, may now be more
accommodating towards others
who do not share his views.

Shadow Cabinet

The Shadow Cabinet is to be
elected soon. The next step after
that will be a joint meeting of
the National Executive Committee
of the Labour Party, the Shadow
Cabinet and the General Council
of the Trades Union Congress. It
is expected that a new defence
statement will then be drawn up
which will certainly not satisfy the
unilateralists, but will perhaps
detach from them many of the
non-unilateralists who voted with
them.

Many voted with the unilateral-
ists not because they believed in
unilateral nuclear disarmament
but as a protest against the atti-
tude and policies of the U.S.A.
and American domination of
NATO. Only some drastic revi-
sion of American policies and of
NATO will satisfy these people
and detach them from the unil-
ateralists. Unilateralism has, how-
ever, a strong, and probably in-
creasing, hold on young people.

Deputy Leader
In the election for deputy
leader, George Brown, M.P.

(pro-Gaitskell) polled 118, Fred
Lee, M.P. (anti-Gaitskell) 73 and
J. Callaghan, M.P. (pro-Gaitskell)
55. Another ballot will be neces-
sary, with Mr. Callaghan dropping
out, which will almost certainly
mean the election of Mr. Brown.

For Young Workers

Time Off Work Sought

To Further Education

Young workers in Great
Britain may get time off from
work for further education, if
a report of the Industrial Train-
ing Council is adopted by

labour, industry and govern-
ment.
The British are worried by

the challenge of new technology.
Big changes are taking place in
the workshops of Britain, says
the Trades Union Congress, and
productive patterns are undergo-
ing drastic reshaping.
New Problems

Along with the benefits come
new problems—problems that are
comunon throughout the industrial-
ized nations. How can young
workers be equipped with the
skills necessary to meeting the
exacting demands of modern in-
dustry?

Britain has long been famed

through part-time release from
work to attend classes on certain
days, for younger workers. The
curriculum of training would be
broad and not confined to voca-
tional training. “By adopting
wider perspectives it would at-
tempt to relate all the aspects
of workaday activity to a broad

general picture of life,” com-
ments the TUC.

The aim of the program?—to
create an extremely yersatile la-
bour force in Great Britain. This
is a somewhat easier task in
the U.K. than in Canada and the
U.S. where long distances reduce
labour mobility.

TUC Statement

States the TUC: “For thousands
of youngsters in Britain who will
soon leave school to begin their
working life, the big question
is whether any action will follow
this report. First signs are en-
couraging. In a few week’s time
representatives of trade unions
and employers will be meeting in
London for a conference to dis-

|cuss ways of improving both the

quality and quantity of training

available for young workers .. .
| An impulse from this conference

could spark off activity at local

‘Hlevels on both sides of industry

“ealls and that is where this new chal-

e of change must be met.”

Top Officers

Re-elected
In Ontario

The 450,000-member Ontario
Federation of Labour has re-
elected its top officers.

David Archer was returned as
president at the federation’s an-
nual convention, handily defeat-
ing Stanley Thornley. Douglas F.
Hamilton was re-elected secretary-
treasurer, ~trouncing Gordon
Brennan.

Elected to the 10-man executive
board as OFL vice-presidents
were:

George Barlow, Retail,
Wholesale and Department
Store Union; William Booth-
‘royd, International Association
of Machinists; Purdy Churchill,
Printing Pressmen; Richard
Courtney, United Automobile
Workers; Sam Hughes, Pack-
inghouse Workers; Ed (Scotty)
Liness, Labourers; M. J. (Mike}
Fenwick, Steelworkers; William
Punnett, Rubber Workers;
George Watson, Textile Work-
ers; and Hugh Doherty, Pulp
and Sulphite Workers, the only
new member of the board.

An officer of the law, new to
the beach beat, collared a cute
young thing wearing the barest of!
bikini swim suits and demanded
indignantly. “What would your
mother say if she saw you in that
outfit?”

“She'd say plenty,” admitted the
girl, “it’s her suit.”

Trade Union History

“Rape of the Fair Country”
A Must For Labour Readers

Sober-minded students of
readily agree that fiction has

trade union history will more
a place on their bookshelves,

when they read Alexander Cordell’s “Rape of the Fair
Country” (Bantam Books 50c). Although first published in
1959, its recent appearance as a “fifty-cent paper back” is
worthy of comment. High book prices have limited the

circulation of many a volume

The plot concerns the lives of
a group of workers and _ their
families who live, starve, fight,
and make love, as well as slave for
the Welsh ironmasters of the
eighteen-thirties. It was a period
of great social unrest, a time
when the exploited workers were
beginning to realize that in unity
they would find strength.

The story is rich in stirring
incidents, and gives fascinating
detail of living conditions ex-
perienced by the workers in the
early period of the Industrial
Revolution. It lifts the curtain on

of importance to labour.

tragic developments arising from
the Chartist Movement, and the

early organization of the Work-.

ing Men’s Union.

The value of the book for a
trade unionist lies in its vivid
and faithful portrayal of the de-
grading conditions to which
British workers were reduced by
the Industrial Revolution. It
leaves the reader with a warmer
appreciation of the great courage
displayed by those whose sacri-
fices opened the way for trade
union organization.

Large Swing To New Party

Predicted By

Professor -

TORONTO — Independents and liberally-minded persons will
swing to the New Party banner in increasing numbers because
of the lethargy of the old-line parties both at home and abroad,
Walter M. Young, professor of political science at the University

of Manitoba predicted recently.

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