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seven-Month Pulp':and Paper Workers. Str

The response of the in— ustry has been negative throughout and no real Cou- ter-offer has materialized. heir only reaction has be- en-conspiratOrial, carrying out a secret pact signed in 1973 to break strikes in the industry. ‘

The document outlines a scheme whereby all the comp— anies agree to help each ' other should any become st- rikebound, and provides for uninterrupted supplies to

another 10 percent to $240.79 rwulting in a 23 percent ga— inover two years, a small {fiction of the gain the in- mwtry made in profits, and “M enough to cover increas— edcost—of—living faced by \ ,wmte communities.

Soon after the 1973 cont— ;xt expired, negotiations buween the companies and menational Canadian Pape- mmkers Union - which broke wgrfrom the US based Unit— edPaperworkerS*Internation--

“cording to the report of

{m NDP_members, the most cou mmfly expressed opinion

gum members of the communi-_ as they visited was sim-

fly thatfthe industry has de- 5Med to test, and if possi— vk, kill the new national mion. ’

mthhion V.

The CPU had no financial bme, no strike funds, and hwreal strong points Other mmxdetermination of its fibers. If the industry mfld survive a lengthy st- {me by building up large ‘ hmntories, and resting mment with its record pr— 9fits of the previous years, meCPU could be broken and meindustry could minimize my costs and further max-, fine profits. ' The unions first asked for$2.00 per hour across— thtboard and a COLA clau— Ein a two—year contract. %Me then they have modi—m ‘md their demands to a 1W61 equal to the settle— Wm made a year ago by Weforest workers —~§l.10 1nthe first_year and $.65 inthe second, with a COLA clause. ..The CPU maintains that, gWalthe historical rela— émship between paperwork— SSalaries and those of deforest workers, the loss 1n31-25 weekly in purchas- -gP0wer since 1973, the ‘uactive past performance ,‘the industry and the br— “tProspects for future fies and profitability. .

alUnion in 1974 — collapsed.y

customers despite strikes. 'The plan involves secret bi- lling and delivery methods, and clearly represents a blatant attempt to subvert the effectiveness of a le- gal strike.

Acritical event in the course of the strike was the submission to the Anti-Infl— ation Board of a collective agreement tentatively reached

between the Irving/Pulp and Paper Company in St. John, New Brunswick and CPU local 30. This agreement was rea-~ ched October 17 but predomi— nantly negotiated prior to the October 14 announcement of the anti-inflation measu- res. The tentative agreeme- nt provided the Irving work— ers with 23 percent plus a COLA clause in the first ye- ar of a two-year contract, with the second year increa- ses deferred for later nego— tiations. It looked as tho— ugh a satisfactory end to

With the companies so absolutely opposed to the workers demands, and unca— ring about the human effe— cts of their actions on the strikers, their families

and communities, it might seem reasonable to expect that other concernedxparties

such as government, would be‘ . more sympathetic. Such is

not the caSe.

'the strike was in sight.

Enter Jean—Luc Pepin and his anti—inflation board. He disallowed the increase on December 18, and announ- ced that the AIB would only ‘look favourably on settle— ment for the paperworkers if it provided for no more than 14 percent in one year. The company and the workers at Irving decided to ignore

V‘The Cadre, Feb. 3, I976, Page 7

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the ruling and returned to work, intending to appeal 7 on the grounds that their settlement merits special consideration since their situation is identical to that of the postal—workers, whose settlement was event- ually upheld by the cabinet after Pepin ruled it down.

Meanwhile, the other com- panies have used Pepin's ruling as justification for not increasing their offers and settling the strike. Pepin has since come out with the remarkable state— ment that only he can auth¥ orize appeals of his own decisions. And the actual anti—inflation appeal board has not even been appointed 'yet by the federal govern— ment.

N 0.9. Press For Investigation

When Parliament opens on January 26 the N.D.P. intends to demand suspension of the order of business to hold an emergency debate on the str- ike in the paper industry.

~The three N.D.P. members, want the Prime Minister to over—rule the AIB ruling on the Irving settlement, clarify the appeals proced— ures, demand that the com— panies return to the bar- gaining table and negotiate in good faith, and initiate a full investigation into the industry under the Combines Investigation Act.

As for the CPU workers, they're still out, getting poorer and further into debt. According to the N.D.P. report worker morale continues to be high and support from the community at large has been generous. The strikers remain deter— mined to continue the work— stoppage until a just set— tlement is reached, despite the considerable efforts of the companies and the anti— inflation board to force them back on the companies terms. '