HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1974-12-27, Page 3JAC[S JOTTINGS
The decision made Septem-
ber 21st by the Civil Service
Association of Ontario, to
demand a 61.5 percent wage in-
crease this year and to strike' if
that demand is not met by
December 31st, is a storm war-
ning that cannot be ignored.
Civil Service strikes were
outlawed more than two years
ago , but there will be a
dislocating protracted and
acrimonious strike anyway
unless the Government acts
promptly, decisively and in
good faith to restore order and
reason to its
labour/management relations.
Clearly the Provincial em-
ployees are not deterred. by the
fact that their strike woo'ld be
illegal and in fact the com-
pulsory arbitration aspect of
the Government's heavy han-
ded and insensitive bargaining
prcedure has intensified their
current militancy. If the Gover-
nment acts noW to modify its
restrictive Crown Employees'
Collective Bargaining Act; then
a strike can be avoided.Other-
-w se- an 4®rl
inevitabl'e.
Leader of the Official. Op-
position, Robert Nixon, belives
that the, present statute which
became law :on May 30, 1972, is
unnecessarily restrictive. The
Liberal Party opposed it when
it was put through ' the
Legislature -and Mr. Nixon said
during the debates that he
believed it is wrong in principle
and that anyone who supports
it will regret it. It is now ap-
parent that the legislation is
self defeating - that rather than
preventing strikes it has engen-
dered. a bitterness and
frustration within the Civil Ser-
vice that threatens to provoke a
strike.
The arbitration provisions
which leave a 2 to 1 built-in
majority favouring the Govern-
ment and the . exclusions of
almost all conditions of em-
�� ployment except salary are two
areas that must be corrected
efore useful negotiations can
ontinue.
Mr. Nixon suggested that a
joit committee of MPP's and
rep esentatives of the Civil Ser-
vice Association should . be
estab ished immediately before
relati ns with the 60,000 gover-
nment employees deteriorate
further, to redraft ' the law
governingCrown . Employees
contract egotiations. The new
legislation should establish free
and open negotiations irrd all
areas dealing 'with salary and
working conditions for Provin-
cial employees.
The new law must recognize,
however, that certain em-
ployees of the government per-
form essentialservices, which
they cannot be permitted top,
withdraw by means of a strike
or a walkout. Specifically police
protection and certain other
services such as the basic care
.'a patients in psychiatric
hospitals should• be recognized
by reasonable people as essen-
tial.
The joint committee should
determine which other
categories' of employees, if any,
would endanger the health or
safety of the community .at
large if they were to withdraw,
their services , and should
provide for an efficient and fair
arbitration procedure for these
employees.
There is no' way, however,
.-that any essential characteristic
can be associated with the
people who work for example in
the liquor stores or many,of the
government offices, whose ser-
vices, while important to 'a
community arenot so essential
that their withdrawal would
endanger health or safety.
During the last two years
elected representatives have
had experiences at the Federal,
Provincial and Municipal
levels' with strikes in the public
service area: There have been
illegal strikes among 'the fire
fighters at airports and by some
hospital workers in this
Province and in other jurisdic-
tions.
Obviously the solution is not
sitriply to put those people
breaking the law, as it presen-
tly is, in jail. It must be
recognized that if the laws are
so constructed that broad
categories of people find them-
selves unable to obey them,.
then we do not have the proper
solution to the problems, that
our laws are designed to solve -
problems that have been with
us in the past and are growing
in intensity and scope day by
day. •
This view is apparently
shared by Senator Carl Golden-
berg, who was recently appoint
ted by the Davis Government
as mediator in the Toronto
Transit Commission tabour
dispute. fie wrote last year that
"compulsory aroitratton will
not in itself eliminate --strikes.
In Australia where it has been
in effect for many years, there
are many more strikes and
walkouts annually than in
Canada. Its experience shows
that compulsory arbitration
does not prevent strikes; it only
makes them illegal."
Surely the Government's ob-
jective must be to• prevent
strikes not simply, to make
them illegal. In the present cir-
cumstances, it "appears that a
Civil Service strike cannot be
prevented unless the law is
changed to provide greater
freedom of negotiation and to
restrict compulsory arbitration
.to employees whose services are
essential.
The corizposiotion of the Ar-
bitration Board which as
presently established, is seen to
be weighted in favour of the
Government, is an additional
problem. The procedure which
allows the government to. ap-
point one, member • and the
Chairman of. the three-man.
legal ~tri a appears -Board reinforee -i► --the--tm=-
the employees acid many.objec-
tive 'observers.; the impression
that the legislation as it now
stands is fraught with problems
and possibilities for ,unfairness
and injustice.
At 'the upcoming session of
the Legislature the government
must bring forward new
legislation as developed by the
joint committee of MPP's and
Civil Service rerresentatives
that will correct this
situation and, also make ' it
possible to negotiate with
provincial employees in a free
and open manner in all areas
dealing with salary and
working conditions: 4
Once again emphasis must be
placed on the fact that certain
employees perform essential
services and must be so
regulated but the general
categories of employment must
have access to free negotiation
if we are ever to restore some
harmony and co-operation to
labour -management relations
in the .Provincial Civil Service.
The present adyertising .cam-
paign by the Civil Service
Association has emphasized
this aspect even more than the
financial issue, and it is Mr.
Nixon's belief shared ' by the
members of his Caucus that it
would be impossible for any
-reasonable negotiation to -take
place on salaries and wages un-
til the ill -feelings related to the
method of negotiation are dealt
with.
If the atmosphere of hitter=
ness surrounding the Crown
Employees' Collective
Bargaining Act is dispelled by
• the passage of new legislation,
the salary' demand will un-
doubtedly be modified, by
negotiations in the corning
months. The alternative is
heightened confrontation and
resistance on both sides of the
bargaining table, and ' even-
tually an illegal strike which
will cause hardship to citizens
and taxpayers ,in every part of
the Province.
-The Minister of Transpor-
tation and Communication in-
troduced'a Bill entitled,,•An Act
to amend the Highway Traffic
Act. This Bill deals with nine
subjects of legislation four ,of
which are of significant impor-
tance to the motoring public of
this Province.
They are amendments
relating to. the operation of
school bu'se's, mandatory
driving license suspensions of
convictions under the criminal
code for offenpes ihvolving the
operation of a motor vehicle,
delegation of powers to
municipalities and the.
regulation of motor assisted:
assisted bicycles. The, school
bus provisions are amended to
require the sehool bushstopping
law to apply to all highways
regardless of speed limit,
Under these provisions there is
an onus on the school bus
driver to activate the signals as
prescribed. Motorists 'following'
a school bus must stop,
whenever school bus signal
lights are flashing and motorist
meeting the bus must similarly
stop except when on a highway
divided by a physical barrier or
an unpaved strip of ground.
These provisions also prohibit
the use of chrome ,yellow paint
,,on busses other than school
buses.
The driver license suspension
provisions . prescribe a man-
datory three month suspension
for all first offences and a man•
datory six months suspension
for every subsequent conviction
within a five year period.
In furtherance to the policy
of delegating greater powers to
the municipalities the Bill con
F:ROM QUEEN'S PARK
by the Minister of Municipal
by-laws regulating and gover-
ning traffic with the exception
of those relating to. connecting
links in the installation of traf-
fic lights. Provision is made for
by-laws to be filed by the
Ministry and for th repeal of
by-laws which are innc nsistent
with the Highway Traffic Act.
An amendment providing a
reduction from 50 percent to 20
percent in Ontario's Land
Speculation Tax was given
third reading in the
Legislature..Revenue Minister,
Arthur Meen, said the tax
would lose its immediate im-
pact by being only 20 percent of
th'e amount of speculative gains
rather than, a very substantial
healthy and significant 50 per-
cent. The'amendment rose out
of the Federal Government's
refusal to allow the Provincial
tax for Federal Income tax pur-
poses. Those who have paid the
full 50 percent tax will receive
refunds plus 7 percent interest.
In the opinion of the Official
Opposition, the demand for a
61.5 percent pay increase is
unrealistic and inflationary,
and .must surely be recognized
as an initial bargaining stance
adopted by the government em-
ployees. It is the feeling of the
Official Opposition that there
should not be` interference at
this stage with the negotiations
between the representatives of
the workers, that is 'the
executive of Civil Service
Association, and the
Management Board of the
'Province; which has the respon-
sibility to bargain for the
management side.
DEAR EDUOR
tit
Dear Editor,
Happiness is,a state of_rnind,
not something that is turned on
and "off by gifts and merry
making. This I realized while •
making arrangements for the
delivery of .Christmas Meals -
on -Wheels.•
I sincerely hope that the
meals -on -wheels drivers realize
the happiness that they have
generated with each meal they
have delivered. The meals are
unportant. .hut the fact that
someone has. been concerned
enough to take.time to deliver.
them with a „smile' and a kind•
word has brightened the lives
of many lonely people.
As I ha'd a spot of tea with
our number 'one (she was the
first to call to' reserve a meal)
she smiled and said, "All those
drivers are good.' Some know
me but, they have changed so
much since I knew them. I love •
to see them cot-rm. I must. get
out and clear• a path for them
through the snow. The path I
cleared for yo,. is almost filled
That is important having
someone to make a path for.
One woman struggled to the
door with a piece of tinsel
hanging to her walker. I asked
what she' intended to do with it..
She 'replied,_ "Oh, I am
• looking for place to hang it. It
is so awful not being ah'le to do
the things -I used to do. This
morning I got up really hltie
hut as I painted my face things
got brighter. It is not so bad
I have my own home. I am not
in an, institution."
Another door was opened by •
the visiting hairdresser. -She
'was washing Mrs. Bell's hair in
the kitchen sink. I take my .hat
off to Miss Godfrey. She is a -
morale builder for many of the
older women who cant get out
to the. hairdrestiers,
I. was surprised how quic•k,ly
another door was' opened by
one of our. regulars. • She was;
putting on her overshoes while
she waited for a M.O.W. driver
to pick her up to take her to
visit a sister in_ the hospital. •
Her sister will' he out for
Christmas. They will he able to
enjoy their Meals -on -.Wheels -1
Christmas dinner together.
Miss Kirkey and her Alexan-
dra Marine and General
Hospital's kitchen staff has -
promised an ' extra. special
Somebody
dares!
Cares if you are new in town
and feel kind of lost; If you've
just added.a new son or
daughter to your family; If
HE' has finally asked you to
become his wife; If you or
someone in your family is
celebrating a very special oc.
casion .
Who?
\1111k
'c\k,V,,t111
Call 524-6675•
tains provisions which will '
eliminate the need for approval
Christmas dinner with all„ the
trimmings. When Miss Kirkey
asked last October how m-a''ny I
expected would want Christ-.
mas ,dinner,.. I was startled
. because I hadn't thought of the
great day then. Now it is
almost here, How; time flies?
The Meals -on -Wheels co-
ordinators, Muriel Stokes and
Isobel MacDonald are a bit
selfish. We are enjoying the
pleasure of visiting and
delivering the Chrititmas din-
ners ourselves. We have known
and visited these people for
almost a year. It seems fitting
that we should have the
pleasure of delivering "a really
(great meal" on this, festive oc-
c'asion with special favcirs
made `try Marg Murray.
• Mrs. Stokes and I wish to
thank everyone who made
Meal; -on -Wheels 'possible. We
have enjoyed working with fill
of you.
We have -another thine; going
after the New Year. Mike
Dymond, G'oderich Recreation
Director !„has promised a
daytime 'exercise group for
those of you who feel their
'creaking joints need some exer-
cise. The price is right — $3.00
for 12 weeks if we can get
enough participants to pay the
expenses. At the moment we ex-
pect that the exercises teaching
us how to t'retch and ;relax
those well worn muscles, will
be Monday, depe=nding on the.
availability, of an instructor
and a place to have them. if
you are interested please pick
up a doctor's consent form,at
the Goderich Recreation Office,
9 Waterloo St. S., Huron
County Health Unit, C'i'iirt
House or the Information and
Friendship 'Centre, 56 East
Street.
Women,!s Dav Out had a
lovely Christmas party with
carols, -children's games, pup-
pets Santa 'Claus and
everything. As someone said "It
is just like a house party."
Everyone enjoyed singing the
ofd familiar carols. It was fun
watching mothers and children
play ring -around -a -rosy and
other fun games with , Eta*
Nixon providing the music and
rhythm.-Hilde Maurer and her
puppeteers hung a' blanket on
the Knox Presbyterian kitchen
door to present'an exciting pup-
pet show with Hilde
manipulating the puppets, Joan
Van Den Broech projecting the
voices and Gwen Kiar swit-
ching puppets.
Santa Claus' arrival with
ha
gs
of candy canes and
Santa's interested
in safety -even
at New Year's time
Dominion `Automobile
Association, Canada's largest
independent automobile club,
recently sent their officials to
the North Pole to interview Mr.
Santa Claus on the subject of
highway safety in Canada.
Santa's comments and advice
ranged from the heart ren-
dering to the humorous and fol.
the good of a safe Christmas
holiday, we offer the following,.,,
excerpts from that discussion:
D.A A. "Mr. Claus, are you
aware of the tragedy of traffic
deaths in Canada, particularly
at this time of the holiday
season?"
Santa: "Yes son; every year
here at the North Pole, Mrs:
Claus and I read so many sad
letters from little boys and
girls, who do not want toys for
Christmas, just asking. to have
mommy and daddy come back.
A quick check with my elves
and'time and'again I find that
Tommy and daddy have been
killed in an auto accident. It's
- a crime. Santa can fix. broken
., a little train, burl can't help.
the' hundreds of mommys and
dads' who die during 'the
holiday seas'o)n.
D.A.A. "Is it • rkeessary that
these nice people have to be
killed or seriously injured
Santa?
Santa: 'No my boy, if only
people would keep the true
spirit of Christmas and dp to
other 'people what they would
like done to them. Courtesy
and slowing down would be the
greatest Christmas gift
everyone could give, 'and it
would help so many. And one
other thing. The spirit of
Christmas means staying out of
the spirits. Alcohol and driving
don't mix. I should know. "Orle
year I had one too 'many egg
nogs before I left on my annual
flight. Why I only made it as
far as the Arctic Circle heading
south when I stopped the sleigh
for over an hour. Why I
thought Rudolph's nose was a
stop light and I almost didn't
finish my rounds that year
before the children woke up."
D.A.A. ,"Getting hack on- the
track Mr. Claus, what advice,
can you give the motorists to
get through the holiday season
safelyr
Santa: "I'm.glad you asked
that question sonny. The most
important thing to remember is
to .show" consideration for the
other driver. That runs all the
way from not .drinking if you
are driving, to slowing down on
the slippery roads, and not
trying to prove that you are
right all the time...you could
end up "dead right". Too -many
boys and girls are looking for-
ward to a happy and merry
Christmas to have any of their
loved ones hurt in a .traffic
mishap. That also reminds me
that it gets -dark early at, this
time of the year when boys and
girls' .. are , still outside
playing...please grown-ups,'turn
on your headlights early and
drive extra carefull"v. I love all
my .Kittle .ones. Rudolph has
been shining ,up his nose all
year long, and when I take off
Christmas Eve you can bet
he'll have his nose a'blinllin all
the way from Halifax to Van-
c•ouver, from London, Ontario
to Edmonton, Alberta."
D.A.A. "Well Santa I can see
by the clock on the old
workshop wall I have to run to
. otter ill` sleigh Ua,K th.
stickers was the highl-ight.;of the
party.
..would like to echo
Santa's greeting.
Merry Christmas to all
and a•
Happy New Year
Mrs. Isobel MacDonald.
TO
GUARANTEED
INVESTMENT
CERTIFICATES
1O1/2%
VICTORIA & GRE14 TRUST
CITY SAVINGS & TRUST
STANDARD TRUfi�f. r
CANADA PERMANENT TRUST
Bruce Erskine
86 North St.
Phone 04.9555
GODERICH TYGNAL-STAB,F'RIIMY, DECEMBER. 27, 1974
Any last minute advice for our
motorist friends?"
Santa: "Yes Siree. The only
way to make this a merry
Christmas for everyone is to
make is a safe Christmas.
Christmas is for children, and
Santa won't !illy it at all if you,
or any grown-up is responsible
for matting it a sad holiday by
c•a.using a needless traffic ac
eidetic- Every time' '° you gef,.,
behind -the wheel, remember ...
safe driving is a family affair ...
and Christmas is a time for.
families. When you get hack
south young mart, please ask
everyone to drive safely and
wish them a merry Christmas,
from Mrs. Claus, the elves and -
reindeer and of course from me,
Old Saint Nick. Drive carefully,
,and watch out for that cloud at
the' end of the driveway when .-
you' fly out."
•PAGE 3
we're weighing, our'.wishes carefully
have a perfect balance of
peace .. , good health ... happiness ..
prosperity.-, throughout the New Year,.
Denomrne's
Industrial & Garden Centre-•
166 Hamilton St.
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