Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 15, 1979, Winnipeg, Manitoba Business Brief urge by John Sullivan Manitoba s largest business association has called or immediate government action toward tighter provincial labor Laws including a possible right to work statute. In an annual Brief slated for presentation to the Lyon Cabinet this afternoon in St. Pierre Man., the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce says the government should introduce corrective Mea sures to curtail the disruption and havoc caused by labor disputes. An in depth government study of current labor management relations must be considered a High priority the Chambers say followed by issuance of a Green paper on Legisla Tive proposals for Public comment. As Well the Chambers will today become the third Manitoba employer association to Praise the right to work principle. The group urges legislators to find some other Means to Settle labor disputes besides strikes and says the idea of making All Union membership and dues pay ments voluntary holds we believe this concept to be in the Best of democratic the Brief states. Just As it is the right of a worker to withdraw his services during a dispute it should be equally the right of a worker to have the untrammelled ability to Supply his the Chambers also urge that Mani Toba Hydro allow qualified Northern tradesmen on Hydro projects even if they Are not registered at Winnipeg Union hiring Halls. Meanwhile the provincial new democratic party sunday renewed its vow to support a full scale drive against right to work Laws mounted by the Manitoba federation of labor the party s 85-member governing Council committed itself to a promotional program on what it called the real dangers of the movement. It s not just a labor Issue it goes right to the guts of party president Bob Mayer told a weekend press conference. Mayer said the Mil will run the Campaign with assistance from the party. Nip Leader Howard Pawley also expressed fears that the conserva Tive government might agree to bring in some legislation in this regard. The labor federation backed by groups such As the Winnipeg police association has decried right to work Laws As simply guaranteeing the right to work for it says unions would face extinction if their right to collect dues from All workers benefiting from a Union con tract was removed. The Manitoba Chambers position appears to parallel a november Reso Lution by the Union of Manitoba municipalities which endorsed full right to work legislation similar to that in some american states. Like the Chambers the umm said individual employees should have Complete Freedom to ignore a Union strike Call endorsed by a majority of their fellow workers. As Well the umm said prospective employees who Are not Union members should be Able to Lake strikers jobs prac Tice now vilified by unions As Scab in its Brief the Chambers condemn strikes for disrupting essential ser vices and the flow of goods and for causing unemployment unrest and tolerable As the weapon of last walkouts Are used far too often with devastating effects on the provincial and National economies the Brief says. As Well the Chambers feel the adversary concept of labor manage ment relations has become self destructive and strikes obviously something has to he done to change the present system because it simply does not the submission argues. Laws the pressure for Laws spearheaded in recent months by the Winnipeg builders Exchange and also endorsed by the Winnipeg construction association began after Union hiring Hall practices became the key Issue in a lengthy strike of local tradesmen last summer. The Exchange recently clarified its position on compulsory payment of Union dues saying it does not object to the Rand formula requiring All workers under a collective agree ment to pay dues whether Union members or not. However the builders have made strenuous Calls for legislation out Lux ing closed or Union shops where All employees must belong to or agree to join the Union As a condition of employment Winnipeg free press monday january 15, 1979 Alice Krueger student enrolment drop cuts everything but costs the full effects of declining student enrolment in Winnipeg school Divi Sion Are finally working their Way through the system. Fewer students mean fewer teach ers fewer administrators fewer caretakers and eventually maybe even fewer school buildings. But not lower costs As evidenced by the division s 1979 draft budget unveiled last week. Enrolment in the province s largest school division is Down by Stu dents this school year with a further drop of to projected for this coming september. Yet each year taxpayers Are hav ing to dig deeper and deeper into their pockets. The preliminary budget Calls for an increase of less than one per cent in spending for 1979, but Don t get too excited yet because that s far from the final figure. The draft is Only that a draft. It does t provide for yet to be negotiated salary increases for teachers and salaries Are a major chunk of the Over All budget. Nor docs it make provision for a number of programs whose funding runs out before next fall. Even if the school Board is Able to hold its spending increase to 5.5 per cent and even if the division gets _ an additional six per cent from the _ province local property taxes will a still probably go up at least for the average Homeowner h part of the reason of course is that inflation continues to drive up Hie Cost of goods and services. Energy costs to heal and Light the schools Are up interest rates on borrowing arc up and teachers salaries will presume ably be up at the conclusion of current negotiations. The other reason is that because of declining enrolment income in the v form of Grants from the province will Down significantly for the first time this year by atom million from 1978. Provincial Grants for the current year total the projection for 1979 is the reduction is not because the province has decreased its share of funding. On the contrary finance minister Don Craik has promised an additional six per cent. The drop in income is the result of declining enrolment. Provincial Are based on the number of students. The unconditional per Pupil of for example is based on the average monthly enrolment for the year. Grams for Library materials Are Given on the basis of per Pupil and so on. For teachers declining enrolment is going to mean about 60 fewer positions in 1979, More transfers to other grades More split classes. Some teachers May even have to switch subject Fields. Last year about -8 teaching jobs were Cut due to declining enrolment although 15 other teachers were added to special programs in some schools. In addition to the 0 teaching positions this year s draft budget fore sees elimination of some clerking jobs three attendance officers positions and a yet to be determined number of car taking jobs. Winnipeg schools superintendent Harold Pollock says All staff reductions will be by attrition. No layoffs Are planned according to the school Board. Teachers nonetheless must feel it s inevitable because they re reportedly attempting to negotiate a Layoff clause in their 1979 contract to determine who will go first when layoffs begin. Sta president Charlie Brown would t comment on the matter be cause of current negotiations but he did say there had been on going discussions with superintendents about whether attrition could take care of future staff reductions brought about by declining enrolment. He is confident layoffs won t be necessary this year and that the go teaching positions can be eliminated through Normal attrition such As retirements resignations Saba Licals and leaves of absence. The Impact of declining enrolment has been Felt for about five years now but mainly at the Elemen tary and Junior High Levels. Now its effects Are moving into the senior High level Brown says. A seminar designed to motivate women to take an Active role in the political process is scheduled for Winnipeg later this month. Sponsored by the Manitoba women s Liberal commission the conference is set for Jan. 19 and 20 at the Winnipeg speaker is Ursula Appolloni Liberal member of parliament for York South. Purpose of he get together is to help women develop skills necessary for effective political action. Tyne 2nd class mail registration number 0286 Industrial strategy photo by Dalton Dunspa Souier governor general designate de Schreyer left and left to right Stephanie Cicierski Andrea Hrycak and Patricia Soiman both members of the Orlan Lily Schreyer and Ernie Cicierski president of the ukrainian professional and business club of Winnipeg pause during saturday s Malanka dance. Ukrainian memento for the Queen schreyers faced dilemma by Debbie Sproat governor general designate de Schreyer got roars of laughter at a ukrainian new year s eve Celebration saturday when he related a tale of his efforts to find an appropriate memento of ukrainian Christmas to take to Queen Elizabeth. Schreyer told the crowd that when he and his wife Lily realized they would be spending ukrainian Christ Mas eve and Christmas Day with the Queen they considered the coincident too significant to be All sorts of ideas went through my mind on what could be reasonably done to re quaint her majesty with the knowledge that her subjects of ukrainian descent were beginning their Christmas celebrations Jan. A he said. Their first idea take her a or special braided ukrainian bread. But he said the five foot loaf lying in front of the podium where he was speaking they decided that was too big to along. They next considered the possibility of taking some or ukrainian whisky but decided that would t be an appropriate gift. Besides he said the free press might write a disapproving editorial. Then 1 thought perhaps it would have been appropriate for me to try to dance the for the Queen he said. But then i m not As Young As i used to Schreyer said they finally decided to take the Royal family some Kutia the first of the twelve meatless dishes ukrainian families traditionally serve at their Christmas eve sup per. He said the entire Royal family thought the Kutia a mixture of whole wheat boiled and mixed with Honey ground poppy seeds and other ingredients which symbolizes Good prosperous Harvest was the Only sort of unusual thing i project completed at St. Boniface obstetrics unit now one of the Best by Manfred Jager St. Boniface general Hospital has completed a redevelop ment project and now has one of the most modern obstetrics depart ments in the country. The work was carried out during the past 10 months after receiving full approval from the Manitoba health services commission. The modernized obstetrics and gynaecology unit with its adjacent Newborn intensive care Nursery had become necessary because of a number of health care and scientific developments in recent years vice president Richard Criddle of the Hospital said Friday. We have about deliveries in this Hospital per year now and until the last few years about a third of them involved mothers with High risks of birth damage because of pregnancy Crid dle said. But science has developed to such an extent that now it is much More possible to diagnose the High risk pregnancies Early and with More certainty so High risk cases have gone to about a year and we had to take full account of that the result has been a gradual but sizeable expansion of the area from which Hospital receives High risk maternity patients Crid dle. Said. They now come to us from pretty Well All Over the province and while the health sciences Centre also has a High annual delivery rate we have become the Foremost place for the care of High risk maternity St. Boniface has had 50 obstetrics and 15 gynaecology Beds for a num Ber of years and that total number has not increased with the redevelopment. Our problem was that the departments were not in the same Criddle said. Now they Are and that gives us tremendous flexibility on the third floor of our a Wing. We can now swing Back and Forth As the need arises and expand obstetrics into gynaecology and vice no additional staff is needed in the combined and modernized department which officially opened last week Criddle said and operating costs run the same As before about is million a year subject to inflationary pressures and Tenden cies such As Utility Ami other Supply Cost increases the rest of the health institution is also subject to. Criddle said while part of the modernization involved mortar changes heavy emphasis was also placed on the latest advances in monitoring equipment and techniques to bring optimal care Quality to expectant mothers and their unborn babies during the last weeks or Days before delivery. Could report otherwise was that the Queen Mother thought it went Best with Apple in a More serious vein Schreyer told those attending the celebrations organized by the ukrainian professional and business club of Winnipeg that once he becomes governor Gen eral he will Duall he can to make canadians in All parts of Canada aware we have a great country. Not Only the he said but unique among almost All coun tries of the world. Nowhere else tin people of All backgrounds live together so Well not because they have to or have Learned to tolerate one another but because they want to. They have Felt something beneficial in cultural pluralism. My Job is made easier by the fact that so Many canadians were aware of it and have been aware of that fact for so Many years he said. Manitoba education minister Keith Cosens who was representing pre Mier Sterling Lyon at the gathering noted that canadians Are fortunate to live in a country with one of the great cultural fabrics in the the threads of the ukrainian Cul Ture that have been Woven into that fabric have made ii a More vibrant fabric a More meaningful fabric. Your contribution has been outstand Cosens said. The banquet and dance was Only one of several celebrations held sat urday night to celebrate the coming of the ukrainian new year or Malanka which Falls on Jan. 14 according to the Julian calender. Malanka is part of festivities which begin on ukrainian Christmas eve. Jan. 7. Wheat the source of Liveli Hood for most people of the Ukraine is an important Symbol during these celebrations. At saturday s banquet the traditional a sheaf of wheat symbolizing Prosperity and the Hope for a Bountiful Harvest the coming year rested in front of the podium. In another symbolic motion club president Emie Cicierski threw a few Grams of wheat out at the crowd by John Sullivan a Long Range Industrial strategy less government regulation and More cuts in business taxes Are needed to Spur provincial economic develop ment according to the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce. Although the Manitoba Economy is now fairly stable with few serious weaknesses there is no clearly visible sign of new economic strengths this year the Chambers say in a Brief to the Lyon Cabinet slated for presentation today in St. Pierre Man. The group representing businessmen applauds last year s spend ing freeze and program re appraisal by the progressive conservative administration but says the private Sec Tor now needs a government Capa ble of dealing with the effects of a less buoyant the Chambers say there is an urgent need for a Long Range Industrial strategy for the province including sustained government efforts to boost private investment in manufacturing. While the Brief agrees that govern ment budgets should stay below in creases in the Gross provincial product it leaves Little doubt As to where the bulk of Public spending should apply. Economic development should be Given top priority it says. Direct government stimulus should also be augmented by further reductions in business taxes and fewer regulatory restrictions. The Cham Bers say businessmen Are highly critical of present regulatory prac Tice and should have considerable input into the Lyon government s current review of these require ments. The Chambers urge a resumption of null a in Hydro development within acceptable economic and Environ mental but oppose any substantial increase in rates to cover increased Utility operating costs. The Brief says rate increases pose a very real danger since cheap Power must be maintained As an incentive for business to relocate or remain in Manitoba. After the Tritschler report on Hydro is completed the Chambers also expect some action on their Long standing complaints about Rale structures Billing methods and exports by the Utility. In the Field of labor relations the employer association opposes the idea of a Universal pension plan for All working manii bans saying Pri vate Enterprise is already overburdened with non discriminatory sex concerning the provincial Educa Tion system the Chambers say skill instruction should be geared More closely to career development and the practical needs of society. The organization s most comprehensive recommendations however concern agriculture and particularly the marketing of farm produce. While marketing boards can serve a useful purpose by providing current Supply and demand information and mechanisms compatible with the commercial Market place they should not be allowed to manipulate prices by controlling farm production or altering transportation and storage rates the Brief says. Other agriculture related requests by the association include in government distortion of pric ing mechanisms to subsidize producers or stabilize farm incomes. No excessive restrictions on foreign ownership of Manitoba farm land but less government owner ship which offers unfair Competition. Modifications of Canadian wheat Board Price and quota structures and less government interference in Grain marketing generally. Permission to produce new Grain types for Export ;