YUSA Wins Tech Change Clauses by Siilrley Itfas Members Felt That the Administra the Nature of the Workplace Is Tion Considered Them to Be 'Just a Changing
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Put women's rights PUBLISHED BY ORGANIZED WORKING WOMEN on the VOLUME SEVEN, NUMBER FOUR ~@ NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 1984 agenda YUSA wins tech change clauses By SIIlRLEY ITfAS members felt that the administra The nature of the workplace is tion considered them to be 'just a changing. With the introduction group of women'. This became an of microcomputers into clerical issue of respect. and secretarial positions there is Unfortunately it seems that concern with the de-skilling of relations between management positions and the loss ofjob satis and labour are adversarial in na faction. There are also concerns ture rather than striving for a related to health and safety such spirit of co-operation that could as provisions for proper furnish be of mutual benefit. ings, proper lighting and the con cern for the health of a pregnant For the members of YUSA it is employee required to operate a perceived that the fight is just be video display terminal. ginning, we have just taken the The York University Staff first step. The experience of the Association is a union represent library workers in Metro Toronto photo - M Ph 1l hps ing approximately l, 000 serves to remind us that those P2C2 just the beginning employees primarily employed in clauses fought for we may have to secretarial, clerical and technical fight to preserve. Many of the About 8,500 people marched through down- after the Toronto march, labour council presi positions. Approximately 85 per positions in our bargaining unit town Toronto Oct. 20 to mark United Nations dent Wally Majesky said the petition campaign are those considered to be 'fe cent of our members are women. Disarmament week and the wrap-up of the "was not the end, but the beginning of the male' positions, jobs that the new Peace Petition Caravan Campaign. Five struggle for what we believe in". Referring to During negotiations this year technology is altering. Now more hundred city canvassers gathered 50,000 sig- the labour movement's. support for the peace the Bargaining Committee con than ever a united front is needed natures on the petition calling for a ban on effort, he said Jabour "will be here, as long as cerned itself primarily with tech to e_asure fairness in the work cruise mlssne testing, making Canada a the fight Js here". Anne Adelson of the Toronto nological change ' and m-related place. nuclear weapons-free zone and diverting Disarmament Network, a coalition of 70 or areas such as training for em armaments spending to social needs. Toron- ganizations which co-ordinated the work of ployees and better layoff pro Shirley lttas, Chairperson, to's signatures joined the 430,000 others col- P2C2 in the city, said the peace movement was visions when jobs are declared Bargaining Committee, York Uni lected across the country which were pre- "immeasurably stronger" coming out of the redundant. The introduction of versity Staff Association. sented to the government in a ceremony on campaign, "we must go on now to organize, microcomputers into the work Parliament Hill the following Monday. At a rally educate, agitate." place prompted our concern for the impact of technology on the employee. The union wanted, and won, information on the proposed Health and safety protection needed introduction of new technology prior to its being implemented. It By CATID CARR moment, the International Coun work with when trying to pinpoint He emphasized that workers also won training for employees "There is no safe limit of expo cil on Radiation Protection - the cause of their illnesses, it is must negotiate better than con affected by technological change sure to ionizing radiation and it is ICRP, a self appointed and self unlikely that these questions will sensus health and safety stan to equip the individual to use the unlikely that one will be found." perpetuating group of "experts" be raised in a standard medical dards as they have done with new equipment or provide the This was one of the key points with a strong connection to the history. minimum labour standards. training to enable the employee to stressed on Radiation Eclucation nuclear industry, has set stan Murray also stated that work Linda Jolley, an occupational qualify for positions at a similar Day which was only one part of dards which are viewed as being ers must gain control over health health and safety consultant, and salary level to the one currently four day conference held in Win too high by a factor of at least ten and safety education in order to Colin Lambert, Canadian Union held. nipeg from October 9-12 entitled, percent. fight the propaganda that we see of Public Employees, Health and Our old collective agreement ''The Prevention of Occupational Trade unions, he stated, must in the media everyday. This Safety Representative, carried on provided for a committee to dis Disease". take a position internationally propaganda perpetuates the myth the theme of legislation and stan cuss the concept of equal pay for Eminent speakers from the which will juxtapose and oppose of the careless worker instead of dard setting in their workshop. scientific community, labour, and that of the ICRP. "Our objective work of equal value. We had insisting that workplaces should After a revealing discussion hoped this year to have included a government (in the form of the must be to err on the side of cau be cleaned up, and promoting Atomic Energy Control Board of tion - we must build dose limits which raised the frustration of en clause requiring the committee's employers' responsibility to pro forcing standards, both federally recommendations to be imple Canada-AECB) participated in a into our collective agreements, vide healthy and safe workplaces. panel discussion on this very and we must be prepared to ac and in the provinces, this work mented. This, unfortunately, we Dr. Karen Messing, a geneticist shop formulated a resolution urg were unable to win. "controversial" subject - radia cept a low level of proof. It is a tion. question of expenditure of money from the University of Quebec, ing the Canadian Labour Con Until the final stages of media David Gee, a trade unionist vs. dead workers". and Gary Cwitco, Health and gress to press the government to ti_on, during the strike, the from Great Britain spoke about Gee stated that labour's de Safety Representative with the enact legislation to provide for the administration was still trying to the long and bitter history of mands concerning radiation are Communications Workers of development of national health have the Committee's mandate occupational disease where ac not utopian, most can be met in Canada presented a very and safety standards by a joint changed to address equal pay for tion is usually only taken after it is ninety percent of exposure areas. thought-provoking and all-en labour-management commission. compassing workshop on repro equal work, not at all the same too late for many workers, "wait Dr. Linda Murray spoke to the It is the hope of the many work issue. ing for human evidence of occu conference about what "we" can ductive hazards. ers who attended the conference Why then was it necessary to pational disease means many do about occupational disease. They stressed that reproduc from all across Canada that the go on strike? I suspect it was a damaged and dead workers". Murray is the director of the Man tive hazards affect men as well as CLC will spearhead the drive for matter of attitude. It seems that He spoke of occupational dis itoba Federation of Labour's women, and should, therefore, healthy and safe workplaces, and management believed the ease as a "generation game," that Occupational Health Centre in not be used to exclude women for the right of all workers in this employees were only concerned is it is usually into the third or Winnipeg; it is the only such from certain jobs. Rather the country to be ensured of the three with money and that they could fourth generation before any ac centre run solely by labour in focus should be on eliminating or fundamental rights of occupa not be suggesting strike action for tion is taken. By then it is far too North America. She stated that controlling reproductive ha:zards tional health and safety: the right other reasons. There also seemed late and by that time the industry we must educate our doctors, at the source thereby protect all to know; the right to participate; to be a feeling that the members is usually on its economic knees most of whom receive little or no workers, both men and women. the right to refuse. would not stand up and take strike as is the case with asbestos. training in occupational disease at Bob Sass, a well known health action given the currently poor Gee spoke of radiation as an medical school. and safety activist, addressed the Cathi Carr, Occupational Health job market. international problem for which She urged workers to raise the conference on day three and and Safety Representative with the One might hesitate to suggest a trade unions need to develop an issue of their dirty workplaces spoke eloquently about the Ontario Nurses Association Staff sexist attitude but many of our international response. At the and the toxic chemicals that they centrality of work in all our lives. Union . EDITORIAL The part-time professor, overworked and underpaid The job you By MAUREEN HAWKINS As we all know, part-time workers (a disproportionate number of whom are women) save could comprise one of the most exploit ed groups in Canadian labour. Part-time workers receive p0or be your own salaries and no benefits or job se curity: attractive conditions for employers who want to be more By SUE CRAIG "flexible".