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March 12, 2012 - No. 33 Palestine Live Report from Gaza During March 10 Israeli Attack   Palestine Quebec
Construction
Commission Palestine Live Report from Gaza During March 10 Israeli AttackNote: These are a series of brief on-the-spot updates from a Gaza correspondent, spread out over a period of about four hours on March 10 during the ongoing Israeli state terrorist attacks on the people of Gaza. Israel also attacked on March 9 (see TML Weekly, March 10, 2012 - No. 10). The earliest update is at the top and the latest at the bottom. ***March 10, 2012 Good morning from Palestine. Heard a huge explosion shaking the city of Gaza now. Always be in solidarity with Palestine and the people of Palestine to get their full freedom. And until the liberation of all prisoners. Israeli F-16 jets have just carried out 4 air strikes, causing loud explosions, the warplanes especially drones are flying very low. 2 loud explosions just rocked northern Gaza. Settlers are present now in Shuhada Street. They attack the cars of Palestinians and violent confrontations are now taking place in town.
Two raids launched by warplanes on Beit Lahia in northern Gaza. 4 explosions now in the northern sector. Now a very heavy bombardment by F-16 aircraft. Witnesses describe the sound of explosions as terrifying and that it is not normal! Fire in the Jabalia Martyrs School after the recent targeting of the northern Gaza Strip. Military aircraft targeting a house of 3 floors north of the Gaza Strip, then bombed a crowd of citizens who came there. There are a very large number of casualties lying on the ground. Sleepless in Gaza with loud, huge, deep, destructive explosions. Apache helicopters in the sky. Occupation is now targeting a family home belonging to citizen Bahjat Hammad near the roundabout Hammad Zimmo. 30 children and women wounded. Oh my God now a big explosion in the area. 3 injured in bombing targeting a house near Tariq ibn Ziyad mosque in the neighborhood of Shijaia. High number of injuries risen to fifteen now, after the bombing of a house of a family in Gaza. I am at risk at any moment. Bombing...Martyrs...Wounded...Killing children...Injured
children...Now in Gaza...Shelling everywhere ... O allah, Save Gaza. Most of the twenty-five wounded in the bombing of a house north of the Gaza Strip belonging to the family of Hammad are children and women. Israel wants to kill the largest possible number of women and children. Where is international law? Planes are still flying treachery and treason at low levels over most of the atmosphere above the Gaza Strip. Hear another explosion in the "Khuza'a" now, near my home.
Adham Abu Salmiya (spokesman of the emergency ambulance and the Gaza Strip) reports: Very painful scenes of Kamal Adwan hospital in the northern Gaza Strip. Ambulances still carrying injuries from a house. This is an indication of the large number of injuries. Israel bombed the ambulance now. Israeli occupation has lost its mind and broken international laws by the bombing of children, women and ambulances. Where are the owners of human rights? Where is the humanity? Where are the governments of the world? Despite the bombing, terror and destruction, and killing of children. I tell you from Gaza. From the center of grief and wounds. Good night.
Quebec Construction Commission Threats of Lockout and
|
 Sign at construction workers' protest: "Chase Charest out of Quebec." |
The changes being made at the CCQ attack the working conditions of CCQ employees and make the it an instrument of the Charest government's fraudulent struggle against corruption.
CCQ employees are Quebec public sector workers and they have now been without a contract for over two years, while other public sector workers signed contracts about a year ago. In January 2011, the Charest government appointed a new CEO, Diane Lemieux, to the CCQ and later the whole bargaining committee was replaced. CEO Lemieux recently told the press her board of directors has given her the okay to use various measures including a lockout to force the employees to accept concessions concerning their working conditions. The employees have said all along that they are ready to accept the wage increases negotiated by the other workers as part of the Common Front of Quebec's public sector workers, but the pension fund is a major issue. According to the CCQ, the pension fund deficit is about $136 million and it claims that only through drastic concessions from the workers can the deficit be eliminated. The talk is that the CCQ plans to eliminate the bridge benefit payments employees use as a transition when they retire before 65 years of age. The union estimates that losing these bridge benefit payments could mean the loss of more then $100,000 per worker between the age of 55 and 65. In February, the Quebec Office and Professional Employees' Union (SEPB-Quebec) announced more than 60 employees opted for pre-retirement in order to avoid these concessions and that another 90 are expected to do the same, which would mean the departure of 15 per cent of the total employees.
CCQ bluntly refuses to negotiate and continues to say that drastic pension concessions are unavoidable. A lockout is in the works to extort concessions from the workers in the same way this is being used more and more frequently in the private sector.
These are not the only attacks being launched against the CCQ workers and through them against the construction workers. In addition to the government and media's constant propaganda that construction unions are responsible for corruption in the sector, propaganda is being carried that the CCQ employees must be kept at a distance from the construction workers or else they will succumb to corruption and intimidation.
With the appointment of the new CEO at the beginning of 2011, the watchwords were that the CCQ needed a "thorough clean up." At that time, CEO Lemieux described CCQ as a "fundamental link" in the proper functioning of the construction industry and said, "We cannot afford for this link to be weak or vulnerable [...] I want to separate the good apples from the bad, the mistakes from the systemic problems."
The Charest government stepped up the attacks, passing Bill 15 the Anti-Corruption Act in June 2011, which came into full force in September 2011. A section in this bill refers specifically to the CCQ (see the extracts below). It says the employees who have investigatory powers must be of "good moral character." This is very vague and opened the door to all kinds of interpretations and abuse. It was used to revive the CCQ investigations into the criminal record and so-called financial vulnerability of employees, which their union had challenged in court. The bill also creates a special unit in the CCQ which acts secretly and is only accountable to the Commission's CEO and, through the CEO, to the Minister of Public Security.
Bill 15 also forces the employees' de-affiliation from their current union and makes it illegal for them to affiliate with a union or union central whose members are construction workers. This is criminalization by association of their right to unionize. The union has challenged this part of the bill before the Labour Relations Board.
The criminalization of workers and their right to association through anti-corruption laws by declaring them enemies of the state and scapegoating them for the real corruption that exists in society is dangerous and must be opposed. It is in keeping with the agenda of the Harper government at the federal level where laws and regulations are being passed and implemented to negate rights and impose civil death for all those who do not submit to the private interests of the ruling class, which are called the "public interest" and "Canadian values." Needless to say, this "anti-corruption" mandate of the CCQ does not include the power to investigate the Charest government's awarding of contracts to construction monopolies and engineering firms, or financial contributions to political parties from the construction sector.
These attacks have been largely cloaked in silence within the workers' movement, while the CCQ employees and construction workers have been left for the most part to face these attacks alone. This is unacceptable.
All out to defend these workers and oppose the arbitrariness and political diversions being used to criminalize them.
For Your Information
Extracts from the Anti-Corruption Act Pertaining to the Quebec Construction Commission
49. The Act [R-20 "respecting labour relations, vocational training and workforce management in the construction industry," which the Quebec Construction Commission is mandated to implement] is amended by inserting the following after section 15:
"§3. -- Independent audit team
"15.1. An independent audit team is set up within the Commission.
"15.2. The independent team is in charge of conducting investigations in the construction industry under the coordination of the Associate Commissioner for Audits appointed under section 8 of the Anti-Corruption Act....
"15.3. The members of the Commission's personnel assigned to the independent team exercise their functions as such on an exclusive basis. They may exercise the powers conferred by sections 7, 7.1 and 7.3, subparagraphs e and f of the first paragraph of section 81 and section 81.0.1.
"15.4. The independent team is under the administration of the chairman of the Commission, in the chairman's capacity as chief executive officer of the Commission. The chairman of the Commission may however delegate all or part of that function to a member of the Commission's personnel. The chairman of the Commission shall report on the administration of the independent team to the Minister of Public Security only.
"15.5. The Minister of Public Security, the Minister of Labour, the Anti-Corruption Commissioner and the Commission shall enter into an operating agreement with respect to the independent team. This agreement must include measures to ensure that the independent team's activities are kept confidential from the Commission including its board of directors, and measures defining how members of the Commission's personnel who are not assigned to the independent team are to cooperate with it.
[...]
* * *
50. Section 85 of the Act is replaced by the following section:
"85. The employees of the Commission authorized to exercise powers under sections 7, 7.1 and 7.3, subparagraphs e and f of the first paragraph of section 81 and section 81.0.1 shall constitute a bargaining unit for the purposes of certification granted under the Labour Code (chapter C-27).
The association certified to represent the employees referred to in the first paragraph may not be affiliated with a representative association or an organization to which such an association is affiliated, nor enter into a service agreement with such an association or organization."
* * *
51. The Act is amended by inserting the following section after section 85:
"85.0.1. To be authorized to exercise a power referred to in section 85, an employee of the Commission must
(1) be of good moral character; and
(2) not have been convicted anywhere of an offence for an act or omission that is either an offence under the Criminal Code (Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985, chapter C-46) or an offence, referred to in section 183 of that Code, under one of the Acts listed in that section and that is related to the employment, unless the employee has obtained a pardon."
Air Canada
Government Attack on Airline Workers' Right to
Defend
Their Working Conditions and Public Safety
Members of Air Canada's Technical Maintenance and Operations Support staff
rally in defence of their demands, Toronto, February 24, 2012.
 Rally of Air Canada support staff, Toronto, March 2, 2012. |
Despite the government depriving them of their right to strike, the TMOS workers continue to fight for their demands. A militant rally was held at Pearson Airport in Toronto on March 9 and another at Calgary International Airport on March 11.
Air Canada pilots and the TMOS staff have been in negotiations for new contracts with their employer. Like the labour dispute with its flight attendants, Air Canada is once again refusing to acknowledge the just demands of its workers. Its intransigence and bad-faith bargaining has led to another acrimonious situation. On cue, the Harper government has intervened on behalf of Air Canada, as it did with the flight attendants last year.
The TMOS staff are represented by International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) District 140 and their present contract expired almost a year ago, March 31, 2011. The 8,600 union members include mechanics, baggage handlers, cargo agents, aircraft cleaners and electricians. Pension reform, wages, scheduling night shifts, mandatory overtime and the role of part-time staff are among the key issues, according to IAMAW members. The February 10 tentative agreement with Air Canada was rejected by 65.6 per cent, following which a strike vote was held -- 78 per cent voted in favour of going on strike. Negotiations continued but broke off on March 6 at which point the union informed Air Canada and the Minister of Labour that its members would exercise their right to strike as of 12:01 am on Monday, March 12.
Meanwhile, the day before the referral to the CIRB, Air Canada tabled a "final" offer to its 3,000 pilots. In a March 8 press release, President of the Air Canada Pilots Association (ACPA) Captain Paul Strachan explained the situation: "The Corporation pulled a dramatic u-turn yesterday on the first day of our return to bargaining. After committing to a federal mediation process that was to last up to 180 days, the corporation instead chose to table what it termed its 'final' offer only 23 days into the process, without any serious effort to bridge our differences by negotiating in good faith."
"We think Air Canada pilots should be given the opportunity to tell the corporation directly what they think of its offer and its actions in this round of bargaining," he added. The ACPA emphasized that the vote is not the result of a tentative agreement -- there is no agreement -- and is recommending that pilots reject the offer.
A memo issued by the ACPA bargaining team pointed out that what Air Canada called its "best, last and final offer" was "essentially the same as the Jan. 29 offer with minor amendments," noting that Air Canada demanded the union accept the offer in writing by noon on March 8.
"This offer continues the corporation's pattern of behavior over the last decade and demands even more concessions from our pilots," Captain Strachan said. "It's ridiculous that the corporation continues to focus on squeezing a group of professionals whose compensation represents only about four per cent of revenue. Having provided ongoing concessions amounting to several billion dollars over the last nine years, it's high time that Air Canada recognized the value created by its experienced professional pilots who fly thousands of passengers safely and efficiently to their destinations every day."
Last month, the pilots
expressed their displeasure with
the corporation's actions by voting 97 per cent in favour of a strike;
however, the pilots have not called for any form of industrial action
and have consistently maintained the same goal -- a negotiated
settlement.
Air Canada pilots are presently working under an expired 2009 agreement that froze their pay rates for more than two years. That agreement also provided the corporation with hundreds of millions of dollars in relief from its pension funding obligations.
Air Canada extorted similar concessions from pilots, flight attendants, passenger agents and IAMAW members during its 2003-2004 restructuring while it sought to enter bankruptcy protection. If concessions were not made, the company said at the time, the workers would be responsible for destroying the company and the loss of everyone's jobs.
In contrast, Air Canada last year boosted compensation for its top five executives by 30 per cent. On March 31 of this year, Air Canada President and CEO Calvin Rovinescu will collect a $5 million retention bonus for remaining in his position for three years, the workers inform.
TML denounces Air Canada's attempt to extort further concessions from its pilots and workers and its refusal to provide them with working conditions and remuneration commensurate with the work they do. TML also denounces the nefarious role played by the Harper government and its Labour Minister Lisa Raitt for their vulgar denigration of "labour relations," that equate the one-sided servicing of private interests to representing the "public good." While the government claims it is helpless to do anything to stop monopolies like Caterpillar from destroying production and wrecking the economy, it is only too quick to intervene when it means defending monopoly right. Contrary to the Minister's claims that she is defending public safety, it is the workers and their defence of their working conditions as a basic requirement to properly do their jobs, which defends public safety.
Note
1. Labour Minister Lisa Raitt
unilaterally referred both
disputes to the CIRB citing Section 87.4 (1) of the Labour
Code: "During a strike or lockout not prohibited by this Part,
the employer, the trade union and the employees in the bargaining unit
must continue the supply of services, operation of facilities or
production of goods to the extent necessary to prevent an immediate and
serious danger to the safety or health of the public."
(IAMAW, ACPA, Globe and Mail, Canadian Press; photos: IAMAW, kramreed)
Air Canada and Harper Dictatorship in Collusion Against Workers' Rights
Demands raised by Air Canada flight attendants and other Air Canada workers remain unfulfilled.
On Wednesday, March 7 the IAMAW (International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers), representing roughly 8,600 mechanics, baggage handlers and cargo agents, informed Air Canada of its intention to begin strike action at one minute after midnight Eastern Time on Monday, March 12. This followed the rejection by the membership of a tentative agreement signed by the Union and the Company and the subsequent strike vote.
Air Canada management criticized the union for choosing a time when the strike would have an impact -- the point of any labour action -- and fully aware of the scenario that would unfold, arrogantly declared that it would do its best to minimize "inconvenience" to the travelling public.
Secure in its knowledge that the Harper dictatorship would defend its interests, Air Canada on Thursday declared its intention to lock out the pilots on [March 12], after having submitted its "best and final offer" the previous day, 23 days into a mediation process that was to have allowed for level-headed negotiations that could have lasted up to 180 days.
Almost immediately the
Minister for Attacking Labour,
Lisa Raitt,
used her power to refer the disputes to the Canadian Industrial
Relations Board, as she had done when the flight attendants had
threatened to strike. Representing a regime that is hell-bent on
eliminating the notion of health care as a right in a
modern society, she suddenly presents herself as concerned about the
"health and safety" implications a strike or lock-out would have on
Canadians. This is an outrageous and unacceptable, vicious attack
against all workers in this country. We are the ones who are concerned
about health and safety -- ours and that
of our fellow Canadians -- and not about attempting to drain maximum
profit from the economy like the monopolies and their government
representatives.
In order to justify its actions, Raitt and other representatives of the Harper regime blather on about the "fragile" Canadian economy as if they were the ones who were defending it. The government remains silent when heavily subsidized monopolies shut their doors and move their production out of the country. It is the workers of this country who produce the wealth and are the most interested in strengthening the economy. The monopolies like Air Canada are interested only in maximizing the fortunes of the shareholders and upper management by skimming off the wealth that the workers produce, denying us any say over our working conditions and what we consider should be a Canadian-standard wage commensurate with the work we perform.
By defending their interests, the pilots and the members of the IAM are contributing to strengthening the Canadian economy, ensuring that more of the added value to which they give rise is available to put back into the economy rather than seeing it squirrelled away into the coffers of a very few.
The monopolies and the Harper dictatorship, on the other hand, are determined to attack the security of the workers and weaken the economy across the board. Putting these new arrangements into place to deny the workers any right to negotiate wages and working conditions, and ultimately deny us the right to associate, they are creating a serious disequilibrium in the economy.
Almost every day one reads in the monopoly press about factories closing, layoffs, demands for more concessions that have a serious effect on the economy to say nothing of the lives of the workers involved. It is the monopolies and their government servants who are responsible for this and they are the ones who must be held accountable for the direction in which they are taking the economy that is leading to nation-wrecking rather than nation-building. Workers in all sectors of the economy right across the country are becoming increasingly clear about these questions and are determined to turn the situation around and hold these governments to account.
"Steelworkers in Hamilton under the leadership of Local 1005 USW upheld their dignity and emerged with honour from an eleven-month battle with U.S. Steel. Steelworkers strengthened their social consciousness and outlook of the working class as the rising leader of society. They developed new forms of organizing to empower their membership to participate consciously in analyzing the concrete conditions, make decisions as a collective on strategy and tactics, and as individuals carry out those decisions responsibly. In doing so, steelworkers strengthened their independent voice in Hamilton and made headway in how to unite the community behind their working class agenda to defend their rights and the rights of all against monopoly right and to build a self-reliant and diverse economy under the control of Canadians."[1]
The workers of Rio Tinto Alcan in Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean, who have been locked out because of their fight to defend decent jobs and the economy of their region for themselves and for the future, are winning local and international support in their battle. The postal workers are continuing to wage their fight against the Harper dictatorship's imposition of unsafe working conditions and humiliating wages. The prairie farmers and their supporters are continuing their battle to prevent their Wheat Board from being dismantled and the control over the marketing of their grains being handed over to international monopolies. Students in Quebec are defending education as a right in a modern society and teachers in British Columbia are defending their interests and ability to provide that education.
And, of course, employees in all departments of Air Canada have had to stand together over the past year to defend our interests against a company that refuses to recognize the important role we play in providing for the transportation needs of Canadians and foreign visitors and in making Air Canada the "best international airline in North America". We have stood as one in this fight and helped to expose the anti-worker measures that the Harper dictatorship is putting in place on behalf of the monopolies.
We must continue to put our strength of numbers and organization, along with our social consciousness, together with all workers to strengthen the Workers' Opposition and put an end to the determination of governments to defend monopoly right against public right. We must force these governments to defend the interests of the Canadian people who they self-righteously claim to represent.
End the Collusion between Air Canada and
the Harper
Dictatorship to Attack Workers' Rights!
An Attack Against One is an Attack
Against All! All for One and One for All!
Whose Economy! Our Economy!
Who Decides! We Decide!
Notes
1. TML Weekly,
December 31, 2011, Number 23.
Read The Marxist-Leninist
Daily
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca