BY JOANNE PRITCHARD
HAMILTON, Ontario - Tens of thousands of working people from across Ontario are making plans to converge here on February 23 and 24 to protest cutbacks in social services. It is widely believed that this will be the biggest protest to date against the Conservative government of Michael Harris and one of the biggest in the province's history.
A protest in Bathurst, New Brunswick, on February 25 is expected to draw thousands more workers to protest the latest round of cuts in unemployment insurance by the Canadian government.
Another front in the battle against the social service cutbacks opened when two-thirds of the 67,000 civil service workers in the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) voted to reject the Ontario provincial government's contract offer. The offer did not meet the union's demands on job security and pensions. The government is planning to lay off between 13,000 and 27,000 employees. The OPSEU will be in a position to go on strike as of February 26.
Over 200 people attended a pep rally here February 17. Hamilton has been designated by the Ontario Federation of Labour as the second site in its fight-back campaign. The first city that the labor movement shut down was London, Ontario. Some 10,000 people marched there on December 11.
Organizers estimate that 3,000 workers will be involved in cross picketing on Friday, February 23. This consists of shutting down a workplace other than one's own to avoid charges of collective agreement violations. Both days will include a march through Hamilton ending in a rally at Copps Coliseum.
The march on February 24 will include forming a massive ring around the Hamilton Convention Centre, where the Conservative Party is holding a policy convention. Organizers are working to receive 750 buses from across the province. There will also be car parking available with shuttle buses to the march departure point.
A worker at Wabco, which has a workforce of 300 and makes air brakes, said that people from Stelco would be coming to picket their plant. He said the company had asked workers to take one of their holidays on February 23 but they refused. He was confident that no one would cross the picket line.
The comment at the February 17 rally that got the loudest applause was from Sid Ryan of the Canadian Union of Public Employees who called for the next stage in the fight-back campaign to be a provincewide shutdown. He also said that the social democratic New Democratic Party will recapture the provincial government in the next elections.
Drop charges against students
The representatives of the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) and
the Canadian Student Federation who spoke at the rally both
defended four students who were arrested during the Student
Day of Protest on February 7.
The students were charged with "intimidating parliament," stemming from an obscure law that carries a maximum sentence of 14 years. The CAW spokesperson said that while he condemned the breaking of some windows by students, he contrasted this to the actions of "the prime minister [Jean Chrétien] who physically attacked someone legitimately protesting" against cuts in unemployment insurance on February 15 in Montreal. A petition was circulated at the rally calling for dropping of the charges against the students.
Meanwhile on February 5 demonstrations across New Brunswick and the Gaspe drew more than 5,000 people. The cuts they were protesting will hit seasonal workers, which many are in that region, the hardest. Workers will be required to work more hours to get benefits and so-called repeat users would receive less each year until they reach a low of 50 percent of weekly average earnings.
Working people across Ontario are preparing for the Hamilton Action Days. Some 250 unionists participated in a conference in Toronto on "Understanding and Fighting the Harris Agenda." The Ontario Provincial Council of the International Association of Machinists met to discuss their role in the fight back. Workers at plants in the Toronto region organized by the CAW and the United Steelworkers of America report that buses have been reserved for the days of protest.
On February 12, Students for Quality Education met in Toronto to discuss how to get high school students signed up for the teachers' union buses. Those interested should call Sarah at (416) 397-3770 to reserve a seat. Those seeking more information about the activities in Hamilton can call Steve Farkas, chief coordinator, at (905) 529-2010.