To the Editor,
I don’t wish to diminish the loss of a cherished soul to his family. A policeman’s death is a tragedy that gets cross-country news but does the media wear blinders in all other incidents?
Do we deem law enforcement more precious than workers whose fatality statistics dwarf theirs? Is industrial death so commonplace to only warrant local review and an annual two minutes’ silence in union halls, honouring their fallen?
Are worker class collateral damage casualties in perpetual peace time war?
Is society so calloused by high number of victims in industry and armed conflict, that we mourn only those in uniform?
Do capitalist governments pay police more than industry to ensure their loyalty in labour unrest?
At least one Vancouver Island woodworker is killed annually. There is no university fund for deceased’s children.
Is three days’ bereavement in most contracts and up to six weeks for Ontario teachers’ union equitable?
If the private sector had equal benefits, would sickness take up the18 days allotted for it and would they have to employ 10 per cent more people?
Are employees paid by our taxes, entitled to more than private enterprise? Do we not bleed the same?
If all jobs were colour coded, would discrimination come to mind?
Would the players be enfranchised if the Minimum Standards Act governed all benefits and only increased at employees’ expense?
If politicians’ wages doubled and their benefits were governed by the same act, would the country save money?
If material goes for highest bid and labour for lowest, why not tender government CEOs?
R. Frankow,
Port Alberni