The. airline, “which. has
previously - tried to lure.

° ary * legal checks
L indicate. the flying gamblers.
, will not be violating any laws .

‘strolling troubadours, insists
the machines will make only
“a “minimal” profit. ° passenger. compartment,

¢

e Does B.C. Tel want a new contract with i its a 1). Tf the. TWUi is prepared t to modify. yits.

union, the T.W.U.? . position, B.C:Tel would be willing to:
YES! Our-number one priority is to get antl union halfway between the. com an i
agreement ‘that is fair to both our employees and _ what we understand the union’s:

our customers, recognizing that in the end, the for 1981. If accepted, this alternative would: bring.

- ~~ eosts.of any agreement must be borne by those an immediate end to the dispute. ” This proposal —
_ who pay phone bills. was made but did not receive serious’ —
e Why did the company not agree to the non- consideration. We believe our employees should
binding recommendations of Federal Conciliation have an opportunity to vote on this.
Officer Ed Peck? 2) If the union is not prepared to modify its
It is our sincere belief that the Peck position, then a second alternative is for the
proposals would be highly inflationary and add company to seek increases in phone rates ~ |
significantly to the costs of phone service in through the CRTC and, if successful, make an
B.C. Ina monopoly situation, the temptation to offer to the union that would meet what we
take the easy route and pass the costs on to our understand their position to be.

customers Is great. Instead, we have taken the
far less popular route and tried to find middle
ground that would, at least in our view, be fair to
customers and employees alike.

@ Just what has been B. C.Tel’s position?

e Will these alternatives necessitate increased
telephone rates?
Unfortunately yes. B.C. Tel must borrow
a large amount of money during 1981 if we are to
_ meet normal service demands. Lenders of '

The company’s recent offer of a 39% money must have some assurance that the
increase in wages over a three year period : company’s earnings will be sufficient tocover _
appeared reasonable to us. It still does. It would the interest payments. By meeting the demands
mean that B.C. Tel union employees would be the of the union, the company would have difficulty
highest paid telephone workers in Canada. Such giving such assurance. These are the facts of the
wage rates would compare favourably to those matter when we say we cannot afford to meet

‘paid by other employers in B.C., and these the demands of the union, without a further
wages could be paid without further increasing increase in phone rates.
phone rates in 1981]. _ We will continue to do our level best to
t= © What other alternatives has B.C. Tel proposed? find a fair and reasonable solution to this most
During recent talks and making every difficult problem. In the meantime we sincerely
effort to find a reasonable solution, we.proposed regret the inconvenience and difficulty the

two alternatives: telephone strike is causing our customers. |

BCTH & °