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Nehawu May Day Statement 01-05-08 |
NEHAWU MAY-DAY STATEMENT 2008
On May 1st 1896 over 340 000 American workers went on strike in support of a demand for an 8-hour working day. The police killed eleven workers. Four workers were falsely charged with killing a policeman and hanged. Workers throughout the world demonstrated support for their American brothers. From that time workers everywhere began to celebrate May 1st as their day whether this is officially recognized by their governments or not.
While the central demand of those workers was the reduction of working time, today's workers demands and struggles are more than that. In each country May-Day has its own meaning and significance for the workers.
For us May Day is a day on which we demonstrate against the inhuman capitalist system and the super-exploitation of the black working class; against the millions of unemployed, starvation wages, sky-rocketing prices of food, the uprooting and infant mortality which wipes out our children and continuing lack of skills development of the black working class.
Rising Food Prices
Today, food prices have been increasing sharply in recent months, both nationally and internationally. According to the World Bank, global food prices have climbed by 83% over the last three years.
The increase in food prices is impacting the workers and the poor, as their diets rely on the very staples that are becoming "scarce" or too costly: maize meal, cooking oil, eggs and dairy. It is not that there is no enough food around the world. There is so much food filling the shelves of retail stores yet they are out of reach for hundreds of millions of people. There is so much criminal price-fixing and speculation on food that is going around the world.
There is so much food in warehouses in many countries like South Africa, but they are destined for exports. The food crisis is also eroding the income gains of the working class and middle strata, while those who own food companies have seen their income and profits rising. The result is profits for the few and poverty and hunger for many. This is capitalism.
In response to this crisis, people in the world have taken to the streets. Last Saturday in Bangladesh thousands of people demonstrated for the price of rice. 120 injured demonstrators were reported. In Egypt two workers died while demonstrating against price increases. In Haiti the role of police was taken over by the UN forces (MINUSTAH) with the result of 23 dead people and more than 200 injured!
Massive demonstrations and strikes for the same reason have taken place in the last days in Burkina Faso in West Africa, in Ivory Coast, in Cambodia and Indonesia, in Peru, in Honduras, in Uzbekistan, in Pakistan, in Yemen, in Ethiopia, in Philippines, in Mexico, in Thailand and in indeed our own country. According to the official data of international organizations during 2007, the prices of basic products have increased by 40%, yet workers salaries have remained low.
Unemployment remains high and insecure work is more acute. All these are the results of today's capitalistic barbarity at the expense of the people of Africa, Asia, Latin America and the entire Third World countries.
Within this context, the struggles of the workers around the world and our own struggles under the banner of COSATU and the SACP have become more and more relevant. It is not enough for us to struggle for wage increases (as they can immediately be taken away by more price increases). We have no option but to advance the class-oriented interests of all workers.
We here reiterate some of the COSATU demands to government:
· Criminalize the price-fixing by capitalist food companies;
· Subsidize food staples;
· Establish state-owned food enterprise;
· Nationalize private monopolistic food industries.
Long live Workers May 1st!
Long live the struggles of the workers!
Issued by NEHAWU Communications Department
For further information, please contact Cde Priscilla Khumalo @ 082 558 5973 or email: Priscilla@nehawu.org.za
Visit NEHAWU website: www.nehawu.org.za