the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Nov 23, 2009
The following article, dated October 27, 2009, comes from Workers’ Fight, a revolutionary workers organization active in Britain.
Last week, postal workers staged their first national strike in two years, two days to protest attacks on jobs and working conditions. In the name of “modernizing” postal services, the government has already cut letter deliveries in half and turned postal rounds into nightmarish marathons. Postal workers are under the rule of a former sports official paid two million pounds a year to cut jobs to the bare bone.
At any time such attacks on working conditions would be unacceptable. But at a time like this, with rising unemployment, it is intolerable that any job should be cut. “Modernization” should result in a better service, with better working conditions for all postal workers, whatever the cost to the state. State funds would better be spent on postal services rather than in feeding the banking parasites!
What is true for postal services is true right across the economy. Why should companies that have made profits for so many years off our backs be allowed to cut our jobs, just because, for once, their profits are going down?
Even without the billions in bailouts, the capitalist class is enormously rich. Speculation, returning to the stock and oil markets, and to real estate, is just the visible part of their parasitic wealth.
The working class, which produces everything in this society and is the source of all that wealth, has a right to demand that, in a time of crisis like this, this wealth should be returned to society.
And this means no job cuts should be allowed any more–and no pay cuts either. No more giving in to the blackmail of the bosses, turning the screw under the pretext of “saving” jobs, which they end up cutting more often than not! And if there is not enough work for all, then share the work among all workers, without loss of pay.
The capitalists have caused this crisis due to their profiteering. They should be made to pay for it to the last penny!