Communist Organizing Against Workplace Racism, Sexism and Hazards here ♦ Life Without Money here ♦ Red Salute from India here ♦
Communist Organizing Against Workplace Racism, Sexism, and Hazards
GQEBERHA (South Africa), July 10— “As an ICWP member, I realize I am not alone in this struggle against racism and sexism,” said a comrade factory worker. “We work in collectives to recruit new comrades.”
She described her workplace:
At the top it’s mostly white people. Supervisors are mostly Coloureds. Team leaders include a few Blacks. On the floor it’s mostly Blacks and Coloured people.
I trained a Coloured woman and showed her everything. When an older lady resigned, they placed the lady that I trained in my position. That wasn’t fair.
Some females are more experienced or know most of the jobs in a department, but bosses would rather consider a male, even if he knows less. I’ve worked the men’s department, pushing extra hard. But the pay rates of males and females are still not the same. Males get more, even if the ladies work extra hard.
Being a Black person, you have to push yourself three times harder than the Coloured people. But even if you do, you wouldn’t be recognized. The bosses or supervisors are creating that racism, that division, between the workers.
If I didn’t know about Red Flag and ICWP, I would have said, “That lady I trained took my job.” But it wasn’t the lady that took my job. She was placed there by the big bosses. They knew very well that I am the one who is well-trained for that position.
They would rather choose her than me because she is Coloured. And I would be second best. If she ever said no, or found other work, then they might consider me. Or they would find someone else from the outside.
It’s unfair and difficult. Racism and sexism are not yet over. We need to fight these things.
Capitalism Puts Workers’ Lives at Risk
They place me in difficult and hazardous jobs that Coloured people don’t want. Recently they have been placing me to do the ends, work normally done by males. But I had to do it.
I had to do eight sides a day, going up and down on a step ladder, sometimes holding two. The materials go through the overalls and leave marks.
When I get home, first I have to take a hot bath. You can’t just change out of the overalls into other clothes.
It irritates, even at the nostrils. It’s very bad. If I don’t get to wear puffy gauze, it sometimes goes through the mask. Sometimes my mucous has a little bit of blood. I have to drink warm milk every now and then just to keep myself safe. Because I can easily get pneumonia or TB.
The workplace is dangerous. They don’t care; they just want you there. If a Coloured person says “No, that job is too difficult or dangerous,” they just place them somewhere else.
The glasses they give us don’t fit perfectly so the insulation goes over them. It’s dangerous for your eyes, your chest, and your skin. Our gloves are not so protective. Protection over the overalls would be much better.
But they don’t listen to us. Those are the conditions that we work under each and every day.
Workers Embrace the Communist Solution
“In my neighbourhood, three women came to an ICWP meeting,” this comrade reports. “They are asking questions about sexism. They tell me that the rich bosses are the problem. They help care for my two children when I go to ICWP meetings.”
Six ICWP members recently distributed Red Flag at a concentration of factories. They distributed Red Flag to a white worker who was sharing his experience with a Black worker on their lunch break.
Another 22-year-old worker was excited when we said that socialism is a form of capitalism, and only communism will bring real democracy. He said he wanted to join ICWP now. He took extra copies of Red Flag for other workers.
These activities and our struggle in collectives bring new workers to our party. We must carry them out regularly. Our membership will increase if we put communism as the only solution to our problems.
We aim to bring dozens of comrades to our next May Day. Eventually these dozens will become thousands and millions. Our goal is to eliminate capitalism by mobilizing the masses for communism.
In communism, work would be much easier, and also rewarding. We won’t have to endure racism or hazardous conditions. Eliminating money will create a peaceful, happy, collective environment. Let us recruit more workers now.
Life Without Money
I didn’t understand before. So, I didn’t explain ICWP to anybody. Now I feel confident to raise politics with anybody. I have debates about communism and capitalist society. I look for discussions. I will ask somebody, “What do you think about South Africa today?”
A friend said, “If I ever became President, I would demolish money.”
I asked, “What do you mean?”
“Money is the source of all problems: crime, corruption, power,” he replied. “If we get rid of money, we won’t have these issues.”
“That’s interesting,” I responded. “At our last meeting, we talked about how money is the major problem. The rich want to be richer. Why do we have people living under a bridge while others live in mansions? The President owns a mine!
We need to share everything. That will be possible if we can all be one. This won’t happen in a day. But it will happen!”
South Africa is divided into provinces. Let’s say we are in the Eastern Cape, divided into groups. We demolish money and live collectively. We work together. Not to make the bosses rich but to meet people’s needs.
If a group can farm, they can grow food to share. For those who can sew, it’s the same thing. They can make clothes for everyone.
The same with doctors and nurses. They can help us without charging money because they know their needs will be provided for. They won’t need to buy food, clothes, or housing—they will get all that from other workers. Gas stations will also run without money and without profit.
What do we need money for if we have food, clothes, and houses? We won’t need money. We will have a peaceful world and a healthy environment.
We need to spread the word with Red Flag—practicing, not just preaching. We need to invite people, and visit them in their homes, not just in meetings.
—Comrade in South Africa
Red Salute from India: Revolutionary Greetings!
We have a world to win. A world free of oppression, racism, and sexism, where there will be no borders. Under capitalism, freedom is a commodity. We will fight for a world where freedom is for everybody. Nationalist movements cannot lead to that world. We need to get rid of the disease of nationalism and become true internationalist revolutionaries.
The world is ours. We make it run. And we will reclaim our world from a handful of greedy capitalists. In our world, everybody will have a home. Education and healthcare will be public responsibilities.
In semi-feudal and semi-colonial countries like India, capitalism has well incorporated the old brutal hierarchical caste system. Growing Hindu fascism is projecting Muslims as the enemy as in the time of Hitler’s Germany.
We need to educate, agitate, and organize the masses for communism. Parliamentary left parties have lost their credibility. They have no appeal to the masses. They are responsible for the rise of fascism in India.
The Indian state, in cooperation with the imperialist powers, is waging war against people’s movements. It is suppressing democratic rights. Innocent peoples are being killed in fake encounters. Thousands of innocent poor Tribals and Muslims are in jail without any legal help.
The whole system is rotten, my comrades. We need to build a new one. We need to organize masses for communism. I know all the comrades from ICWP are fighting in similar conditions in different parts of the world.
Comrades, you give me hope that victory will be ours. The struggle is long. We will stand with each other in solidarity. A revolutionary is driven by feelings of love. No powers in the world can defeat that. Lots of love to all the comrades of ICWP. I hope to meet you all one day.
Long live humanity! Long live ICWP! Long live revolution! Lal salaam. Red Salute!
— Comrade in India
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