ON this Day of International Working Class Solidarity, May Day 2020,

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic – one of the worst tragedies that struck humanity in a century,

Leading to an impending economic crisis predicted to be the worst since the Second World War,

CITU

Expresses its heartfelt gratitude and class pride at the invaluable services being rendered by –

All the front line health workers, the doctors, nurses, paramedical staff, the sanitation workers and all other workers across the globe, risking their lives to safeguard the lives of others

Extends solidarity to

The working class, who keeps the wheels of economy and society running during the lockdown by maintaining essential services - water, electricity, transport, communication, financial services, milk, groceries, vegetables, medicines, etc to sustain life for the hundreds of millions of people locked down in many countries, braving huge personal difficulties and sufferings

All the peasants and agricultural workers who continue to feed the world,

And all the workers and other toiling people, the unsung heroes and heroines who are the real ‘wealth creators’, the unseen powers that propel the world

CITU

Deeply condoles the families of the millions of people across the world who lost their dear ones to the Covid-19 pandemic

Stands in solidarity with

The hundreds of millions who suffer from the disease and many of whom are also stigmatised by sections of society, for no fault of theirs, and

The many other hundreds of millions who live in anxiety and fear – of the virus and of the future of their livelihoods and lives

On this May Day, CITU

Asserts that the only way to overcome the present crisis due to the Covid -19 pandemic as well as the already existing global economic crisis, is for the workers and all sections of toiling people to unite; unite by demolishing the walls being built between them in the name of religion, race, region, caste, ethnicity, language, gender etc; Unite as human beings to protect lives, livelihoods and the earth and environment that sustain our lives and livelihoods

The Covid -19 pandemic has stripped naked the inhuman and barbaric nature of the society that we live in today – the capitalist system and its neoliberal avatar

The challenge that the novel coronavirus, an invisible micro organism, has thrown before humanity in this twenty first century, requires a united fight to protect lives, to mobilise the entire world’s scientific and technological knowledge, financial resources, pool all our human strength to fight and defeat it.

Instead, what we see today is the most hideous and repulsive face of the capitalist system.

When tens of millions have lost their jobs and incomes, have become homeless, and their families go hungry due to the lockdowns, the big corporates and businesses are making use of the pandemic, retrenching workers, cutting their wages, increasing work hours, denying them their rights. The corporate friendly governments that rule in many countries are taking advantage of the situation to help their corporate masters by changing labour laws to curtail the rights of workers, legalising the illegal violation of labour laws by the employers and suppressing democratic rights. Pandemic or no pandemic, what matters to the capitalists and the governments representing them is not the lives and livelihood of the toiling people who create wealth, who keep the wheels of society moving; it is only the profits of the capitalist class. Profit is their god; not Ram or Allah or Jesus. They use people’s religious beliefs to divide people, to make them fight each other, but when it comes to exploiting people, attacking their rights, the capitalists are united and they exploit and attack all the workers; no discrimination or favouritism here.

US imperialism, the most powerful country in the world stands exposed today. In a most cruel and barbarous display of its hegemonic aggression, it continues its economic and political war against Cuba, Venezuela and Iran. It supports Israel to deny Palestinians their right to Motherland. It is blocking many countries from accepting the unilateral offers of medical help from Cuba and also blocking any international assistance from reaching Cuba. USA has stopped any help reaching Iran invoking its sanctions resulting in many preventable deaths. What is more heinous is the diversion and stealing of consignments meant for various countries, including India and even its European allies. Trump has warned India of ‘retaliatory measures’ if it does not lift ban on export of Hydroxychloroquine, which he believes can cure the coronavirus disease. Germany, France, Canada and Brazil and some other countries have accused the US for its attempts to block face-masks, PPE and testing kits designated to their countries. This is nothing but modern day piracy.

And recently the USA has stopped funding to the World Health Organisation, which has been helping the world to deal with the critical situation arising due to the corona pandemic, accusing it of siding with China.

The claims of USA as the world leader also stand totally discredited today. It has totally failed to protect its own people despite its unprecedented advance in science and technology, because of its policies. Health care in the USA is run by private corporates with profit motive. This has proved to be totally inadequate and incapable of dealing with a public emergency like the coronavirus pandemic. The private corporate health sector is unwilling to give up its profits even in situations like this. The public hospitals do not have beds, ICUs, ventilators and personal protective equipment for its health care personnel. So while the rich can buy better medical facilities, the poor die in thousands. President Trump also failed to take early measures to contain the disease. Thus today, USA has reported the largest number of cases and the largest number of deaths.

USA, that seeks to dictate terms to the world with its military might, does not care to allot adequate resources for the health of its own people. It is not able to provide its own people with hospital beds, ventilators; it is not able to provide its own health staff with personal protective equipment. At the same time Trump announced $500 billion worth package for the monopolies, $29 billion for airlines and $17 billion for security companies.

This is imperialism, as Lenin termed it ‘The highest stage of capitalism’. As the crisis aggravates, so does the gangsterism of imperialism rise, exposing its most degraded and heinous side.

Under neoliberal capitalism, even some advanced capitalist countries, which had better public health systems like the UK, Italy etc have cut down social welfare expenditure including on public health, education etc and promoted privatisation. This has further worsened with the austerity measures taken up after the global crisis of 2008. The result of this is now evident in their inability to meet the requirements of the present crisis as in Italy, Spain, UK, France etc. Spain had to nationalise private hospitals to meet the crisis now.

The world has not yet recovered from economic crisis that has engulfed it in 2007-2008, when the coronavirus pandemic struck. Now it is widely predicted that the world economy would slip into the worst economic crisis the world has ever seen. This has also brought to the fore the antagonisms between the imperialist countries. Trump has been reported to have offered funds to lure CureVac, a German company developing a potential vaccine against coronavirus, into coming to the US and exclusively working for it; Germany refused medical equipment to Italy. Italy and Spain prohibited exports to Greece. Germany and Netherlands denied help to Spain, Italy and France having large number of deaths due to the coronavirus.

But when it comes to protecting the profits of the capitalists by attacking the hard won rights of the workers, all the capitalist countries are united.

It is only the workers and the working class governments, the socialist countries that have always extended solidarity to the toiling people everywhere. Unity is the urgent need also in the midst of this worst Corona pandemic, and that is unity of the entire toiling class united to fight the exploitative system, which does not hesitate to barter human lives and livelihood with insatiable greed for profit.

Cuba has sent doctors to Italy and several other countries to help fight the coronavirus. When many countries including the USA refused permission to a British ocean liner carrying passengers and crew diagnosed with coronavirus, to dock in their ports, Cuba allowed the ship to dock in its port and safely transported the people to their country.

That is the stark contrast between socialism and capitalism, between highest form of humanism and predatory barbarism. 

China, the first country to be affected, mobilised all its resources to stop its spread. WHO said theirs was ‘the most ambitious, agile and aggressive disease containment effort in history’. This was possible because of the strong public health system in China and its commitment to an ‘accessible, equitable, affordable and efficient health system to cover all people’. It was the result of planning and the socialist system where the driving force is not profit, but people.

During every crisis and emergency, it is only the much vilified public sector that rises to the occasion and comes to the rescue of the nation and the people. This was seen in the 2008 global financial crisis. It was the public sector banks and financial institutions that came to the rescue; the public sector kept the national economy floating; it was the public sector pharmaceutical companies that contained the multinational drug companies and provided affordable medicines to our people. Now it is the public hospitals, the government doctors, nurses, para medical staff, the sanitation workers, who are working 24 hours a day to save lives and contain the virus. In almost all capitalist countries including India, they are waging an unequal war, fighting like soldiers without weapons, without the essential protective gear, risking their own lives and of their family members. Many of them have lost their lives in the process. On the other hand, the private corporate hospitals utilise the situation to reap super profits, at the same time exploiting their staff.

This is what the capitalist system is. Not only in the health sector; it is the same everywhere – in education, housing, social security, work place, labour rights… profits for the capitalists, miseries and deprivation for the workers and toiling people; governments working for the corporates and big businesses.

It is the same in India. The public health expenditure in India is only around 1 per cent of GDP. The health system is one of the most privatised. Out of pocket expenditure on health comprises nearly 70 per cent of total expenditure on health. Only 44 per cent of inpatient care is provided in the government hospitals. India promotes health tourism. People who  can afford come from other countries for medical treatment in the big corporate hospitals. At the same time, the poor in our country are dying in thousands of preventable and curable diseases like diarrhoea and tuberculosis. Under neoliberal policies, public hospitals are being neglected and in some states, even primary health centres are being privatised. Naturally our public health system is unable to meet the requirements of the present corona pandemic. Our doctors, our nurses, the para medical staff, ASHAs, the sanitation workers and others are compelled to work without the minimum protection, risking their lives.

Of course, Kerala is an exception. The LDF government has planned the necessary measures even when the coronavirus disease was limited to China because many students from the state are studying in China. It has taken all the necessary precautions including testing, tracking, isolation, quarantine etc. The public health care system has been developed over the years in the state with the LDF governments, motivated by socialist goals, taking measures to strengthen it, whenever they are in power.  

It is a shame that in this situation when the working class, particularly the unorganised workers are suffering from job losses, loss of wages and incomes, the BJP government reportedly  wants to hasten labour law changes to push them into slave like conditions. The workers today are reeling under the triple whammy – the pre existing global economic crisis, the coronavirus disease and the totally unplanned preparation-less lockdown. The Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry demands suspension of the provision of formation of trade unions for at least one year, extension of the period of 90 days to clear dues related to PF and ESI and reduction of wages of the contract workers to Rs 202 per day on par with the MGNREGS workers. Employers Federation of Southern India demands 12 hours working day and suspension of revision of dearness allowance and exemption from even the few punitive measures for labour law violations.  The government of India is reportedly moving towards amending the Factories Act to increase working hours to 12 a day and 72 a week. Already the BJP governments of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh have issued notifications in the matter. The BJP government led by Modi is also reported to be pushing through the labour code bills now with the parliamentary standing committee on labour, through an ordinance or executive order. This is nothing but a brazen attempt by the government to gratify their big corporate masters and donors by pushing the workers into slave like conditions.

The ugly communal face of the RSS and its tentacles spread over the country were exposed when even a human tragedy like Covid-19, which does not discriminate between religions, castes etc, is being utilised to spray communal venom and attack the Muslims on the pretext of the Tablighi jamaat. This was despite the fact that not only were such congregations held by several other religions including by ISKON in London, but also many political leaders including BJP leaders celebrated birthdays, marriages and shradh ceremonies involving hundreds of people, violating the lockdown guidelines, endangering their own health and that of others.

The coronavirus and the economic crisis that existed before it have exposed the capitalist system’s inability to address the basic needs of the common people, of providing employment, decent and dignified living conditions, education, and health for all. The inherent exploitative, divisive and disruptive character of the system has also been laid bare for everyone to see.

At the same time, working class solidarity in its best was also displayed in these times of distress. Workers and toiling people, the poor peasants, agricultural workers and many progressive sections have been working untiringly during the most critical period of lockdown to stand by and extend support to the suffering workers and migrant workers who lost their jobs and incomes and were stranded in different places, far from their homes. They reached lakhs of such workers to provide food, relief and all kinds of support including moral support throughout the country.  CITU is proud of its committees, cadres and activists, even those in organisationally weaker areas, who did enormous work beyond their capacity demonstrating class solidarity in these difficult times. 

The difference between capitalist greed and exploitation and working class solidarity and sacrifice is now crystal clear for everybody to see. It is time the working class and the people in general compare words with deeds. It is time for all toiling people to match speeches of leaders with their own experiences; to understand that their issues are linked with the policies, that these policies are in turn governed by the politics of the exploiting class.

In the midst of deepening crisis of the neoliberal capitalist order, further aggravated by the corona pandemic, the ruling class is being more aggressive and cruel in their onslaught on the toiling peoples’ rights to life and livelihood. Human lives have little value for the profit greedy capitalist class. The continuing crisis is making them more arrogant, authoritarian and pounce on all rights of people, disrupt their unity and divide them on the basis of religion, caste etc. The ruling classes will be using the corona pandemic to justify such measures, with the support of the corporate media and befool the people. Workplaces and working conditions are already being targeted and will further be targeted for restructuring in favour of the capitalists increasing job losses and unemployment.

The working class cannot and will not accept this lying down. The present situation vindicates the understanding of the 16th Conference of CITU that the working class has to heighten united struggles to a new phase of defiance and resistance. May Day 2020 needs to be observed with the pledge to prepare ourselves, both organisationally and ideologically for such united struggles. 

It is time for the working class to expose the intrinsic failure of the capitalist system. It is the time for us to identify who stands for whom and for what; to realise against whom to fight and with whose support. We know that our struggle against daily problems is just. We need to understand that our struggle for social liberation of the working class is necessary; that united we can achieve it.

As the class oriented working class organisation, we must make consistent and continuous efforts to expose the cruel system that puts profits before people, before all toiling people.  On this May Day, which coincides with the 150th birth anniversary of Lenin, the great teacher of the working class, let us take up this task in right earnest.

Thus, on this May Day, let us pledge to:

Unite to fight the coronavirus, to stay safe and protect people’s health

Unite to fight to defend the right of eight hour working day, which is already under attack

Unite to fight the manoeuvres and machinations of the capitalists and the governments that represent them to shift the burden of the economic crisis aggravated by the virus entirely on to the working class

Unite, to fight the dirty attempts of the capitalists and the governments that represent them, to pauperise the workers and denude them of their hard won rights while protecting profits and wealth of the big corporates, generated by the working class and the toiling people

Unite and fight to thwart all attempts to disrupt working class unity and unity of all toiling people and divide them on the basis of religion, region, race, caste, ethnicity and gender

Unite to fight and defeat the attacks of imperialism on the workers and people of the world to establish its hegemony and push the diktats of international finance

Unite and fight to heighten the struggle for the end of the exploitative capitalist system and usher in a new exploitation free society, a socialist society

Long Live May Day
Long Live Working Class Solidarity
Long Live Worker Peasant Alliance
Long Live Socialism
Down With Capitalism