Video New Year Message from World Federation of Trade Unions General Secretary
http://www.wftucentral.org/?p=2939&language=en#more-2939
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
The right of humanity to exist - Fidel Castro
CLIMATE change is already causing considerable damage and hundreds of millions of poor people are suffering the consequences.
The most advanced research centers assure that very little time is left for avoiding an irreversible catastrophe. James Hansen, of NASA’s Goddard Institute, says that a level of 350 parts carbon dioxide per million is still tolerable; today, however, the figure is in excess of 390 and it is increasing at a rate of 2 parts per million every year, exceeding the levels of 600,000 years ago. Each one of the last two decades has been the hottest ever recorded. The abovementioned gas increased 80 parts per million in the last 150 years.
The ice of the Artic Sea, the vast, two-kilometer-thick layer that covers Greenland, the glaciers of South America which feed its principle sources of freshwater, the colossal volume that covers Antarctica, the layer that covers Kilimanjaro, the ice that covers the Himalayas and the enormous frozen mass of Siberia are visibly melting. Notable scientists fear qualitative jumps in these natural phenomena that give rise to changes.
Humanity placed great hope in the Copenhagen Summit, after the Kyoto Protocol signed in 1997, which entered into effect in 2005. The summit’s resounding failure gave way to shameful episodes that require due clarification.
To read the rest of Fidels reflection log on to:
http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2009/diciembre/lun28/Reflections-26dic.html
The most advanced research centers assure that very little time is left for avoiding an irreversible catastrophe. James Hansen, of NASA’s Goddard Institute, says that a level of 350 parts carbon dioxide per million is still tolerable; today, however, the figure is in excess of 390 and it is increasing at a rate of 2 parts per million every year, exceeding the levels of 600,000 years ago. Each one of the last two decades has been the hottest ever recorded. The abovementioned gas increased 80 parts per million in the last 150 years.
The ice of the Artic Sea, the vast, two-kilometer-thick layer that covers Greenland, the glaciers of South America which feed its principle sources of freshwater, the colossal volume that covers Antarctica, the layer that covers Kilimanjaro, the ice that covers the Himalayas and the enormous frozen mass of Siberia are visibly melting. Notable scientists fear qualitative jumps in these natural phenomena that give rise to changes.
Humanity placed great hope in the Copenhagen Summit, after the Kyoto Protocol signed in 1997, which entered into effect in 2005. The summit’s resounding failure gave way to shameful episodes that require due clarification.
To read the rest of Fidels reflection log on to:
http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2009/diciembre/lun28/Reflections-26dic.html
Success in Venezuela
Chávez highlights results of the construction of socialism in Venezuela
CARACAS, December 27.— Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez today confirmed that the country is achieving unprecedented results with respect to the construction of socialism and satisfying the basic needs of human beings, reported PL.
We could say that today in Venezuela, without fear of exaggeration, we are leaving behind the hell to which we have been subjected by those who misused the mandate of our people for 4o long years, stated the president in his weekly article "The Lines of Chávez."
Among the most recent results, the head of state highlighted the introduction of Mission Baby Jesus and the creation of the Bicentenario State Bank, which has taken over from private banking institutions charged with multiple violations.
"Our goal is to eradicate the use of the damaging weapons with which capitalism has inoculated us with since time immemorial and I acknowledge that that is no easy task," he affirmed.
In his final article of 2009, the statesman called on the Venezuelan people to join this crusade and prepare themselves to defend the sovereignty of the nation on all terrains.
Translated by Granma International
The anti-people budget - CPI
Speech by Eugene McCartan,
General secretary, CPI
10 December 2009
Comrades and friends,
The speakers before me have dealt in some detail with the contents of the budget and the effect the various provisions will have on working people. Yes, Brian Cowen may have taken a 20 per cent cut in wages, along with other members of the Government; but his salary is still six times the average industrial wage.
Ultimately this is all mere window-dressing, designed to placate the anger of the people. Make no mistake: what is happening here in Ireland, and also internationally, is a massive and unprecedented transfer of wealth from working people to the economic and corporate elite of our society. The past and present budgets and current economic policies have been design to facilitate a massive transfer of wealth from the poor and workers upwards to that elite.
The economic and social policy of this state is to maintain the status quo, and in this it is directed and controlled by the European Union and the European Central Bank. This Government will take no decisions without first clearing them with Brussels.
To read the rest of the speech log on to the below:
http://www.communistpartyofireland.ie/c-budget.html
General secretary, CPI
10 December 2009
Comrades and friends,
The speakers before me have dealt in some detail with the contents of the budget and the effect the various provisions will have on working people. Yes, Brian Cowen may have taken a 20 per cent cut in wages, along with other members of the Government; but his salary is still six times the average industrial wage.
Ultimately this is all mere window-dressing, designed to placate the anger of the people. Make no mistake: what is happening here in Ireland, and also internationally, is a massive and unprecedented transfer of wealth from working people to the economic and corporate elite of our society. The past and present budgets and current economic policies have been design to facilitate a massive transfer of wealth from the poor and workers upwards to that elite.
The economic and social policy of this state is to maintain the status quo, and in this it is directed and controlled by the European Union and the European Central Bank. This Government will take no decisions without first clearing them with Brussels.
To read the rest of the speech log on to the below:
http://www.communistpartyofireland.ie/c-budget.html
Monday, December 14, 2009
Statement by Tudeh Party of Iran
Four members of the board of directors of the Syndicate of Workers of Haft Tappeh Sugar Cane Company were summoned by the intelligence forces and were sent to Dezful prison to serve their terms.
Ali Nejati, the president of the board of directors, wrote a letter and called upon all the workers and working people of the country to lend their helping hands and protest these unjust sentences. The letter stresses: “We have strived to secure our rights and to defend the legitimate demands of Haft Tappeh workers and to gain the bare minimum means of subsistence and human dignity, but we are sentenced and imprisoned... We know that forming independent workers organizations is the inalienable right of workers. While the employers organize freely, those workers who form their sovereign organizations are sentenced and imprisoned. We believe that we workers will be able to win our demands and wishes only through own efforts and unity and solidarity. I and my fellow workers at the Syndicate of Workers of Haft Tappeh Sugar Cane Company will be in jail for six months... Today is the day to support those workers in Haft Tappeh who have struggled for the workers’ rights and were elected by Haft Tappeh workers to represent them in an independent organization, and today are being sentenced to jail only because of defending their labour rights... I hope we would strive to form our independent labor organizations through stronger unity and solidarity so that we can achieve our legitimate rights and demands! Wishing for ever increasing unity of the workers!”
The trial and incarceration of the union activists reveals the true nature of the theocratic regime of Velayat-e Faqih (Supreme Leadership) and the anti-national coup-born government. Such actions cannot weaken the Iranian working class' resolve for their trade-political rights, including their right to revive and organize independent unions. Furthermore, in the current situation, summoning and jailing labour activists means threatening the working people. The putschists' goal is to avoid the spread of workers struggles and their joining with the general movement against the election coup in the country.
Tudeh Party of Iran strongly condemns the arrest and incarceration of the members of the board of directors of the Syndicate of Workers of Haft Tappeh Sugar Cane Company and calls for their immediate release and the recognition of the workers inalienable right to organize trade unions. Revival of the workers’ trade union rights and confronting the anti-labor policies of the ruling reaction is tied to the firm alignment with the general anti-despotic movement in the country.
Freedom for all the Political Prisoners!
Freedom for the Incarcerated Workers and Union Activists!
Ali Nejati, the president of the board of directors, wrote a letter and called upon all the workers and working people of the country to lend their helping hands and protest these unjust sentences. The letter stresses: “We have strived to secure our rights and to defend the legitimate demands of Haft Tappeh workers and to gain the bare minimum means of subsistence and human dignity, but we are sentenced and imprisoned... We know that forming independent workers organizations is the inalienable right of workers. While the employers organize freely, those workers who form their sovereign organizations are sentenced and imprisoned. We believe that we workers will be able to win our demands and wishes only through own efforts and unity and solidarity. I and my fellow workers at the Syndicate of Workers of Haft Tappeh Sugar Cane Company will be in jail for six months... Today is the day to support those workers in Haft Tappeh who have struggled for the workers’ rights and were elected by Haft Tappeh workers to represent them in an independent organization, and today are being sentenced to jail only because of defending their labour rights... I hope we would strive to form our independent labor organizations through stronger unity and solidarity so that we can achieve our legitimate rights and demands! Wishing for ever increasing unity of the workers!”
The trial and incarceration of the union activists reveals the true nature of the theocratic regime of Velayat-e Faqih (Supreme Leadership) and the anti-national coup-born government. Such actions cannot weaken the Iranian working class' resolve for their trade-political rights, including their right to revive and organize independent unions. Furthermore, in the current situation, summoning and jailing labour activists means threatening the working people. The putschists' goal is to avoid the spread of workers struggles and their joining with the general movement against the election coup in the country.
Tudeh Party of Iran strongly condemns the arrest and incarceration of the members of the board of directors of the Syndicate of Workers of Haft Tappeh Sugar Cane Company and calls for their immediate release and the recognition of the workers inalienable right to organize trade unions. Revival of the workers’ trade union rights and confronting the anti-labor policies of the ruling reaction is tied to the firm alignment with the general anti-despotic movement in the country.
Freedom for all the Political Prisoners!
Freedom for the Incarcerated Workers and Union Activists!
Friday, December 11, 2009
Free the 5!
Dear Sisters and Brothers from Cuba and from all over the World:
We have already served more than 11 years in prison and there is still no justice at any level of the American legal system.
Three of us have come to the Miami Court to be re-sentenced due to an order from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which determined that our sentences had been erroneously imposed.
Our brother Gerardo Hernández, who is serving two life terms plus 15 years, has been arbitrarily excluded from this re-sentencing process. His situation remains the principal injustice in our case. The US Government is well aware of the falseness of the accusations against him and the unfairness of his sentence.
This has been a complex process, difficult and much discussed in every detail, in which we participated along with our counsels. We did not give an inch in our principles, decorum and honor, always defending our innocence and the dignity of our Homeland.
Just as it did at the moment of our arrest and at other occasions during these long years, the US Government proposes now that we collaborate to obtain more benevolent sentences. Once again, we have rejected such proposals, something that we never will accept under any circumstances.
Present in the results of these re-sentencing hearings are the work of the legal team and the indestructible solidarity of all of you.
It is significant that the US Government, for the first time in 11 years, was obliged to recognize that we did not cause any damage to its national security.
Also, for the first time, the prosecutor publicly recognized the existence of a strong international movement in support of our immediate freedom, a movement that affects the image of the US judicial system in the eyes of the international community.
Once again the absolute political character of this process is confirmed.
We the Five are punished for accusations that never have been proved. Although three of our sentences were partially reduced, the injustice remains for all of us.
The Cuban-American terrorists continue to enjoy total impunity.
We reiterate: The Five are innocent!
We feel profoundly moved and grateful for the permanent solidarity that you give us, so crucial in this long battle for justice.
Together with you, we will continue until the final victory, which only will be reached with the return of the Five to our Homeland.
Antonio Guerrero
Fernando González
Ramón Labañino
Miami, December 8, 2009
We have already served more than 11 years in prison and there is still no justice at any level of the American legal system.
Three of us have come to the Miami Court to be re-sentenced due to an order from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which determined that our sentences had been erroneously imposed.
Our brother Gerardo Hernández, who is serving two life terms plus 15 years, has been arbitrarily excluded from this re-sentencing process. His situation remains the principal injustice in our case. The US Government is well aware of the falseness of the accusations against him and the unfairness of his sentence.
This has been a complex process, difficult and much discussed in every detail, in which we participated along with our counsels. We did not give an inch in our principles, decorum and honor, always defending our innocence and the dignity of our Homeland.
Just as it did at the moment of our arrest and at other occasions during these long years, the US Government proposes now that we collaborate to obtain more benevolent sentences. Once again, we have rejected such proposals, something that we never will accept under any circumstances.
Present in the results of these re-sentencing hearings are the work of the legal team and the indestructible solidarity of all of you.
It is significant that the US Government, for the first time in 11 years, was obliged to recognize that we did not cause any damage to its national security.
Also, for the first time, the prosecutor publicly recognized the existence of a strong international movement in support of our immediate freedom, a movement that affects the image of the US judicial system in the eyes of the international community.
Once again the absolute political character of this process is confirmed.
We the Five are punished for accusations that never have been proved. Although three of our sentences were partially reduced, the injustice remains for all of us.
The Cuban-American terrorists continue to enjoy total impunity.
We reiterate: The Five are innocent!
We feel profoundly moved and grateful for the permanent solidarity that you give us, so crucial in this long battle for justice.
Together with you, we will continue until the final victory, which only will be reached with the return of the Five to our Homeland.
Antonio Guerrero
Fernando González
Ramón Labañino
Miami, December 8, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Endorse the Gaza Freedom March! Sign the Pledge Today!
A year since the deadly Israeli attacks on Gaza in which 1,415 Palestinians were killed (including 318 children) and over 5,000 injured, no homes or schools have been rebuilt; most children have no textbooks or school supplies; the water and sewage systems have not been repaired; people are still dying for lack of medical care. How long must 1.5 million people wait before they can begin to reconstruct their lives? The siege must end. The borders must be opened. Governments have failed to act. We must act instead.
On 31 December, 2009, Irish civilians will be amongst the 1,000 international men and women who will end the year by marching alongside the Palestinian people of Gaza in a non-violent demonstration to demand that Israel end the illegal siege of Gaza.
Please endorse the Gaza Freedom March – sign the pledge:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/424/t/9750/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=2055
On 31 December, 2009, Irish civilians will be amongst the 1,000 international men and women who will end the year by marching alongside the Palestinian people of Gaza in a non-violent demonstration to demand that Israel end the illegal siege of Gaza.
Please endorse the Gaza Freedom March – sign the pledge:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/424/t/9750/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=2055
Monday, December 7, 2009
WFDY Statement on US in Afghanistan
The last week witnessed a new decision by the U.S. administration to send 30.000 more
troops to boost the war in Afghanistan. At the same time, other allies in NATO agreed to send 7000 additional troops mainly from European countries.
It is important to mention that the same president who leads the wars in two countries, Iraq and Afghanistan, won a Nobel Prize for Peace few weeks ago, in a glowing sign that the interests of imperialism are the only criteria used by the world’s main leaders, away from the advertising slogans of democracy and human rights. Democratic rights of the people of Iraq and Afghanistan start from their right to live in independence and sovereignty without the death squads and the occupation armies used by imperialism.
WFDY strongly condemns those moves by USA and its allies in NATO and EU governments
because they will only bring more death and misery to the people of Afghanistan and also to all the people of the world.
WFDY demands USA, EU and NATO to immediately halt their military actions in
Afghanistan and withdraw their troops out so that the people of Afghanistan can choose their own path of governance. WFDY also supports the democratic and secular forces of Afghanistan which are fighting against the occupation armies and against Taliban and religious extremists at the same time.
WFDY expresses its deep solidarity with the innocent youth and people of Afghanistan
being victims of imperialism and extremism, and call them to escalate their struggle for their free independent future.
No army has been able to defeat the will of the people when the people are united in their struggles, and the future of the youth and the people in the world shall only be prosperous and safe in a world with no occupation and war, in a world where imperialism is defeated.
troops to boost the war in Afghanistan. At the same time, other allies in NATO agreed to send 7000 additional troops mainly from European countries.
It is important to mention that the same president who leads the wars in two countries, Iraq and Afghanistan, won a Nobel Prize for Peace few weeks ago, in a glowing sign that the interests of imperialism are the only criteria used by the world’s main leaders, away from the advertising slogans of democracy and human rights. Democratic rights of the people of Iraq and Afghanistan start from their right to live in independence and sovereignty without the death squads and the occupation armies used by imperialism.
WFDY strongly condemns those moves by USA and its allies in NATO and EU governments
because they will only bring more death and misery to the people of Afghanistan and also to all the people of the world.
WFDY demands USA, EU and NATO to immediately halt their military actions in
Afghanistan and withdraw their troops out so that the people of Afghanistan can choose their own path of governance. WFDY also supports the democratic and secular forces of Afghanistan which are fighting against the occupation armies and against Taliban and religious extremists at the same time.
WFDY expresses its deep solidarity with the innocent youth and people of Afghanistan
being victims of imperialism and extremism, and call them to escalate their struggle for their free independent future.
No army has been able to defeat the will of the people when the people are united in their struggles, and the future of the youth and the people in the world shall only be prosperous and safe in a world with no occupation and war, in a world where imperialism is defeated.
ANTICOMMUNISM IN POLAND
The CC of the Communist Youth of Greece strongly condemns the new anti-communist evolutions in Poland. The Polish government, immersed in the anti-communist spirit that develops under the wing of the EU, banned the use of the historical symbols of the international communist movement. After the unacceptable fiestas that the European imperialists organized on the anniversary of the 20 years of the fall of the Berlin Wall, it is demonstrated again that their announcements on “democracy” and “freedom” are not only empty words but also the cover of the monopolies dictatorship.
After the Baltic countries, Hungary and the Czech Republic now it is turn for another country-member of the EU to ban the sickle and hammer and the red star, that symbolize the struggle against capitalist exploitation. They utilize all the means that their system of power provides, the European Parliament, the Organization for Security and Collaboration of Europe, the National Courts and Ministries, to launch a war of strain against the communists, the vanguard of the working class in each country.
Once again it is proved that anticommunism has one goal: to push the communists, Communist Parties and Youth Organizations, in changing their goal, the overthrow of capitalism and the perspective of Socialism, as the only response to the growing needs of the peoples today. Their objective is, especially in the former socialist countries, to uproot the successes of socialism by every means from the consciousness of the peoples. They want to make the peoples forget the sacrifice of millions of communists in the war against nazism-fascism, in the routing of fascism in the 2nd World War. They want us to forget the achievements that the workers had, with the communists as their vanguard, in every aspect of their lives; the working day of 8 hours, free education and healthcare, social security, and all the other achievements, due to the international impact of Socialism in the USSR and the other countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Achievements that today are taken back one after the other by the anti-popular politics that serve the profits of the monopoly enterprises in a desperate need to overcome the capitalist crisis.
We remain committed to the struggle for socialism-communism, as it is the only system where the working class and the peoples of the world can fulfill their needs, where all the nations and countries can live peacefully and in collaboration.
Especially nowadays the international economic crisis of capitalism reveals the historic limits of this socio-economic system and the magnitude of its decay. It reveals the necessity of the revolutionary overcome of capitalism, and its replacement by another socio-economic system that will have the needs and rights of the peoples in its epicenter; namely, socialism-communism.
KNE calls on to the Greek youth, to mobilize and demand the immediate canceling of all the anti-communist and anti-socialist laws and regulations that have been taken in Poland and in all the countries of the EU.
KNE expresses its solidarity with the Communist Youth of Poland and with all Polish communists and affirms that will strengthen the struggle against anti-communism and the slandering and distortion of socialism, to reinforce our anti-imperialist struggle and the international cooperation between the communist and progressive anti-imperialist youth organizations, in order to respond to the new imperialist aggression against the working class and the youth
The Department of International Relations
of the CC of KNE
04/12/2009
After the Baltic countries, Hungary and the Czech Republic now it is turn for another country-member of the EU to ban the sickle and hammer and the red star, that symbolize the struggle against capitalist exploitation. They utilize all the means that their system of power provides, the European Parliament, the Organization for Security and Collaboration of Europe, the National Courts and Ministries, to launch a war of strain against the communists, the vanguard of the working class in each country.
Once again it is proved that anticommunism has one goal: to push the communists, Communist Parties and Youth Organizations, in changing their goal, the overthrow of capitalism and the perspective of Socialism, as the only response to the growing needs of the peoples today. Their objective is, especially in the former socialist countries, to uproot the successes of socialism by every means from the consciousness of the peoples. They want to make the peoples forget the sacrifice of millions of communists in the war against nazism-fascism, in the routing of fascism in the 2nd World War. They want us to forget the achievements that the workers had, with the communists as their vanguard, in every aspect of their lives; the working day of 8 hours, free education and healthcare, social security, and all the other achievements, due to the international impact of Socialism in the USSR and the other countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Achievements that today are taken back one after the other by the anti-popular politics that serve the profits of the monopoly enterprises in a desperate need to overcome the capitalist crisis.
We remain committed to the struggle for socialism-communism, as it is the only system where the working class and the peoples of the world can fulfill their needs, where all the nations and countries can live peacefully and in collaboration.
Especially nowadays the international economic crisis of capitalism reveals the historic limits of this socio-economic system and the magnitude of its decay. It reveals the necessity of the revolutionary overcome of capitalism, and its replacement by another socio-economic system that will have the needs and rights of the peoples in its epicenter; namely, socialism-communism.
KNE calls on to the Greek youth, to mobilize and demand the immediate canceling of all the anti-communist and anti-socialist laws and regulations that have been taken in Poland and in all the countries of the EU.
KNE expresses its solidarity with the Communist Youth of Poland and with all Polish communists and affirms that will strengthen the struggle against anti-communism and the slandering and distortion of socialism, to reinforce our anti-imperialist struggle and the international cooperation between the communist and progressive anti-imperialist youth organizations, in order to respond to the new imperialist aggression against the working class and the youth
The Department of International Relations
of the CC of KNE
04/12/2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
Liam Clancy RIP
The family of Liam Clancy regret to announce the sad death of Liam who passed away at 12 noon today in Bon Secours Hospital , Cork , Ireland.
Liam, the last surviving member of the Clancy Brothers, is survived by his wife Kim and their four children, Eban, Siobhan, Donal and Fiona. his 8 grandchildren and his sisters Joan and Peg.
He will be sadly missed by family, friends and his many fans throughout the world.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Solidarity with Political Prisoners
The CYM wishes to express its solidarity on this international day with political prisoners around the world.
3 December · International Day of Solidarity with Political Prisoners
3 Nollaig · Lá Idirnáisiúnta um Dhlúthpháirtíocht le Cimí Polaitiúla
The Poor Cant Pay
Check out the below website with important you tube video
http://www.thepoorcantpay.ie/
http://www.thepoorcantpay.ie/
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
CPI's Socialist Voice
Click link below for latest edition.
http://www.communistpartyofireland.ie/sv/index.html
http://www.communistpartyofireland.ie/sv/index.html
PEOPLE'S VOICE - Issue of November 16-30, 2009
GLOBAL WAGES DROP DESPITE "ECONOMIC RECOVERY"
By Kimball Cariou
The International Labor Organization reports global growth in real wages slowed dramatically in 2008 as a result of the economic crisis, and wages are expected to drop even further this year, despite signs of a rebound in profits and stock prices. In an update of its Global Wage Report, the ILO also warns of worse times ahead.
The report says the deterioration of real wages around the world calls into question the true extent of an economic recovery, especially if government rescue packages are phased out too early.
In a sample of 53 countries for which data are available, the ILO finds growth in real average wages had declined from 4.3 percent in 2007 to 1.4 percent in 2008, and the picture is projected to get worse this year. ILO Specialist on the Conditions of Work and Employment, Patrick Belser, says declining wage rates are linked to the levels of unemployment.
"The quite dramatic unemployment figures, which we now see in some of the countries, this strongly suggests that there will be greater pressure on wages in the future as more people will be unemployed, more people will be looking for jobs and the pressure on employers to raise wages to attract workers will decline," he said. "So, we expect that the second part of the year will not be very good in terms of wage growth."
The report finds more than a quarter of the countries experienced flat or falling monthly wages in real terms. They include, the United States, Austria, Costa Rica, South Africa and Germany.
ILO economists say some nations have come up with polices to lessen the impact of lower wages during the economic crisis. An example of these is work sharing with government subsidies. Under this scheme, the number of individual working hours is reduced in an effort to avoid layoffs. For this scheme to work, the government must provide wage subsidies to compensate for lost pay due to the shorter hours.
Besler says a second important finding in the report is that both developed and developing countries have strengthened their minimum wages in recent years.
"A large number of countries, including major economies such as the U.S., Brazil, Russia, and also Japan have increased minimum wages by more than inflation figures in 2008. And, these countries have also addressed their minimum wages further in 2009," said Belser. "The ILO considers that minimum wages are an important tool for social protection and that everyone should have access to a decent minimum living wage."
The ILO also says the United States is reporting slightly higher rates of unemployment than Europe. October figures show a 9.4 percent U.S. jobless rate compared to 8.8 percent in the European Union.
The report calls the link between productivity growth and wage increases "essential for economic and social sustainability". It argues companies should be able to achieve competitiveness through rising productivity rather than by cutting labor costs. And, it correctly stresses that workers should have enough bargaining position to defend their wages.
However, the ILO's argument is weakened by its failure to consider the contradictions of capitalist economies. As Karl Marx revealed in Capital and other groundbreaking studies over a century ago, employers are compelled by the dynamics of their own system to constantly attempt to expand the total mass of surplus value (profits) created by workers, and to increase the level of exploitation within each enterprise.
The rising productivity referred to by the ILO report can be achieved through various means, including savings on fuel costs, the reduction of raw materials required per unit, cutting expenditures on storage, transportation, etc.
But the most significant way to increase productivity is to produce more goods or services with lower labour costs. This can be accomplished by investments in new labour-saving technologies, such as automation of processes to reduce the numbers of hired workers. Or it can be done through speed-up, forcing employees to work harder and faster, or by lengthening the working day. Another option, of course, is to reduce wages and benefits such as pensions or paid vacation time.
The competitive nature of capitalism forces every corporation to use these methods, or else face bankruptcy. Workers are the targets of this process, compelled to constantly resist pressure from bosses to work harder and longer, or to accept wage cuts and other concessions. The threat of unemployment is ever-present ("we'll move the plant to South Iglesia if you don't take this pay cut").
In a society based on working class political power and collective ownership of the means of production and natural resources, rising productivity is a means of increasing the average standard of living - higher wages, improved health care and education systems, greater levels of social equality, and so forth. This was the case in the Soviet Union and other socialist countries for decades before the restoration of capitalism, and it remains the basic feature of Cuba's socialist economy.
But under capitalism, the drive for higher productivity pits capitalists against each other, and workers against other workers. The ILO's latest report gives a useful picture of the serious crisis facing workers on a global scale; however, its solutions fall far short of what is really required.
Communist Party of Canada
By Kimball Cariou
The International Labor Organization reports global growth in real wages slowed dramatically in 2008 as a result of the economic crisis, and wages are expected to drop even further this year, despite signs of a rebound in profits and stock prices. In an update of its Global Wage Report, the ILO also warns of worse times ahead.
The report says the deterioration of real wages around the world calls into question the true extent of an economic recovery, especially if government rescue packages are phased out too early.
In a sample of 53 countries for which data are available, the ILO finds growth in real average wages had declined from 4.3 percent in 2007 to 1.4 percent in 2008, and the picture is projected to get worse this year. ILO Specialist on the Conditions of Work and Employment, Patrick Belser, says declining wage rates are linked to the levels of unemployment.
"The quite dramatic unemployment figures, which we now see in some of the countries, this strongly suggests that there will be greater pressure on wages in the future as more people will be unemployed, more people will be looking for jobs and the pressure on employers to raise wages to attract workers will decline," he said. "So, we expect that the second part of the year will not be very good in terms of wage growth."
The report finds more than a quarter of the countries experienced flat or falling monthly wages in real terms. They include, the United States, Austria, Costa Rica, South Africa and Germany.
ILO economists say some nations have come up with polices to lessen the impact of lower wages during the economic crisis. An example of these is work sharing with government subsidies. Under this scheme, the number of individual working hours is reduced in an effort to avoid layoffs. For this scheme to work, the government must provide wage subsidies to compensate for lost pay due to the shorter hours.
Besler says a second important finding in the report is that both developed and developing countries have strengthened their minimum wages in recent years.
"A large number of countries, including major economies such as the U.S., Brazil, Russia, and also Japan have increased minimum wages by more than inflation figures in 2008. And, these countries have also addressed their minimum wages further in 2009," said Belser. "The ILO considers that minimum wages are an important tool for social protection and that everyone should have access to a decent minimum living wage."
The ILO also says the United States is reporting slightly higher rates of unemployment than Europe. October figures show a 9.4 percent U.S. jobless rate compared to 8.8 percent in the European Union.
The report calls the link between productivity growth and wage increases "essential for economic and social sustainability". It argues companies should be able to achieve competitiveness through rising productivity rather than by cutting labor costs. And, it correctly stresses that workers should have enough bargaining position to defend their wages.
However, the ILO's argument is weakened by its failure to consider the contradictions of capitalist economies. As Karl Marx revealed in Capital and other groundbreaking studies over a century ago, employers are compelled by the dynamics of their own system to constantly attempt to expand the total mass of surplus value (profits) created by workers, and to increase the level of exploitation within each enterprise.
The rising productivity referred to by the ILO report can be achieved through various means, including savings on fuel costs, the reduction of raw materials required per unit, cutting expenditures on storage, transportation, etc.
But the most significant way to increase productivity is to produce more goods or services with lower labour costs. This can be accomplished by investments in new labour-saving technologies, such as automation of processes to reduce the numbers of hired workers. Or it can be done through speed-up, forcing employees to work harder and faster, or by lengthening the working day. Another option, of course, is to reduce wages and benefits such as pensions or paid vacation time.
The competitive nature of capitalism forces every corporation to use these methods, or else face bankruptcy. Workers are the targets of this process, compelled to constantly resist pressure from bosses to work harder and longer, or to accept wage cuts and other concessions. The threat of unemployment is ever-present ("we'll move the plant to South Iglesia if you don't take this pay cut").
In a society based on working class political power and collective ownership of the means of production and natural resources, rising productivity is a means of increasing the average standard of living - higher wages, improved health care and education systems, greater levels of social equality, and so forth. This was the case in the Soviet Union and other socialist countries for decades before the restoration of capitalism, and it remains the basic feature of Cuba's socialist economy.
But under capitalism, the drive for higher productivity pits capitalists against each other, and workers against other workers. The ILO's latest report gives a useful picture of the serious crisis facing workers on a global scale; however, its solutions fall far short of what is really required.
Communist Party of Canada
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
