Workers lead the fight for a better world

by Alice M.

 On 1^st May the working class celebrates the victories of workers’ collective struggles for a better life for working people.  On this day the working class demonstrates that the fight for justice and workers’ rights is not over, and asserts its own independent vision for fundamental change.

The declaration of International May Day in 1886 drew inspiration from the Melbourne stonemasons’ victorious strike action in 1856 for an 8 hour working day. The stonemasons’ victory came 2 years after the 1854 Eureka Stockade rebellion in Ballarat, with some of the Eureka rebels leading the 8 hour day fight.

May Day declares that improvements to the rights and living standards of working people can only be won through collective actions of the working class.

The capitalist ruling class constantly schemes and uses different tactics to take away these gains, and weaken the collective power of the working class.   It’s only the unity, organisation and determination of workers and many allies in the community that can push back the capitalist class assault.

Resist big business attacks

The living standards, workers’ rights, and community and welfare services won in struggle by working people over many years are again under sustained and far reaching attack by the multinational corporations and their servile parliament. 

Monopoly capitalism is in deep economic crisis and is shifting the burden on to the backs of ordinary people. However, public outrage at the 2014 austerity budget, promoted by the Business Council of Australia, has forced big business and the Abbott government into temporary retreat.  They are now coming back with the softer tactics of rolling out austerity incrementally.

Multinational corporations and banks operating in Australia are raking in super-profits created by the collective labour of millions of workers in Australia.  Very little of these mega-profits stay in Australia.

Tax evasion by multinational corporations, banks and local big business is the norm, and runs into the billions of dollars.  At the same time, the multinationals demand increasing and extending the GST, putting more hardship on ordinary people.

Volumes of anti-worker and anti-union laws are rushed through the federal and state parliaments to chain down organised labour and suppress working class resistance. Draconian, anti-worker laws have been strengthened through the legal and administrative powers of Fair Work and the ABCC.

People’s democratic rights are being wound back whilst the anti-democratic and oppressive powers of the capitalist state are expanded and extended in preparation for people’s resistance and struggle.

Big business runs parliament

The Business Council of Australia, the peak body representing the 100 largest, mainly foreign corporations in Australia, sets this country’s economic and industrial relations agenda.  They demand austerity and the crushing of the organised working class.  The BCA wrote the Commission of Audit Report that spelled out big business demands for the 2014 anti-people austerity budget.  The same handful of multinational monopolies and banks are now instructing the Productivity Commission.

Irrespective of which parliamentary party holds office, Labor or Liberal, the real power in this country lies in the corporate boardrooms of multinational and local corporations who run this country.

Independent working class agenda shows the way forward

 

Working class demands and mass action based in workplaces and communities, and not tied to parliamentary parties and reliance on parliament, have enormous capacity and power to organise, unite and mobilise the working class and communities to fight back the big business assault and advance the interests of all working people.

An independent working class agenda will advance people’s immediate demands for a decent standard of living for all people, workers’ rights and democratic rights and job security.  It will vigorously oppose austerity and promote taxing the profits of multinational corporations and big business to pay for public health, education, public transport, affordable housing, social and community services for all.  It will put forward an alternative vision for our country that puts the needs of the people above the electoral fortunes of politicians and parliamentary parties, and the profit interests of big business. 

The independent working class agenda will build broad unity and mobilise the working class, city and rural communities, farmers and environmentalists.   It will unite people from all walks of life who are attacked by the capitalist economic crisis.

Every day in struggle the people come up against the imperialist domination of our country.  They find out that the real power in this country is held by the multinationals, banks and big business, not the people.

The mass movement towards an anti-imperialist, independent Australia is growing.  It is a necessary step towards a genuine socialist Australia where the working class will run the country for the well-being of the majority, not a tiny handful of multinational corporations and banks.

Fight for Workers’ Rights!

Fight for our Living Standards!