Defend 5,000 Striking South African Clover Workers!
The United Front Committee For A Labor Party UFCLP (https://www.facebook.com/masslaborpartyusa) is initiating United Front demonstrations in solidarity with the South African Clover workers. We print below the CWG-USA’s statement followed by the UFCLP’s United Front call……
The Communist Workers Group USA, the US section of the International Leninist Trotskyist Tendency (ILTT), expresses solidarity with the striking South African Clover workers and all the workers and oppressed of South Africa.
We support the Clover workers who are demanding:
- The unconditional reinstatement of all retrenched workers
- The complete scrapping of all austerity measures including the 20% salary cuts.
- The disinvestment of Milco SA/CBC
- Nationalization of Clover SA and its complete trans-formation into a co-operative run by workers and communities.
We Demand:
In the face of strikebreaking violence by Clover’s private security forces and the state thugs, workers need to organize disciplined workers’ defense guards. Prepare to face the violence of Zionist Milco and the international Coca Cola empire.
NO NEW MARIKANAS!! For class wide self-defense committees against the bosses’ and state thugs!
Down with Zionist Milco, exploiters of Palestinians & South African workers and farmers! Down with Assad, enemy of the Palestinian revolution and guarantor of the Zionist regime! Victory to the Clover workers! Rehire all laid off and restore all pay cuts, retroactively!
Down with the ANC’s Tripartite popular front, agents and frontmen for the two imperialist blocs! Nationalize Clover under workers control and without compensation; break all ties & nationalize all Zionist and imperialist property in South Africa.
Today during the terminal decline of capitalism it is ever more urgent to build an international workers movement that mobilizes solidarity with all workers and oppressed under attack by every capitalist regime: South African workers, Black people facing racist cop terror in the US, the Palestinians under attack by Zionist Israel, Chinese Workers under the thumb of the restorationist CCP, the Syrian masses under the genocidal thumb of Assad and those who face the bombings by both US and Russian imperialism.
It is essential that the South African working class break with the ANC tripartite Popular front, who are the agents of the two imperialism blocs.
To build an effective international workers solidarity movement, workers in the US need to break with the Democrats and build their own fighting labor party.
To win socialism we need to build a revolutionary workers party in South Africa to fight for power to smash capitalist class rule. For the Permanent Revolution! For a Workers and poor farmers Government based on workers and poor farmers councils!
For a socialist South Africa as part of a Socialist Federation of Southern Africa! For a new workers International based upon the demands and method of Trotsky’s Transitional program.
Workers of the world unite!
– CWG-USA, 01/23/2022
The United Front call is printed below initiated by the United Front Committee For A Labor Party UFCLP (https://www.facebook.com/masslaborpartyusa)
Global Day of Action
Defend 5,000 Striking South African
Clover Dairy Workers
Rallies In New York, Los Angeles & San Francisco At Israeli Consulates
Thursday Jan 27, 2022
12:00 Noon
San Francisco Israeli Consulate
456 Montgomery St San Francisco, CA 94104
Los Angeles Israeli Consulate
6380 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles
New York Israeli Consulate
800 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Clover is the largest dairy company with 5,000 workers. In 2019, the ANC government allowed it to be taken over by the Israeli billionaire Wertheim family. They promised to protect jobs until October 2022, but they are now laying off thousands and shutting plants in ru- ral communities with plans to import Israeli product. The company also imposed a 20% cut in wages.
The South African Federation of Trade Unions, General Industrial Union of South Africa, and Food and Allied Workers union are also demanding that the company be nationalized and that it be run under workers con- trol. They are also supporting an international day of solidarity action.
Actions will be held at Israeli consulates, embassies, South African consulates, embassies, and the Israeli bank Mizrahi Tefahot which is owned by the Wertheim family and is the third largest bank in Israel.
The Wertheim family also control the Coca-Cola fran- chise through the Central Bottling Company, CBC.
They support and fund Israeli settlements on Palestinian land and the Israeli Defense Forces.
On January 18th, in an escalation of the attacks on strik- ing workers by Clover bosses, rubber bullets were fired at workers injuring them at the Clover Clayville plant in Johannesburg. The use of rubber bullets by Clover’s pri- vate security forces is linked up directly with the treat- ment of Palestinians except they use bullets to terrorize and murder.
Workers’ demands are clear:
1. The unconditional re-instatement of all retrenched workers
2. The complete scrapping of all austerity measures including the 20% salary cuts
3. The disinvestment of Milco SA/CBC
4. Nationalization of Clover SA and its complete trans- formation into a co-operative run by workers and com- munities.
Initiated by
United Front Committee For A Labor Party UFCLP (https://www.facebook.com/masslaborpartyusa)
