Nagasaki Peace Declaration 2025: Full Text
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*Statement issued by Nagasaki Mayor Suzuki Shiro, on the 80th year of
nuclear bombing.*
The post Nagasaki Peace Declaration 2025: Full Text appeared firs...
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Showing posts with label Workers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Workers. Show all posts
European and Indian farmer protests, common issues: Soma Marla
Written By mediavigil on Wednesday, February 14, 2024 | 7:07 AM
Farm distress experienced by small farmers in India and was genuinely
mirrored in the year-long Kisan struggle against the pro-corporate
three farm laws brought by Indian government. Both small farmers and
working class in India identified big corporate bourgeoisie as common
class enemy and are waging relentless struggles untimely for the last
three years. They are demanding legal guarantee for purchase of crop
produce, regulation of soaring prices and increase government (public)
expenditure in agriculture. The proposed Bharat Bandh on February 16th, 2024 is called by United
Farmers group (SKMU) and Central Trade unions. An expected participation
of nearly 20 crore (200 million) toilers and likely to bring the
nation to a standstill. (Photo:Soma Marla)
In 2020, while introducing three farm bills, Indian Prime Minister had declared that free markets (replacing state
market yards) with participation of major corporate houses would promote
competition and there by benefit farmers with profitable prices If
de-regulating agricultural markets and bringing corporate control over
agriculture were a viable alternative, there is no reason why European
farmers today are agitating against big agri corporations.
Farmers are protesting all across the Europe. Their major demand being is primarily against denial of an assured and rightful price for their produce. Farmers virtually blocked all seven motorways leading to Paris with thousands of tractors and are camped outside the city. Beginning in France, the protests soon spread over to Germany, where enraged farmers paralysed half of Berlin. The farm stir has also spread to Romania, the Netherlands, Poland, Lithuania, Romania, Bulgaria and Belgium. Farmers in Spain, Italy and Greece are preparing to organize huge rallies. Some young farmers were seen spraying farm manure and cow dung on government buildings and at some busy thoroughfares old tyres and agricultural waste set to fire, besides stopping vehicles carrying imported foodstuff and dumping it on the streets. While Paris supermarket shelves are getting empty of fresh farm produce, shopping mothers find it hard to answer to the questions rised by accompanying children. These European protests remind the protesting Indian farmers camping in the outskirts and blocking the highways leading to Delhi a few years back. I find similarities between the two agitations.
In Europe farmers are being burdened by huge debts, squeezed by powerful retailers and agrochemical companies, battered by extreme weather, and undercut by cheap foreign imports. In Poland cheap imports of grain has brought the grain prices down by 30 percent. Adding fuel to farmers stir is decision by governments of France and Germany to withdraw diesel subsidies and increase insurance charges to farm machinery. The unwise sanctions on oil and gas imports from Russia also contributed to high levels of inflation and energy crisis. The root of farm crisis lies in low prices of farm produce in markets and left to the mercy of big agribusiness cartels and corporate houses. Ironically, European Unionshielded by Green box, masks the WTO guidelines and subsidizes up to nearly 60 to 70 percent of production costs to their farmers. European Union provides huge support of $107 billion per year ( EU, 20-22 ) and European farmers, are among the highest recipient of subsidies and direct income support. However, 80 percent of this goes to mere 20 percent of rich farmers and seed, agrochemical firms leaving bulk of the small farmers to content with penury.
The protests are primarily against denial of an assured and rightful price to farmers. In European Union a small farmer receives mere 27 percent of what a consumer pays for farm products in a supermarket (Nature Food, 2021). In India too a farmer gets just 27 to 31 paisa on every rupee of purchase by a consumer in a supermarket or a local Kirana store. A lions share being pocketed by the value chain starting from local grain merchant to super market or big agribusiness corporate house.
In beginning of XIXth century, Karl Kautsky opined that farm products are kept low valued in markets against industrial goods artificially in markets so as to drain the surplus in favour of metropolitan industry. It is estimated that of the total agricultural GDP of 22 Lakh crore rupees, an Indian farmer is loosing nearly 15 Lakh crore rupees to intermediate grain retailers and big corporate agribusiness and supermarket chains.
The grip of global agribusiness corporations is so strong that nearly 40 percent of seed market is controlled by BASF SE, BAYER, Corteva Agro, Syngenta and others, while a mere three agribusiness giants viz.. Cargill, ADM and ZenNoh control nearly 50 percent of global grain supplies. Similarly a handful of companies like John Deer, New Holland control 90 percent sale of global tractors, harvest combines and other machinery. It is suspected that the gory food crisis witnessed in Egypt, Burkina Faso, Tunisia, Indonesia and other countries was nothing but created by these global grain cartels for big profits.
It is crystal clear by now that liberalised markets have failed to enhance farm incomes. It shows that the tailored economic reforms are being implemented to benefit big agribusiness on the expense of small farmers. Hence, Indian farmers (SKMU) and major Trade unions are waging for the last three years a relentless struggle against corporate control of agriculture, markets and denial to cheap food to a vast majority of toiling masses.On February 16th these two bodies have called for Gramin Bandh, a nation wide village strike demanding a law for guaranteed purchase of agricultural produce at higher price and regulate rising food prices.
European and Indian farmers alike are agitating against low prices and big agribusiness corporate controls. This mirrors ongoing global struggle by toilers against finance imperialism.
(Author: Dr. Soma Marla, Principal Scientist (Genomics), retd, Indian Council for Agricultural Research, New Delhi)
Courtesy: Mainstream
Workers worldwide against authoritarianism, fascism and dictatorship
Written By mediavigil on Wednesday, February 02, 2022 | 8:32 AM
During a discussion on the book "If Not Us, Who?: Workers worldwide against authoritarianism, fascism and dictatorship organised by Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, Geneva, one asked, "What happened after the Marikana massacre? who was held accountable?" Marikana massacre wherein 34 miners were killed by the South African Police Service (SAPS) on 16 August 2012, during a wildcat strike at the Lonmin platinum mine in Marikana, Rustenburg, North West province, South Africa. The question arose from the presentation of Nicole Ulrich's paper on “The Wheel is Turning”: Fighting Apartheid with Workers’ Democracy, 1950–1990" wherein she underlined the narrowing of political imagination of participatory democracy and expressed dismay at the role of pseudo Left leaders and charismatic leaders in a situation where their long time ally African National Congress has adopted neo-liberal policies. Marikana massacre caused fractures in the trade unions.
Responding to the question, Dr. Dale T McKinley, the author of Mapping the world of casualised work and struggle in South Africa responded saying,
"In response to the question about whether anyone has been held responsible for the Marikana Massacre: The only (unsuccessful) criminal prosecution that has taken place involved one of the police generals at the time (Lt Gen Mpembe). The Police Commissioner at the time, Riah Phiyega, was subsequently dismissed from her post. The Farlam Commission on Enquiry concluded that several police leaders should be held accountable but no legal cases have since been launched. Most of the recommendations for reform of police conduct and training etc. have not been implemented. Anna Calori, the author of "Bosnia-Herzegovina: Workers’ Organization at the Root of the 2014 Social Uprising" spoke about the February 2014 saw the largest mass protests in Bosnia and Herzegovina since the fall of socialist Yugoslavia and the ensuing wars. Protests against privatization and mass lay-offs characterized the whole decade between 2003 and 2013, leading to the largest mass protests in the region in February 2014. The unrest started in Tuzla, once the industrial heart of Bosnia, where a number of large state firms had collapsed in the process of privatization. Her paper demonstrates the strength of cross-generational and inter-ethnic social mobilisations. The focus on socio-economic inequalities that affected citizens the most, regardless of their ethnic or religious background resulted in the famous slogan, “We are hungry in three languages” (pointing towards the three official languages of Bosnia) was a powerful reminder of the movement’s rejection of identities that divide them. She described the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia as plural authoritarian.
When Domingo Perez, the co-author of the paper "Anti-Neoliberal Revolt and General Strike 2019" was asked as to how November 2019 social outbreak and popular revolt led to the election of 35 year old Gabriel Boric government in Chile. One learnt from him that Gabriel Boric was involved in the Peace Agreement and in organising the Constitutional Referendum. Although Communist Parties are strong in Chile, there is a anti-communist feeling in Chile that supports Boric who does not have a organisational base of his own. One learnt about 301 social actions in one day during the popular revolt. The fall of the authoritarian government is attributed to the relationship that developed between social movements and trade unions.
During his talk Domingo recalled how the dictatorship Augusto Pinochet that was established after the democratically-elected socialist government of Salvador Allende was overthrown in a US-backed coup d'état on September 11, 1973 paved the way for privatisation and liberalisation, which led to enormous social and economic inequality for several decades even after the departure of Pinochet in 1990.
Responding to protests against rising costs of living and inequality, billionaire President Sebastián Piñera declared a state of emergency in October 2019. On 15 November, 2019 most of the political parties represented in the National Congress signed an agreement to call a national referendum in April 2020 demanding a new Constitution. On October 25, 2020, some 80 per cent voted in favor of a new constitution. A second vote was held on April 11, 2021, to select 155 Chileans who form the convention which will draft the new constitution. On 19 December 2021, leftist candidate, the 35-year-old former student protest leader, Boric, won Chile's presidential election defeating José Antonio Kast linked to Pinochet related Chilean Republican Party. Allende's granddaughter, Maya Fernandez Allende is the defence minister in the Boric cabinet.
Jeremy Morris, the co-author of the paper "Neo-Authoritarianism, Co-optation, and Resistance
Workers and Alternative Unions in Russia" points out that bargaining power at the sector level is fragile in Russia because collective agreements are limited to the plant level. The unions’ actions are primarily local. As a consequence, these unions do not have collective bargaining partner at the sector level and beyond. Although there was successes in enforcing collective bargaining in agreements at the unit of German manufacturer Volkswagen and Benteler in 2012 owing to old legacy of Russian working class, the fact remains the concerned union members came under the scanner of the Russian security apparatus. He spoke about the emergence of new solidarity among service sector workers like in Uber and food delivery sector. He categorised the situation in Russia as liberal authoritarian.
The moderator, Dario Azzellini, the editor of the book and the author of the paper "The Pandemic and Class Struggle", observed that new struggles and organizational structures are already emerging all over the world but they have yet to establish themselves as a unified front. He contested the idea of death of worker state and worker class identity and expressed hope in social transformation processes. He referred to some 200 opposition movements in 150 countries between 1900 and 2006 which were mostly urban mobilizations. This mapping is limited till 2016. Had he been covering the period till 2021, he may have noted the rural uprising in terms of world's largest year-long protest of farmers and farm workers in India.
Jan Leidecker, Director, RLS, Geneva concluded the discussion.
Notably, Nicole draws on a poem by worker poet Alfred Qabu for the title of her paper The Wheel is Turning. One cannot imagine solidarity of the working classes without poetry.