In China, in Hong Kong and everywhere in the world, “workers are no slaves!”
Statement of the International Labour Network of Solidarity and Struggles
CSP Conlutas (Brasil) and Union syndicale Solidaires (France), on behalf of The International Labour Network of Solidarity and Struggles, met in Hong Kong brothers and sisters of Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU), on their invitation.
The delegation also met representatives of the civil society, feminists and domestic workers. The first and important conclusion of these meetings is that the situation in Honk Kong is deeply worrying, about basic rights, labor rights, women’s rights, social situation and civil liberties.
In continental China, we already knew that the central power was drastically restricting liberties and workers rights. A new law against foreign NGOs had been passed by the Bejing regime. But according to the fact that Hong Kong NGOs are its main target it seems that the principle « One country, two systems » started to become One country under one central autoritarian power, mainland China’s one.
The law passed by the Bejing regime began to be effective on 1 January 2017. Its aims is to strictly control and monitor (or suppress), the activities in mainland China of all overseas NGOs, including those based in Hong Kong and Macao.
Among the targets of the government are the NGOs who support the workers and help them to self organize. The Bejing regime wants the Labor NGOs can no more operate except from Hong Kong. The goverment clearly wants the regime-controlled union center to be the sole legal representation of workers in mainland China.
That’s clearley an attack against democracy, social justice and freedom.
China’s governement shows by other means it’s disregard of workers, especially the poorest ones and the internal migrants. As we know, China is a paradigm of savage capitalism, with its true face, authoritarianism. Meanwhile, housing speculation strikes the poorest. And housings are erased to build new ones more profitable.
Poorest populations are victims of savage evictions in several cities in China’s mainland. These people are poor workers, without living wages and social security a state of facts that reminds the 19th century working class condition. From poorest and rural areas of China, a lot of migrants came to big cities to find jobs. Those ones, when they are evicted, lose their job at the same time. Last week, a suspicious fire destroyed buildings in Beijin (Pékin) and inhabitants were just and simply evicted, it involves more than 300 people !
For these reasons, a collective in Hong Kong called for a demonstration in solidarity with evicted people ; invited by HKCTU, and for the International labor network, we were part of this demonstration, in solidarity and because we have the deep belief of the necessity of international organisation of struggles. People during the march were saying loud « Workers are no slaves » !
See the statement and petition below: Stop the Violent Eviction of the Urban Poor; Respect the Housing Rights of the People, initiated by HKCTU and CLB, ARMC, SACOM... https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfN79LgqAMvotgJgjRKPDRUuwm6QP2E9frYLEPRj5LkWhHGGg/viewform
And during the delegation, we also had the opportunity to point the multiples forms of exploitation that multi- or trans- nationals commit in every countries in the world. For exemple Apple that produces its iPhone in a Taiwan based transnational that operates in Shenzhen (China). Due to their work conditions, workers of Foxconn are injuried, underpaid, and a lot of them commited suicides.
In China, a lot of European multinationals operate too, exploiting workers of China with government agreement. Or in Brasil, automobile workers of Chery - a Chinese multinational - are under pressure by the owner of the factory.
Everywhere in the world, we face the same rule of the multinationals : the savage rule of capitalism.
With brother and sisters we met in Hong Kong, we agreed more than ever on the necessity to organise ourselves at an international scale, in order to build workers’ international solidarity and struggles and to Stop MultiXploitation, transnationals multiples forms of exploitation of workers in the world.
Our organizations, through the international network, will work in this direction.