NUMSA CONDEMNS XENOPHOBIA AND CALLS ON THE WORKING CLASS TO UNITE

24 September 2019

The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) condemns in the strongest terms any forms of xenophobia or crimes committed against foreign nationals. Tensions remain high in Katlehong since the xenophobic violence which started a few weeks ago. There is tension between locals and foreign nationals and we are concerned that the situation is a ticking time bomb which is ready to explode.

A group of local businessmen want foreign nationals out of the townships. They are targeting shopkeepers and the allegation is that they are undocumented and therefore are not paying tax, and law enforcement is doing nothing about it. The failure of the SAPS to deal with crime and criminal elements in our communities is at the heart of xenophobia. This is made worse by the failure of the capitalist ANC government to genuinely transform the lives of the poor and the working class for the better.

Today, as we celebrate Heritage Day, a group of local businessmen demanded that foreign nationals close their shops and leave the township. It is clear that hostility and suspicion between locals and immigrants continues to grow and it seems to be worsening everyday in that area.   We condemn all those who are responsible for violence and those who have been deliberately driving a campaign to foster hatred between us and our African brothers and sisters from the continent.

Violence against immigrants began early this month and was sparked by the murder of Jabu Baloyi who was shot dead, allegedly by a foreign nation who was dealing in drugs. It is alleged that the taxi driver was confronting the man for dealing in drugs when he was killed. Baloyi died trying to defend his community and his family against drugs. We send our deepest sympathies to his family who have lost a father and bread winner. His death caused an uproar in Tshwane with some locals participating in violent protests and looting.

Since the unrest began, twelve people have been killed in acts of violence so far, and it seems the death toll will continue to climb. Ten of those who were killed are South African. We call on those using social media to foster hate and spread xenophobic comments against our brothers and sisters from the continent to stop immediately, because their actions have deadly consequences for all of us.

We reject this cruel and violent behavior and call on members of the working class, of all races and nationalities, to unite, and to defend one another. It is in the interests of the Capitalist class for us to attack one another. If we kill and maim each other, then we won’t notice how this government and its Capitalist policies are destroying our lives every day. Capitalism is failing to deliver on its promise of a better life. For the last twenty-five years, under the leadership of the ANC, it has been unable to undo the legacy of Apartheid. Instead, the rich are getting richer every day, and the working class is getting poorer.

We are grateful for the intervention of members of the Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party (SRWP) in Ekurhuleni who are on the ground, trying to mediate between local businessmen and foreign shopkeepers and the community. They have been out in the community everyday trying to quell tensions and stop the violence. Genuine Socialists must play their role of uniting the working class against the true enemy which is the Capitalist system which is responsible for worsening conditions for the poor and the working class.

Since 1994 the ANC has allowed White Monopoly Capital to continue to own and control key sectors of the economy. After 1994, the ANC should have nationalized key sectors of the economy, namely the banks, the mineral wealth and the land. Had it done so, it would have been able to create more jobs and create and develop new sectors of our economy, so that the working class majority would be actively and gainfully employed, instead of languishing under the burden of crippling mass unemployment, poverty and inequality. We agree with the statement issued by SAFTU our federation when it says,

“In the context of these levels of poverty and unemployment, there exists intense levels of competition for resources between South Africans. Growing and desperate levels of competition for shrinking jobs, on a housing backlog, for collapsing public services is fueling xenophobia and other prejudices threating the social and political cohesion of the working class. Opportunist politicians are seizing on these to scapegoats the poor migrants for the dismal failure of the neoliberal austerity.”

At the same time, the government has relaxed exchange controls so much, that foreign companies are able to shift and transfer their profits overseas, at the expense of economic development in the country. There are calls for tighter border control, but where are the calls for the tightening of exchange controls on the economy? Capitalists can quickly and easily move money out of our economy, to overseas markets, destroying our economy, but members of the working class, who are migrating to different parts of the world in search of a better life, must be restricted from moving between borders.

Moodys reported in 2017 that South Africa lost R350 billion rand in a space of 18 months because of capital outflows. This has a direct impact on our ability to grow the economy and create jobs. These borders which we are defending were created by colonizers and capitalists for their benefit, and not for the benefit of the working class. We are a Marxist-Leninist inspired trade union and we are fully aware that capitalism always acts to serve its own narrow class interests. We cannot be expected to defend borders which were used to justify colonization and the rampant exploitation of African labour, in order to enrich a few white owned multinational conglomerates.

Foreign nationals are being used as a scape goat for the problems facing the working class and the poor. They are blamed, and accused of ‘stealing jobs’ and as a group, they are condemned for criminal behavior. We want to make it clear that we do not tolerate criminality of any kind, but we reject the idea that if one immigrant is caught committing a crime, then all immigrants are criminals.

As a union we have first-hand experience of companies going out of their way to hire foreign nationals, and super-exploiting them. And at the same time, they refuse to hire local workers because they do not want to be subject to the Labour Relations Act. Employers know that immigrants are vulnerable because of their status and they can exploit them much more than local labour, and subject them to shocking working conditions. When they do this, they know very well that they are setting up one section of the working class against another, for a violent confrontation. 

As we speak, companies are retrenching workers by the thousands. As a union we receive several retrenchment notices almost weekly from different companies. Capitalists are using retrenchment as a mechanism to make more money. Foreign nationals do not play any role in that decision, and yet, we are being misled into believing that they are to blame for the high rate of joblessness. This is a lie and we reject this false claim with the contempt it deserves.

What is to be done?

We must continue the work of uniting the working class. As a union, we call on our regions to intensify the work of organizing foreign nationals into the union so that we can ensure that employers cannot abuse them and use them to undermine the hard won gains which workers fought so hard for in this country. Whether they are immigrants or locals, it is our duty to ensure that all workers are protected from being abused by the greedy bosses. We must organize every worker to oppose our true enemy, which is the brutal system of Capitalism, and fight for a just Socialist society.

We must fight, especially, for a united Socialist Africa as the only solution to the violence caused by the divisions the capitalists plant among the working class. There is no alternative. The working class must destroy this violent, destructive vicious and savage capitalist system which is worsening our conditions.

NUMSA calls on all its members to participate in and support campaigns to defend and protect immigrants in our communities. There can be no African who is a foreigner on the continent! Only the unity of the working class can save us from the barbarism created by the Capitalist system!

Aluta continua!

The struggle continues!

Issued by Irvin Jim, NUMSA General Secretary, 24 September 2019