May Day 2007 in Pakistan May Day rallies and meetings were held all across Pakistan and Kashmir earlier this week. The PTUDC and The Struggleplayed a large role in commemorating May 1st. we publish here some of the reports and photos of the magnificent mobilisation of the working class in Pakistan.
Punjab schoolteachers on the move Punjab schoolteachers have launched a struggle in defence of their rights and for improved working conditions. The Punjab government has not paid the allowances announced in the last budget and are now planning to privatise the schools which were put under state control in the 1970s.
Signal Staff workers of Pakistan Railways on the move After the successful mobilisation of stationmasters at Pakistan Railways, the signal staff have taken action for the improvement of their working conditions. Monstrously exploited, and working according to pay scales which have not changed since 1974, the workers are organising to struggle for their rights.
Recognition of private property in China: The leadership of the CCP leads the capitalist counter-revolution China has recently passed a law recognising the right to privately own the means of production. What is the significance of this and what lies behind it?
Afghanistan, by Frederick Engels 1857 We are making available to our readers an article written by Engels on Afghanistan 150 years ago. In spite of the years that have passed the article is still relevant today. The imperialists did not understand the situation in Afghanistan then as they continue not to understand it today.
Pakistan: Threats to workers in struggle reinvigorate movement at Taunsa Barrage The workers of Taunsa Barrage upheld their end of the bargain. They agreed to return to work on the promise that all of their demands would be met within 48 hours. Not only have management not met these demands, they have hired thugs to threaten the workers and PTUDC activists.
Meeting in solidarity with Airbus workers in Multan The Pakistan Trade Union Defence Campaign Multan held a meeting yesterday in solidarity with the Airbus workers. Participants were informed about the struggle of Airbus workers in France and other European countries, and discussed the campaign demanding the nationalisation of the company.
A Belgian Marxist in Pakistan Maarten VH, active as a Marxist student in Belgium and now collaborating with the Editorial staff of Marxist.com, went to Pakistan recently and attended the conference of the Marxists of The Struggle. Here he gives some of his impressions about the situation in Pakistan.
Workers’ struggle at Taunsa Barrage led by PTUDC puts capitalist extortionists on back foot The workers of the Taunsa Bridge have won an important victory in their struggle for payment of wage arrears and improved working conditions. Most of their demands have been met, and the rest will be fulfilled within 48 hours.
Pakistan: Workers challenge the brutality of multinational corporation at Taunsa Barrage A bitter strike has erupted at the Taunsa Barrage in Pakistan, as workers are demanding payment of wage arrears and better working conditions. One worker, whose wife was in hospital delivering a child, was beaten when he asked for payment of his wages to pay for proper medical care. His wife ended up dying in hospital due to lack of funds to pay for care.
India: Nandigram – the brutal massacre of peasants at the hands of the ‘Left’ front government On March 14 up to 100 peasants in Nandigram, West Bengal, were brutally massacred by the police as they protested against land-grabbing operations. The leaders of the CPI-M in the local government have justified this action as part of their so-called “development modelâ€. The contradictions between the leaders of the Indian communist movement and the millions of workers who support them are posed here sharply.
Nepal: Maoists enter National Unity Government! On March 31 the Nepalese Maoists joined a coalition government with bourgeois parties. From armed struggle they have gone to ministerial portfolios. Now the masses will be expecting something concrete for themselves, real economic and social improvement. But will this be possible in such a Popular Front coalition?
Veteran Pakistan Communist speaks to Marxist.com - Jam Saqi Jam Saqi, is the former general secretary of the Communist Party of Pakistan. He has joined The Struggle, the Marxist tendency in Pakistan. In this interview he explains how he became active and finally came to understand the limitations of Stalinism. He invites all genuine revolutionary workers and youth on the South Asian subcontinent to join the International Marxist Tendency and struggle for socialist revolution.
A Specter is Haunting Indonesia – The Specter of Marxism The Indonesian ruling class thought they had destroyed Marxism forever when they brutally suppressed the Communist Party of Indonesia in 1965. However, people and organizations are born and die, come and go, but ideas cannot be killed. Just ten years after the overthrow of the Suharto regime and the promise of democracy and prosperity, not much has changed in Indonesia - except that the workers and youth are searching for ideas that can lead to a fundamental transformation of society, the ideas of Marxism.
Pakistan: Lawyers’ Protest shows crisis of regime The lawyers of Pakistan by taking to the streets to oppose an arbitrary act of the dictatorship have demonstrated their desire to fight, and if properly led, they could go far further than the immediate issue, to a genuinely national revolutionary struggle for democracy. Instead of that, all the indications are that the lawyers' movement is beginning to weaken and subside. Why is this?
