Unite All Sections Of The Working Class

Written by: Ned K on 6 May 2023

In the Chinese Revolution Mao Zedong emphasized the importance of uniting all who can be united among the people and also the importance of how to correctly handle differences or contradictions amongst the people. Mao made a distinction between how to handle differences between the ruling class and the working class and how to handle differences within the working class. Unite the many to defeat the few was his way.

The same method of work applies to progressive forces within the working class today in Australia.

Living standards for workers in Australia are declining as the cost-of-living increases. Rising interest rates and the inflation rate far exceeding wage increases. Out-of-work workers are expected to live on $50 a day, while those in a job are told that wages are increasing through enterprise bargaining to an average of 3.5% across the private sector. 

This is happening with Labor Governments now "in office" in most Australian States and Territories and nationally.

Workers are looking for answers while the ruling monopoly capitalist class is keen to divide workers rather than have them unite with all who can be united against the ruling class.

Within unions, there are often differences of opinion among members on how to progress resolution of issues.

In some Unions there can sometimes be difference of opinion between elected and appointed Officials, or a neglect of the ideas of appointed Officials or Delegates by the inner circle of the Union Officials.
 
In some industries Union Officials of one Union compete with Union Officials of another Union to convince workers to join one Union rather than another in a workplace where they see big increases in membership and hence finances as a real possibility. Meanwhile thousands of harder to organize workers are neglected. This sometimes causes division among the affected workers in the targeted workplaces and raises the level of alienation of unorganized workers from the organized sections of the working class. The overall result is to weaken the fight against the ruling class.

Another potential division between Unions within an industry or sector is caused by affiliation or non-affiliation with the ALP. 

Some Unions claim to be more "left" than others because they are "non-political" and only concerned about the immediate economic demands of workers. However, in reality they may in some areas have covert political connections with reactionary political organizations.

Then there is the deliberate strategy of the ruling class in diverting workers from class struggle through promoting "identity politics" of one form or another in the hope of dividing workers whether it be women v men, First Nations v non-Indigenous Australian workers, new migrants v second or third or fifth generation migrants and so on.

We all need to spread the word about the bosses' divisive tactics and strategies and make sure that uniting the many to defeat the few is always in command within the working class as a whole.

Print Version - new window Email article

-----