On 27 April, 217 Cuban health workers arrived in South Africa to assist in the fight against Covid-19. Across the left there has been a stampede to praise “socialist” Cuba. But there has been little said of any substance. However the history of Cuba since 1959 is full of lessons for workers and young people, especially in the neo-colonial world [...]

Whilst South Africa has been on a lockdown, aeroplanes grounded and at least one airline liquidated across the world, the struggle for the future of South African Airways has continued. Under the whip of big business, government is set to take full advantage of the global aviation industry crisis the pandemic has triggered. They want to break the workers’ resistance, bury SAA and create a new privately-owned entity parasiting on the state. We believe that the rhetoric in the Numsa leadership’s latest statements on SAA cannot hide the fundamental retreat they have made in the five months since the strike ended. Unfortunately they still do not put forward a genuine alternative a struggle [...]

A historic weakening of US imperialism following recent decline, and a strengthening of China, are set to shape a new balance in world relations. US imperialism emerged from the 1930s depression in a far -strengthened position. It will emerge from this crisis weakened and increasingly challenged by China. A new period of international relations is posed [...]

Convene a Saftu Congress and a second Working Class Summit before the end of May to re-arm the working class with a clear socialist programme for the new period of global pandemic and capitalist crisis. The working class needs its own post-Covid ‘recovery plan’ [...]

The 5,000 EPWP workers falling under Gauteng’s Department of Infrastructure Development have not received their April stipends [...]

There is growing concern over police and military brutality in the enforcement of South Africa’s twenty-one day lockdown regulations [...]

The government had time to prepare for this calamity. But it spent all its time devising an austerity budget to cut social spending and wages. What is worse is that the government is completely unprepared for the economic fall-out from the pandemic [...]

The capitalist class are not trying to resolve the Eskom crisis in the interests of the working class majority. Rather, they are jockeying for position amongst themselves for a slice of the enormous wealth that Eskom controls [...]

The Need for a Socialist Alternative.Statement from International Secretariat of the Committee for a Workers International - 23 March 2020 [...]

The coronavirus will be used by the bosses to excuse a thousand sins against workers in the coming weeks and months. This is the real class content of “a united nation”. It is an appeal to unite behind the capitalist class and accept their leadership in the crisis [...]