We reproduce here the communiqué that we published on our website (www.igcl.org) and sent to our contacts the very day the Liege and Charleroi railways workers in Belgium launched an illegal wildcat strike while the unions had already planned Days of action and national strikes to control and counter this growing combativity. Besides the immediate potentialities – difficult to assess without being directly on location – it seemed to us important to point out the simultaneity of this fight with repeated strikes in the transportation sector in Germany, with railways and airlines affected. Had we the means to intervene on location, our communiqué would have been more agitational with concrete slogans for extension of the strikes without waiting for the unions’ Days of action. The workers’ combativity which expressed itself, in particular in the violent confrontations between the workers and the police during the demonstration in Brussels November 6th, confirms that there existed in the immediate situation a possibility for the class as a whole; a possibility that, in the end (December 15th Day of action), had been quelled by the unions’ tactic. Finally, the form “leaflet” of our communiqué could have allowed any worker or militant to reproduce it and distribute it in the assemblies, the demonstrations and workplaces and, thus, to serve as general orientation for which to fight.

Strikes in Germany, Belgium, Great-Britain: the Bourgeoisie Censors the Workers Struggles !

This very day, October 20, the staff of the Lufthansa (the German flight company) is on strike again. It so takes over the German railway workers strike of last week-end and of last Wednesday. The fact that these struggles paralyze national and international transportation, obliges the bourgeoisie’s medias to mention them. Otherwise they could fully discredit themselves.

But, this very day, October 20th, who – outside Belgium – could know that 5 to 7000 workers demonstrated in Brussels yesterday against the effects of the crisis? Who knows that today, this very morning, October 20th, the railway workers from Charlerio (Le Soir was talking of Liege this morning) are on wildcat strike against the sabotage of the ’autonomous union of the train drivers (SACT) [which] «is going to demonstrate its discontent through muscular actions which will be in the legal framework and will be announced well in advance so that the customers won’t be taken hostage» has it said Sunday night without giving any date’ (Belgium newspaper Le Soir, October 19th, the previous day thus!). Who has known that the railway workers of the Belgium region of Louvière had already, a week ago, gone on wildcat strike?

Who has known – outside Great Britain – that strikes and demonstrations had been held in all the country the whole of last week, under the control of the unions, up to great street demonstrations in London, Glasgow, etc. ?

The bourgeois media systematically censor any news about working class struggles. It is important that the ’wildcat’ strike, i.e. illegal and against the unions, of the Liege railway workers doesn’t represent an example to follow and be elsewhere copied! Then, it is also one of our tasks, it belongs to the revolutionaries with their limited means attempting to by-pass the wall of silence of the bourgeois propaganda; or still the wall of lies and distortions when the ruling class can’t silence anymore the active opposition of the workers through the collective and class struggle against the catastrophic effects of the economic crisis on their living and working conditions.

Since the reality is this one: on all continents, in all countries, the working class tries to resist through the struggle. And if the response is still largely insufficient today to make the bourgeoisie withdraw its attacks, nevertheless it represents an immediate obstacle and an historical danger for capitalism.

The repeated strikes in Germany, even though they remain under the unions’ control, express the workers’ willingness for struggle. The proletariat in Germany, core of the international proletariat, main European imperialist power, resists the attacks against its living conditions despite the calls for national unity. And this despite the discourse and the growing warlike atmosphere that the German and international bourgeoisie spreads more and more: Ukraine, Middle-East, etc. The depth and the worsening of the end-less economic crisis of capitalism exacerbate both the imperialist rivalries and wars as well as the attacks against the working class. And this in all countries!

The fact that the workers in Germany also struggle against the attacks and the effects of the crisis bring a blatant denial to the lies about the prosperity and vitality of the German capitalist economy. “Example to follow” the capitalist class says in all countries to justify the sacrifices. The railway workers struggle: here is the example to follow everywhere. There is no other solution to best defend our conditions of life faced with the economic crisis. The same is true when it comes to the warlike sounds of marching boots: it is by resisting the crisis that the workers, salaried, proletarians, can also hamper the inescapable march of capitalism towards generalized imperialist war, towards a 3rd World War – preparation, march and explosion whose bill, how appalling and bloody it’ll be, will be paid, one more time, by the workers. Revolution or War, such is the alternative! There won’t be any other choice.

Beyond the frontiers, our class interests and our struggles are the same !

Let’s fight back the effects of Capitalism’s crisis and its march towards generalized war !

Let’s fight back against National Unity and the democratic mystification !

Let’s follow our comrades of Belgium, Great-Britain, and above all of Germany !

The International Group of the Communist Left, October 20th 2014