viva le revolution
5th April 2006, 15:13
Tuesday 4/4/06
CMKP Leads Strike in Ammar Textile Mills
On the 1st of April the Communist Mazdoor Kissan Party led a strike in Ammar Textiles Mills which is located 18km on Multan Road. Ammar Textiles is one of the largest textile and apparels factory in this industrial district and has been considered for sometime now a model factory. Around 4,000 workers keep the factory running on a 24 hour basis oin three 8 hour shifts. Since the imposition of the WTO on
Pakistan and increasing international competition in textile related products Pakistan's textile sector has been suffering severe losses and as a result the owners have shifted all the burden of readjustment on the workers. Nearly two years ago Sarah Textiles (which belongs to the same owner) shut down and workers were never
paid their dues. The CMKP campaign for several months for workers receiving their dues but only a handful of workers actually won their dues despite several strikes. Despite all the turmoil in Sarah Textile, the workers of Ammar Textile did not join in the agitation.
But when the management fired 180 workers overnight (again without prior notice or giving them their legal dues) the entire factory went on strike. Comrades led the strike ( CMKP workers from Ammar Textile Mills) and sealed the factory shut. They took over the keys of the gate and shut the management inside the
factory. Then to ensure that the factory was completely shut down, the workers cut the power of the factory. The management was gheraoed by the workers. The shift assembled outside the factory gates and agitated for their demands. Soon the local police and media showed up and negotiations between the management and the
striking workers ensued. All the arguments by management were taken apart by the well trained workers of the party and the pressure on management only increased. Management was unwilling to compromise and after several hours of negotiations it was suggested that the workers should negotiate directly with the owner on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the CMKP printed and distributed thousands of leaflets asking workers of Ammar and Sarah textiles to assemble this Wednesday to receive their dues.
For many workers of our party, who have been working in this mill for five ten years, this was a special and personal victory coming after years of slow backbreaking agitation among workers. There was a time when our activists within Ammar felt completely cornered and isolated even from their own working class brothers. But now the situation is the exact opposite. The CMKP is leading the agitation and is able to close down the factory with the help of the work force. This is a turn around of immense proportions for which the brave grassroots working class organizers of our party deserve hearty congratulations. On behalf of the Central Committee of the party I would like to congratulate the workers of the Ammar Textiles and the unit of Satu katlay for their dedicated work that has born fruit after so many years of hard work.
Wednesday 5/4/06
The negotiations in Ammar Textile Mills were scheduled to occur today (Wednesday) but for the last the last two days our comrades continued to receiving phone calls from anonymous numbers (private numbers that do not have a CLI-caller-ID are normally from military or government agencies). The person at the other end pretended to be sympathetic and wanted information about the strike, the leaders, the demands of the party and so on. They said they were speaking from the office of the District Inspector General (DIG). Naturally, our trained comrades gave information that was already public knowledge. But the calls persisted and we were left wondering why these intelligence agencies were calling so many times and asking more or less the same questions.
This morning when our cadres finally went to the factory for the negotiations nothing extraordinary was occurring outside the factory but inside there was a massive police presence. Workers ran to our representatives and told them not to go inside as we would face certain arrest. They told us that since the morning management and the police were attempting to collect information about the leaders of the strike and the party. The most relevant bit was that they wanted to know the home address of CMKP leaders but workers did not divulge this information.
Workers not only warned the CMKP leaders about what was going on inside and told them not to go in as they would face certain arrest and everything that follows such incidents they also advised party leaders not to sleep at their houses tonight and to relocate their families as well.
As a result of the events of this morning, the complete occupation of the factory by the police, the gathering of intelligence, and the atmosphere of hostility it is clear that management is not ready to negotiate anything. We hope that other trade unions and progressive organizations within and outside of Pakistan will help our party in winning this struggle. We appeal to our brothers and sisters for short letters of solidarity that we can translate distribute to workers to strengthen their morale.
Please send your letters to our list
[email protected]
or to
[email protected]
In solidarity
Viva Le revolution.
Long Live the CMKP
CMKP Website:- http://cmkp.tk
CMKP YahooForum:- http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cmkp_pk
CMKP News:- http://cmkp_pk.blogspot.com
CMKP Leads Strike in Ammar Textile Mills
On the 1st of April the Communist Mazdoor Kissan Party led a strike in Ammar Textiles Mills which is located 18km on Multan Road. Ammar Textiles is one of the largest textile and apparels factory in this industrial district and has been considered for sometime now a model factory. Around 4,000 workers keep the factory running on a 24 hour basis oin three 8 hour shifts. Since the imposition of the WTO on
Pakistan and increasing international competition in textile related products Pakistan's textile sector has been suffering severe losses and as a result the owners have shifted all the burden of readjustment on the workers. Nearly two years ago Sarah Textiles (which belongs to the same owner) shut down and workers were never
paid their dues. The CMKP campaign for several months for workers receiving their dues but only a handful of workers actually won their dues despite several strikes. Despite all the turmoil in Sarah Textile, the workers of Ammar Textile did not join in the agitation.
But when the management fired 180 workers overnight (again without prior notice or giving them their legal dues) the entire factory went on strike. Comrades led the strike ( CMKP workers from Ammar Textile Mills) and sealed the factory shut. They took over the keys of the gate and shut the management inside the
factory. Then to ensure that the factory was completely shut down, the workers cut the power of the factory. The management was gheraoed by the workers. The shift assembled outside the factory gates and agitated for their demands. Soon the local police and media showed up and negotiations between the management and the
striking workers ensued. All the arguments by management were taken apart by the well trained workers of the party and the pressure on management only increased. Management was unwilling to compromise and after several hours of negotiations it was suggested that the workers should negotiate directly with the owner on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the CMKP printed and distributed thousands of leaflets asking workers of Ammar and Sarah textiles to assemble this Wednesday to receive their dues.
For many workers of our party, who have been working in this mill for five ten years, this was a special and personal victory coming after years of slow backbreaking agitation among workers. There was a time when our activists within Ammar felt completely cornered and isolated even from their own working class brothers. But now the situation is the exact opposite. The CMKP is leading the agitation and is able to close down the factory with the help of the work force. This is a turn around of immense proportions for which the brave grassroots working class organizers of our party deserve hearty congratulations. On behalf of the Central Committee of the party I would like to congratulate the workers of the Ammar Textiles and the unit of Satu katlay for their dedicated work that has born fruit after so many years of hard work.
Wednesday 5/4/06
The negotiations in Ammar Textile Mills were scheduled to occur today (Wednesday) but for the last the last two days our comrades continued to receiving phone calls from anonymous numbers (private numbers that do not have a CLI-caller-ID are normally from military or government agencies). The person at the other end pretended to be sympathetic and wanted information about the strike, the leaders, the demands of the party and so on. They said they were speaking from the office of the District Inspector General (DIG). Naturally, our trained comrades gave information that was already public knowledge. But the calls persisted and we were left wondering why these intelligence agencies were calling so many times and asking more or less the same questions.
This morning when our cadres finally went to the factory for the negotiations nothing extraordinary was occurring outside the factory but inside there was a massive police presence. Workers ran to our representatives and told them not to go inside as we would face certain arrest. They told us that since the morning management and the police were attempting to collect information about the leaders of the strike and the party. The most relevant bit was that they wanted to know the home address of CMKP leaders but workers did not divulge this information.
Workers not only warned the CMKP leaders about what was going on inside and told them not to go in as they would face certain arrest and everything that follows such incidents they also advised party leaders not to sleep at their houses tonight and to relocate their families as well.
As a result of the events of this morning, the complete occupation of the factory by the police, the gathering of intelligence, and the atmosphere of hostility it is clear that management is not ready to negotiate anything. We hope that other trade unions and progressive organizations within and outside of Pakistan will help our party in winning this struggle. We appeal to our brothers and sisters for short letters of solidarity that we can translate distribute to workers to strengthen their morale.
Please send your letters to our list
[email protected]
or to
[email protected]
In solidarity
Viva Le revolution.
Long Live the CMKP
CMKP Website:- http://cmkp.tk
CMKP YahooForum:- http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cmkp_pk
CMKP News:- http://cmkp_pk.blogspot.com