We are a world-wide class

NO BORDERS NO NATIONALISM

Why has the government and the capitalist class launched a new drive against the foreign migrant workers? What does this attack mean, to the “native” workers? Why must all workers unite against the employers in this new attack upon the foreign- workers? What must the workers do to defeat this offensive of the exploiters? How shall the workers organise against the capitalists?

In order to cut wages, impose longer hours, lower the conditions of employment, and a higher cost of living on all the workers, the employers are uniting their own forces and trying to divide the working class. The struggle between the working class and the employing class, no matter what the nationality, race, or religion be, is a war. In this war, the class war, as in all other wars, an army picks the weakest sector in its enemy’s front as the focal point of attack.



The employing class has picked the foreign migrant workers as the first to be attacked because they are the weakest politically, the worst oppressed industrially and the most handicapped socially. Not knowing the language and institutions of the country and often being victims of the prejudice and hatred fostered among the indigenous  workers by the capitalists, the foreign-born workers offer the easiest picking for the owning class. The campaign against the foreign-born worker is only an entering wedge to split wide open the army of the working class, native and foreign. The employers’ aim is to pit one section of the working class against another.  and worse conditions of employment forced upon the many millions of foreign-born workers, the defeat of the better organized and better paid local workers is made sure. The success of the capitalists in forcing lower wages, longer hours, and intolerable working conditions on the native workers is then only a matter of time.  In order to separate the native workers from their foreign brothers and sisters, in order to prejudice them against the foreigners the capitalists and their Government scare-monger ridiculous claims on statistics.

 First, the employers impose the damnable working and living conditions upon the foreign workers. Then, the same employing class curses and condemns the foreign labourers to the native workers for the intolerable conditions that it has forced the migrant workers to accept. The bosses and their press spread the brazen lie that the foreign-born workers are a menace to the  standard of living. The capitalist class thus hides its own guilt by shifting the blame to the foreign-born workers. Thus the enmity of the native-born workers to the  who are to blame for the falling   standard of living is turned from these exploiters and against the foreign-born workers instead.

They misleads the local workers into believing that their foreigner is responsible for lowering wages and lengthening hours. Workers are in this way divided along the artificial lines of nationality. A disastrous defeat for the working class is assured and a capitalist victory is secure.

The migrant  workers can be a source of great strength or terrific weakness to the whole working class in its struggle against the capitalist class. When these foreign-born workers are oppressed, unorganised and separated from the native workers they are a source of weakness and danger — politically and industrially — to the whole labor movement. A divided front of the workers will crumble before the capitalist onslaught.

But if these workers from other lands are organised and united industrially and politically with the local native workers — then the working class can successfully fight back the capitalist attack. Opposed by a united working class the employers are may fail in their campaign to break the unions, cut the wages, lengthen the hours of labour and lower the standard of living. workers — native and foreign alike.

All workers must unite and wage a campaign for the removal of all laws against migrant  workers and prevent the enactment of new laws against migrants. The trade unions must wage a  recruitment drive amongst all unorganised workers, especially amongst the unorganised foreign work-force.  All the workers must  actively oppose  the prejudices fostered by the employer class against the foreigner. We should convey to foreign workers the necessity of their joining the  unions and participating in the political struggles of this country and thus fighting side by side with the native-born workers in the struggle for  better working conditions.

All workers  — native or foreign born — have but one enemy — the capitalist class. Labour’s best weapon against the bosses is increased unity. The fight is between those who have work for a living and those who own everything and who rob and oppress every the workers regardless of place of birth.