WORKERS INTERNATIONAL VANGUARD LEAGUE
1ST Floor , Community House, 41 Salt River rd, Salt River, 7925,20
ph/fax: 021 4476777
e-mail: wivl@sn.apc.org

28.2.2000

Dear Comrades and sympathisers
re: Urgent appeal for financial assistance towards our political support of the VWSA workers

We are currently engaged in giving political support on a daily [indeed hourly] basis for the current heroic fight of the workers at VWSA against their bosses and the Numsa [National Union of Metalworkers of SA] leadership and officials who are siding with the bosses. The Numsa leadership and bourgeois media are suppressing the truth about the struggle and it is all the more necessary to expose before the eyes of the working class the full implications of the current battle and its scope. Only workers have the right to choose and remove their leaders; workers democracy is based on the right of instant recall of worker delegates; the foundation of the union is working class independence from the bosses.

Because of the Numsa leadership-VWSA bosses alliance, 1450 workers` jobs are on the line. Uitenhage is situated in a region where the official unemployment rate [an obvious underestimation] is 40%. The strike has now gone into the 6th week and hunger and devastation abound among the strikers. Dry white bread has long been replaced by dry brown bread. Children of strikers go barefoot to school. While this is happening , the Numsa officials are trying to elect a new shopstewards committee inside; they are excluding worker representatives from negotiating over the return of strikers to work; they have caused the dismissal of the Uitenhage Crisis Committee secretary, Myali Davids, from his work. [They informed management that he was at a march of the VWSA workers and not off sick].

The first priority in the current fight is to help secure the full reinstatement of all workers. What follows from this battle is the distinct possibility of supporting the building a strong movement within Numsa and Cosatu of working class independence and workers control.

We are appealing for funds to assist in transport of our cdes to and around Uitenhage; and to publicise the truth about the fight among the working class, through pamphlets,etc;

We estimate that we would need about R10 000 over the next 2 weeks to effectively cover the above tasks.

Contributions should be deposited directly into our account as follows:
Name of account: Workers International Vanguard League
type of a/c: cheque
Name of bank: First National Bank
account no: 50080016832
branch code: 20-16-09
branch address: 388 Albert rd, Salt River, 7925, South Africa

Yours in solidarity
SHAHEED MAHOMED
General Secretary
WIVL

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