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ArcelorMittal must be held accountable for the recent deaths of three employees under their watch. Companies like these prove time and again that, in the pursuit of profit maximisation, workers’ lives are disposable.

Thami Molefe, Shart Mofokeng and Mpho Madomesa tragically died after an explosion and building collapse occurred at the steel manufacturer in Vanderbijlpark at 2:00 Wednesday morning. ArcelorMittal did not have a rescue team on site, relying instead on other employees to assist with the attempted rescue operation. With management dragging their feet, it was the efforts of Numsa shop stewards that led to the intensification of the search and rescue. 

Poor safety precautions and negligence in workplaces is a feature of profit-seekers globally. Last week in Tangier, Morocco, 25 textile workers died by electrocution in an illegal underground factory, after it was flooded with rain water. Left-wing political party, Democratic Way, indicated that safe working conditions in the factory were, of course, non-existent. This system is only concerned with the accumulation of profits through the intensive exploitation of the working class in the absence of the simplest conditions of protection and safety.

From South Africa to Morocco, capital continues to put profit ahead of the lives of the working class. Capital compromises the health and safety of the working class in the name of profit.

The Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party dips its red flag as we mourn these tragedies. This is why we continue to build our organisation and fight back. We join the call demanding that a public investigation leave no stone unturned in the case of ArcelorMittal. We will not stop organising ourselves until we live in a world that puts people above profit. It is only through socialism – where all companies and the entire means of production is  placed under workers’ democratic control – that we can truly advance the well-being of all people.

All power to the working class!

Issued by The Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party