South Africans should make joining the National Union on Metal Workers of South Africa's (Numsa's) new workers' party their New Year's resolution, the union said on Monday. News24 reported that Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim called on those who "genuinely see themselves as communists" to help to build the party. A name for the party has not been announced.
"We call on you to help us build a workers' party which will fight in the interests of the working class and the poor.
"The struggle for socialism is not an end in itself; it is a struggle for a communist classless society which Karl Marx correctly described as: 'from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs'," Jim reportedly said.
He added that regardless of who took over as party leader in December, the ANC remained committed to policies that made inequality worse.
"The very same people who stood by quietly whilst the state was actively looted by various factions of capital including the Gupta and the Rupert families are the ones who make up the top leadership structures of the ANC, and this includes [newly elected ANC president Cyril] Ramaphosa himself," Jim reportedly said.
Numsa resolved to start its own workers' party in May 2014, according to eNCA. At the time, the union said the party would be known as the United Front, a broad umbrella of "progressive" forces, before being formalised. To date, that has not happened.
Numsa formed the South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) following its expulsion from Cosatu. In its end of year statement, Saftu also said it had little confidence in newly elected ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa.