Your meeting comes at a time when we are just emerging from a recession. As it can be expected, such a phase is inevitable as long as Capitalism is still the dominant economic system. Capitalism by its nature has an in-built tendency to have lows and highs or cycles of boom and bust. During both the boom and bust, it is the workers and the poor who suffer. During the boom, the Capitalists allocate themselves more out of profits in the form of share options, dividends and so on . When the bust comes, retrenchments, factory closures and reduction in salaries and disposable income and pensions bite the workers.
It is the decisions of the Capitalists and their insatiable appetite for profit which affect the welfare of the workers and the poor. The Capitalists use their money power which accumulates to them as a result of the sweat and blood of workers to influence policies which favour them to the disadvantage of the workers. They use the State as an instrument to attain their goals. The rights of workers are being attacked while the interests of Capital are being promoted.
