Pakistani pop star and activist Jawad Ahmad backs TUSC

Sarah Sachs-Eldridge

Jawad Ahmad is renowned in Pakistan for his songs and for his politics. He has a record of solidarity with the working class, poor and oppressed.

Jawad said: “I stand for equality and a classless society in Pakistan. The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition is fighting for the same thing and against racism in Britain. TUSC, as I do, stands for a fairer society based on social justice instead of the rule of the 1%. I urge you to vote for TUSC in your area.”

One of Jawad’s songs, Sun Lo Kay Hum Mazdoor Hain, demands rights for garment workers. 300 were killed and 600 injured by a fire that destroyed a garment factory near Karachi, Pakistan in September 2012.

Disasters

Hugo Pierre, TUSC candidate for Poplar and Limehouse, added: “This demand for workers’ rights is all the more poignant now, two years after the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh. Workers there are still fighting – not just for compensation, but the basic right to organise in trade unions. This is to ensure that future natural disasters don’t become social disasters.

“We support the fight for better wages and safe conditions at work. Jawad’s song is dedicated to the workers of Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and the world. TUSC joins Jawad in standing for workers’ solidarity.

“The Sunday Times Rich List provides the latest figures to prove what TUSC says: there is no shortage of money. The problem is the super-rich are hoarding it while our services get cut to pay off the bank bailout.

“That’s why TUSC stands for something completely different to all the major parties. To end cuts and austerity, we fight for democratic public ownership of our NHS, railways, public services, utilities and banks. We proudly stand for a democratic socialist society run in the interests of the millions, not the billionaires.”