Hundreds of workers protest against Italians/Foreigners 'taking jobs'...

[treelover]

Oil refineries protest escalates
Lindsey Oil Refinery protest
Workers protest outside the main gates to the Lindsey Oil Refinery

Hundreds of workers have walked out at two oil refineries as a protest over the use of foreign labour escalated.

Police said about 800 people from the Lindsey and Conoco Phillips refineries in North Lincolnshire were involved in the unofficial strike.

Staff at Lindsey Oil Refinery walked out on Wednesday when a contractor took on 90 overseas workers.

Total, which owns the plant, said there would be no direct redundancies as a result of the contract being awarded.

The dispute began on Wednesday when 300 workers walked off a construction site at Lindsey Oil Refinery.

The work was won by IREM, an Italian-based contractor, which brought in its own workforce.

A Unite union shop steward, who did not wish to be named, said they were angry that foreigners were being employed by the contractor, Jacobs, at a time when British workers were being laid off.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/humber/7857996.stm

I wish someone else had posted this, not sure why they haven't, but it needs discussing: hundreds of workers have walked out after the company Total, through a contractor, Jacobs, employed over 90 Italian workers for a project at their Lindsey refinery in North Lincolnshire. There have been very angry mass protests with banners from Unison and others spotted, and more planned. Workers at the plant say they have 'marvelled' at the 'solidarity' of those who have walked out, with the unemployed, etc. It is escalating as hundreds of workers at the neighbouring Conoco Phillips refinery joined them outside the gates of Lindsey Oil Refinery on Thursday. There have also been reports of wildcat action at other sites, including the Dimlington and Easington gas terminals in East Yorkshire

On a day, when there are mass labour movement, etc, strikes in France , this can't be the best way to display anger with the Gov't,etc, yet i suspect here in the UK , we will see more of it, as frustrations manifest themselves in various and not always palatable ways. The is clearly anger growing in the country about the recession/slump, etc, the unions must harness this anger into identifying the real culprit, NL and their obssession with globalisation and surely the left should examine its priorities at this time.

 

[100% masahiko]

I thought it was 90 workers they employed?

 

[treelover]

edited,

The Express it trying to stir things up

http://www.express.co.uk/ourpaper/view/2009-01-29

 

[goldenecitrone]

And they've got a virtual monopoly on pizza restaurants. It's a disgrace.

 

[Andy the Don]

I read that a European construction company who have been sourced to build a power station in the UK have stated that they will only be employing workers from their country. It did not state the reason for their decision. But this will stoke up problems in the area of the project should it be an area of high unemployment.

 

[butchersapron]

It *is* about 200 Italian workers taken on, the 80-90 figure is for those who initally walked out in protest. It's now about 600 with a sympathy walkout from the factory next door. Unison reps to the fore.

 

[100% masahiko]

"Italian Insult To Jobless Britons"

Oh please fuck off.

 

[100% masahiko]

It *is* about 200 Italian workers taken on, the 80-90 figure is for those who initally walked out in protest. It's now about 600 with a sympathy walkout from the factory next door. Unison reps to the fore.

I wonder how the long the project is for? And if there were/are any plans to accomodate the locals? So little information...

 

[treelover]

'So little information... '


from whom?

 

[Nigel]

Relatively sympathetic, although should be on the basis of workers undermining pay and conditions. Could be the start of something, even if initially reactionary and chauvanistic.

If i was working there I think I would have walked out, with other workers, but try to find initiative to stop lay offs and if other workers came in that they work for same pay and conditions, through Union recognition and as arbitrator.
Does'nt seem all bad

 

[100% masahiko]

'So little information... '


from whom?

newsource

 

[teuchter]

So... it's OK for trade unions to object to foreign workers taking jobs in the UK, but not, say, the BNP?

Is that how this works?

 

[snadge]

I read that a European construction company who have been sourced to build a power station in the UK have stated that they will only be employing workers from their country. It did not state the reason for their decision. But this will stoke up problems in the area of the project should it be an area of high unemployment.

Staythorpe, there has already been action there, they are employing Polish and Spanish workers and have had billets built for them with their own amenities.

They are being paid well under what UK workers would be paid.

This is now happening all over the country.

 

[In Bloom]

A Unite union shop steward, who did not wish to be named, said they were angry that foreigners were being employed by the contractor, Jacobs, at a time when British workers were being laid off.

Oh, for fucks sake

 

[glenquagmire]

Surely the point is the rates they are being paid at.

If they are being paid under rates, British workers are entirely right to strike, though the slogans used have to be chosen carefully.

If they're being paid the same and in all respects are treated exactly the same, it's a case of xenophobic protectionism and unjustified.

 

[Udo Erasmus]

The trouble is that the Union bureaucrats have been utterly spineless in providing a lead in fighting the bosses over jobs, so people start hitting out at other workers.

 

[Udo Erasmus]

sorry reading the article those scumbag union bureaucrats are actually directing the anger against foreign workers rather than the bosses.

Many of the UNITE bureaucrats should be called scabs, in South Wales they have refused to fight job cuts and tried to negotiate for people to work 5 days for 4 days pay and all that kind of shit.

There was a whiff of this racism in the closure of Hoover being pushed through in S.Wales against the company being owned by Italians, we tried to deflect this by explaining 1) The issue was that the bosses were capitalists & they act this way because they want to make profit 2) Italian workers are facing the same rap, only they are actually fighting the bosses 3) We got a message of solidarity sent from Italian trade unions.

 

[_angel_]

Surely the point is the rates they are being paid at.

If they are being paid under rates, British workers are entirely right to strike, though the slogans used have to be chosen carefully.

If they're being paid the same and in all respects are treated exactly the same, it's a case of xenophobic protectionism and unjustified.

They are being paid less, I thought this was the whole point.

 

[glenquagmire]

I assumed so, but it's not made clear in the news reports I've seen.

 

[In Bloom]

They are being paid less, I thought this was the whole point.

Surely then, the thing to demand is equal pay for equal work, not "keep the foreigners out"?

 

[_angel_]

Surely then, the thing to demand is equal pay for equal work, not "keep the foreigners out"?

That was the gist of the argument I heard being made on the news, not "keep the foreigners out".

 

[Andy the Don]

Surely then, the thing to demand is equal pay for equal work, not "keep the foreigners out"?

Not when we are seeing record rises in unemployment in the UK.
But we are missing the real point of the whole issue. With much of what remains of British industry being owned by foreign corporations, as I said at the time, it will be much more politically expedient in their home country for these foreign corporations to lay off British workers and replace them with workers from their home country.

 

[agricola]

Not when we are seeing record rises in unemployment in the UK.
But we are missing the real point of the whole issue. With much of what remains of British industry being owned by foreign corporations, as I said at the time, it will be much more politically expedient in their home country for these foreign corporations to lay off British workers and replace them with workers from their home country.

As well as cheaper. The last thing we want is to have imported labour, under poorer conditions, lower pay and with a vastly inferior relationship to the company (since they could just be dumped outside the gates without any support structure / way of getting home / legal status in this country if they got fired) than a domestic worker would have.

 

[In Bloom]

Not when we are seeing record rises in unemployment in the UK.
But we are missing the real point of the whole issue. With much of what remains of British industry being owned by foreign corporations, as I said at the time, it will be much more politically expedient in their home country for these foreign corporations to lay off British workers and replace them with workers from their home country.

So instead of fighting the redundancies, you attack foreign workers, rendering them more vulnerable, which not only makes them more usable by the company as a reserve army of labour, but makes them disinclined to stand alongside you when you're under attack? Sensible.

 

[In Bloom]

That was the gist of the argument I heard being made on the news, not "keep the foreigners out".

That shop steward appears to disagree.

 

[Andy the Don]

So instead of fighting the redundancies, you attack foreign workers, rendering them more vulnerable, which not only makes them more usable by the company as a reserve army of labour, but makes them disinclined to stand alongside you when you're under attack? Sensible.

No, instead of allowing foriegn owned corporations import labour from their home countries at a cheaper rate, with the imported labour taking a job from from a UK national and paying income tax into the treasury of their home country, so a double loss to the UK economy, we ensure that at least 50% of the labour for these projects are UK nationals and any improted foriegn labour pays income tax to the UK treasury and is on the same wage as UK labour.

 

[In Bloom]

No, instead of allowing foriegn owned corporations import labour from their home countries at a cheaper rate, with the imported labour taking a job from from a UK national and paying income tax into the treasury of their home country, so a double loss to the UK economy, we ensure that at least 50% of the labour for these projects are UK nationals and any improted foriegn labour pays income tax to the UK treasury and is on the same wage as UK labour.

Why should UK nationals take precedence over workers from other countries? There's a word for policies like that, and not one that you'd like, I suspect.

 

[butchersapron]

Mosty of those who walked out appeared to be wearing flash jackets with slogans like 'british jobs for british workers' rather than 'british rates for all workers' or something like that - i've no idea if they were work provided or union provided, but there was a least one unison steward arguing along the lines of attacking foreign workers rather than employers.

 

[snadge]

No, instead of allowing foriegn owned corporations import labour from their home countries at a cheaper rate, with the imported labour taking a job from from a UK national and paying income tax into the treasury of their home country, so a double loss to the UK economy, we ensure that at least 50% of the labour for these projects are UK nationals and any improted foriegn labour pays income tax to the UK treasury and is on the same wage as UK labour.

correct.

But the employers don't have to pay the correct rate if they put the overseas workers up in billets, the reduction in rate can be used as a board payment, some polish lads I was working with had £5 an hour deducted for this, his food and lodgings were provided for an exorbitant rate, this is perfectly legal.

 

[Andy the Don]

Why should UK nationals take precedence over workers from other countries? There's a word for policies like that, and not one that you'd like, I suspect.

Because the imported labour is taking jobs and revenue (if that labour is paid and taxed through their home country) from the UK. We are about to hit a fucking hard recession maybe even a depression and if the UK is going to mitigate the circumstances of it we need a UK first policy. Unfortunately with NuLab following a "Wimbledon" economic policy (it does not matter if we win it as long as we hold it) we have sold much of our industry to overseas. The UK is now going to suffer for this very short sighted economic policy and most of us would rather see UK citizens working and earning than imported labour coming to the UK at a lower rate and paying their income tax to a foreign treasury. Call it/me what you want, but I call it common sense. Do you think other countries are going to be thinking along the same lines as you are?