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

[treelover]

Problem is, Froggie, for all the pontificating, they, the workers, are not listening to the left or anyone else, the BNP are now there and there are to be more protests tomorrow.,

Cleethorpes MP Shona McIsaac said: "It's like a red rag to a bull for people in our community who are out of work and who have skills that could be used in this construction project."

Ms McIsaac said she had brought the matter up with Gordon Brown.

Oh and the Local blairite arsehole MP has chipped in, what a hypocrite, she and Nl were the biggest cheerleaders for the globalised open economy and now she turns on the workers she encouraged to the Uk!,

 

[frogwoman]

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.

This as well

 

[TomPaine]

The foreign workers are being housed in large, grey housing barges which are moored in Grimsby docks.

So this is what Britain in the 21st C has come too. It sounds like something out the Victorian era.

 

[snadge]

Its gone global, all over the net, i wonder if certain groups will start making comparisons with the Dockers walkout, etc in support of Enoch.

This has absolutely NOTHING to do with Racism, this is about the mobility of cheap labour in a globalised economy, UK gov are allowing companies to use foreign labour to drive down wages, this is not happening in other EU countries due to legal framework.

I as a construction worker embrace my fellow workers from the EU and will fight for them to work for the same privileges as I am entitled to but our government allows multinationals to abuse this process.

Now every company is utilising foreign Labour on a reduced rate, Babcocks set up foreign employment agencies to circumnavigate the legal framework and everyone has followed suit.

Where are the fucking socialists now, now Pandora's box has been opened, accusing us of Racism?

Wankers.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

This.

Well not necessarily - there are potentially issues regarding the deliberate contracting out of services to divide the workforce and avoid having to deal with them on an equal basis too. It's hardly unknown. It isn't just about the pay that they may or may not be receiving.

 

[frogwoman]

So this is what Britain in the 21st C has come too. It sounds like something out the Victorian era.

fucks sake! and yeah, the stupid reactions okf sections of the left are bound to lead to racism ..

 

[frogwoman]

Well not necessarily - there are potentially issues regarding the deliberate contracting out of services to divide the workforce and avoid having to deal with them on an equal basis too. It's hardly unknown. It isn't just about the pay that they may or may not be receiving.

that's true as well - some of the people at my last job said that they had had a lot of agency staff in the last year who were mostly foreign and didn't speak good english, as well as working quite irregular hours and being there for very short periods of time, so the other people working there felt very "separate" from them

 

[TomPaine]

fucks sake!

Pretty wretched isn't it. At least it shows what utter bastards these people are who run the contracting firm. I can imagine tensions in Grimsby will not be helped either. All it will take is one silly drunken fight between one of the workers and a local after a few beers, or something petty like this and things risk kicking off .

 

[TomPaine]

as well as working quite irregular hours and being there for very short periods of time, so the other people working there felt very "separate" from them

That reminds me of something that somebody from Lincolshire was talking about last year. Essentially saying how their wife felt isolated at work because of that above situation. People came and went as well so often you never got to know anybody.
I'm sure the company who owned the factory couldn't give two fucks.

 

[treelover]

Where are the fucking socialists now, now Pandora's box has been opened, accusing us of Racism?

Wankers.
Reply With Quote

harsh words Snadge, having said that, I've scanned all the left wing blogs, etc, there is absolutely nothing on this two major days of walkouts, all illegal wildcats all one can see is about palestine. There seems to be a blanket refusal to acknowledge what is happening, I am genuinely interested to know why this is, is it too unpalatable?

 

[FridgeMagnet]

that's true as well - some of the people at my last job said that they had had a lot of agency staff in the last year who were mostly foreign and didn't speak good english, as well as working quite irregular hours and being there for very short periods of time, so the other people working there felt very "separate" from them

There's a reason why it's a commonplace practice to outsource and subcontract, and it's not necessarily to do with immediate price - often it can be more expensive to hire contractors and consultants. It's because management can deal with them all individually, either because there are actually language barriers as you say, or just because they are different groups employed by different people. Even if they all grew up in the same area there'd still be a lack of cohesion, particularly if they're not on long contracts anyway.

 

[scifisam]

It's not that the staff are protesting against foreigners taking jobs, is it? Or at least, that's not the reason for the walkout over this particular issue. But now they'll get called racist, not get their complaints listened to, and some of them will go 'OK, you reckon I'm a racist? Well, fuck it, I might as well be one then.'

 

[treelover]

Pretty wretched isn't it. At least it shows what utter bastards these people are who run the contracting firm. I can imagine tensions in Grimsby will not be helped either. All it will take is one silly drunken fight between one of the workers and a local after a few beers, or something petty like this and things risk kicking off

It is pretty grim up near the docks, my friends Narrow boat/barge is up near the Marina which is just past it, its dark and empty, she says that many Russians and Ukrainians have moved there and that there are real tensions with the locals.

hope nothing happens....

 

[scifisam]

There's a reason why it's a commonplace practice to outsource and subcontract, and it's not necessarily to do with immediate price - often it can be more expensive to hire contractors and consultants. It's because management can deal with them all individually, either because there are actually language barriers as you say, or just because they are different groups employed by different people. Even if they all grew up in the same area there'd still be a lack of cohesion, particularly if they're not on long contracts anyway.

That reminds me of the way slaves in the US were seperated from others who hailed from the same area. I know, I know, it's nowhere near as bad, but it is the same divide-and-conquer mindset. Only the employers benefit.

If some workers in Italy, in an area of high unemployment, protested about a contract being given to a foreign firm who then brought in a load of foreign staff and paid them less under worse conditions rather than hiring people from the local area, I'd feel sympathetic towards them. They should be targeting their actions towards the employers, yes, but isn't that what a strike is supposed to do?

 

[snadge]

It's not that the staff are protesting against foreigners taking jobs, is it? Or at least, that's not the reason for the walkout over this particular issue. But now they'll get called racist, not get their complaints listened to, and some of them will go 'OK, you reckon I'm a racist? Well, fuck it, I might as well be one then.'

I have worked in construction for years and this attitude is prevalent, most people I have met are not racist and have fought long and hard to prove that it is not about the foreign devil taking our jobs but the companies and government dividing and conquering.


There are always the racists though and now with people being out of work the government and multinational corporations have the chance to cut contractors wages legally once again, one of the main reasons I started contract work was to make money, now I'm working like fuck loads more hours to earn 75% of what I used to 10 years ago, it's fucked, I hope there are going to be more call centres built because it's becoming less and less viable to work away from home in the UK and there are a LOT of travelling contractors gonna need work.

 

[discokermit]

one of the main reasons I started contract work was to make money, now I'm working like fuck loads more hours to earn 75% of what I used to 10 years ago, it's fucked

couldn't wait to be self employed to rake it in, now you're fucked.

d'ya think there's a lesson to be learnt there?

 

[FridgeMagnet]

I have worked in construction for years and this attitude is prevalent, most people I have met are not racist and have fought long and hard to prove that it is not about the foreign devil taking our jobs but the companies and government dividing and conquering.

Well that's the thing that makes me suspicious about the coverage here; it's all emphasising the "foreign workers" aspect, as if the foreignness is all it's about. Portraying people as backwards, prejudiced and not being able to cope with change when they complain is an ancient tactic. As you say I'm sure there are racists out there, and they're the ones who will be publicised because they're doing the bosses' job.

 

[treelover]

er, Daily Star is reporting there is to be a 'march on parliament' next Tuesday, I wonder how the london left will respond to this one?

 

[snadge]

couldn't wait to be self employed to rake it in, now you're fucked.

d'ya think there's a lesson to be learnt there?

piss off wankstain, I got made redundant and was sick of being on the dole, working away from home for months on end has it's own downside, try it, your kids may not recognise you next time they see you and your missus is with the local hard lad.

You are the problem mate, an idiot that thinks we should earn a lot less than we do because they are jealous of our earnings, well don't worry our highly skilled jobs have been farmed out to foreign workers who are now living that dream, minimum wage here we come, paying the bankers bonuses.

 

[treelover]

Snadge, ignore him, some people confuse getting a living wage with selling out, what do you think is going to happen, are you getting emails from fellow metal workers, etc?

 

[snadge]

Snadge, ignore him, some people confuse getting a living wage with selling out, what do you think is going to happen, are you getting emails from fellow metal workers, etc?

I have talked to a lot of fellow workers concerning this, a lot of my mates have given up on contract work, they seem to be drifting into low paid fiddle work as most of us refuse to claim benefits, not because we are not entitled to them but due to the fact that it is another ploy to make us accept "minimum wage" work in the trades that used to pay 3*times minimum wage, we didn't do an apprenticeship for nothing and our years in further education will not allow this, the working class is finished, we are superfluous to future growth, our skills can now be outsourced to a cheaper nation and call centre city beckons.

Good luck to my brothers, luckily I have a backup plan for money, many of my comrades don't, they are going to lose their houses and lives, once more the system has managed a landgrab of cheap freehold properties, sell a dream for home ownership and freedom from the state then put you on the scrapheap by reducing wages to an extent where paying for that home is impossible.

How else is the housing market going to recover other than a huge deficit of cheap repossessed homes to sell.

It is all making sense to me now and I don't care who calls me a conspiraloon.

 

[treelover]

Blmey, Snadge, I can remember when you were one of the optimists on P/P, but there are definitely tough times ahead and at the moment no one is really representing these people.

 

[where to]

A 29-year-old scaffolder at Grimsby told us Italian workers were making mistakes and ignoring safety.

He said: “We need to make a stand now. This is not a racist protest. I’m happy to work hand-in-hand with foreign workers, but we are not getting a look in.

“There are guys at this site who had been banking on that work and then it gets handed to an Italian firm. It’s about fairness.”

Another striker said: “We know we’re risking the sack but this is a fight for our future.”

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/view/67623/Brits-can-kiss-jobs-goodbye-/

 

[snadge]

Blmey, Snadge, I can remember when you were one of the optimists on P/P, but there are definitely tough times ahead and at the moment no one is really representing these people.

ATM any dissent is being labelled as racism, the left has disowned the fight as they are toothless to fight it, so they side upon the racism angle and band us, if this continues it will become racist and allow the engineers of the situation profit via that.

It is a fight for all but too many people have been jealous of our earnings and freedom but we are the ones that forsake family and job stability for money and most of the advances that have come through this fight has been through OUR actions, we are staunt unionists but have never been represented by a union, they have made their careers on the back of us and careers they have, now representing the people we fight, minimum wage for all is their mantra, thus increasing the gap between rich and poor.

It is a fight for all this one but most will label it as racist.

 

[where to]

just been reading about French Total refinery workers on strike back in the middle of December as part of a struggle for wage increases.

strike was called by the CGT union for the Total Normandy, Donges, Feyzin, La Mède, Grandpuits, Gargenville and Flanders refineries for December 12th. no idea if its still ongoing though.

http://domikpcf.unblog.fr/2008/12/12/greve-dans-les-raffineries-francaises-total-a-lappel-de-la-cgt/

 

[shagnasty]

No matter how you look at it the company were extremely tactless .they must have thought to them self this would cause problems but maybe that's what they wanted .of all areas business men are the most devious

 

[chilango]

If its any consolation to some of you I have a job in Italy and pay tax in the UK.

Nobody want to comment on me "stealing Italian jobs" and sending all my tax back to the UK?

Well?

 

[isitme]

Nobody want to comment on me "stealing Italian jobs" and sending all my tax back to the UK?

Well?

what's your job?

 

[chilango]

teaching

 

[isitme]

how come you pay UK tax?