Migrant labour and employment rights

The Guardian today makes a big issue of migrant labour and how migrant labour is problematic from two perspectives - migrant labour is not allowed the same employment rights as British citizens, and probably of broader significance, many believe employers use migrant labour as a covert strategy to drive down the pay and conditions of British workers.

What's of particular interest, apart from the reference to how trade unions will try and make this a focus of attention at the Labour Party conference, are a range of case studies where employer use of migrant labour is put under intense scrutiny.

Companies listed in the article include A&P shipbuilders, Dawn Group meats, BMW cars, St Ives printing, Trinity Mirror publishing Quebecor World publishing, Corus steel, Harper Collins books, Coca Cola Wakefield, Chep UK pallet suppliers.

Further attention is give to the poultry and construction industries' apparent exploitative and underhand use of migrant labour.

See Underpaid, easy to sack: UK's second class workforce by Felicity Lawrence for more details.

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