I've just noticed an article in the Guardian's online edition. The Labour Party is - to prevent exploitation of migrants - about to announce a policy to
prevent employers having 'foreigner only' factory shifts.
Yes, you did read that right.
"Current practices exploit foreign workers, keep UK nationals out of work and drive wages down," says Yvette Cooper.
I suppose it's one way of not dealing with an immigration system beyond the control of parliament. And since when did Labour believe any of that: can UKIP really have wrought a Damascene conversion on even Mrs Ed Balls?
Not entirely, as one of the proposals is to allow local authorities to enforce the minimum wage. Fine, but whose minimum wage? If they're hired in Portugal on Latvian contracts, and therefore Latvian minimum wage, they'll earn Euro 286.22/month in the UK perfectly legally compared with the UK minimum wage of around £1,000/month. In attempting to evade debate on the mechanics of immigration which they can't control, they have walked into another EU laid minefield. Ms Cooper appears unable to grasp this.
Still, we can't wait to see what Hope not Hate's take on the requirement to hire token 'white, British' workers in order to evade the legislation will be.
