Another year-another bout of xenophobia

So on January 1st 2014 every reporter that could stagger out of bed was hanging about airports like bad smells waiting for the hordes of Romanians and Bulgarians to turn up to claim benefits.

What utter bollocks!
It's true Keith Vaz and a dreadful Tory called Reckless turned up to surround one young astonished Romanian and they in turn were surrounded by the Daily Mail's flying circus of bigots with biros.
Sadly the Mail reporters were outnumbered by reporters from the BBC.The non-story was the lead item on both evening news broadcasts, along with the statutory appearance of a muttonhead from 'Migration Watch'.
The BBC now dignify that xenophobic outfit with the designation 'think tank'.
The last time that bunch of race zealots had a thought that was anywhere near rational or accurate Mafeking was still waiting to be relieved!

The hysteria that the press and the coalition government has been whipping up over the last few weeks has been distasteful in the extreme.We are constantly being told that the Lib-Dems want out of the coalition.
Well if they want a reason to ditch the Tories,then the scaremongering about migrant workers is the best case so far.It is something that should offend every liberal conscience that lurks under the yellow bird of freedom.
Yet they are surprisingly silent.
Why?
Is the allure of being a party of government and sharing red boxes and ministerial salaries far more important than principles?
You don't need to answer that question.
The Labour Party are surprisingly quiet too,it would seem that however squalid the lie and however exaggerated the scare stories are, the loyal opposition are sitting firmly on their hands.

The tempting of migrant workers is of course very tempting for unscrupulous employers.They get skilled workers already educated and trained in their home countries for a scandalously low wage.They are allowed to drive down wages and conditions and encourage slum landlords to exploit vulnerable workers.
What is worse still is the tacit agreement to weaken the economies of already poor countries by luring away skilled workers,often from the professional services to further denude the home countries.
The reactionary governments in Romania and Bulgaria collude with the coalition to further reduce living standards everywhere.
And labour's response?
Keith Vaz at Luton airport!
What needs to happen is that Unite the Union needs to have organisers at every entry point and ensure that every worker coming to Britain has a union card and union protection.Further the Unions must make it a condition of support for Labour that we are not satisfied with a minimum wage, but we want a living wage for everyone who works in this country.
Migrant workers enrich and enhance this country, and should be welcomed without equivocation-but the Labour movement needs to protect them and ensure that everyone has a living wage.

If trade unionism is to survive it needs to be international.If the bosses can open offices in Bucharest to recruit workers-then on what street is the Unite Office in Bucharest!