Them Immigrants

Them immigrants eh? You're always hearing about 'em. Coming over 'ere. Taking our jobs. And living off our benefits. It's cos we're so soft as a country.

 

People are worried about immigration, like really worried. Especially in areas with next to no immigrants. 

Curious.



Anyhoo, beyond the hate fuelled agit-prop, there are some workers who do have legitimate concerns that bosses are using migrants to drive down wages. This is SUPER-exploitation. Also, it pisses people off, having their wages depressed or even not getting the job in the first place. Fair play, that is annoying. 

But what about the NHS?

Without migrant workers, we wouldn't be able to run a service. From cleaners right up to consultants, we're a pretty diverse bunch and for the most part, we get on relatively racial-tension-free. 

We don't wear the hats any more.

What makes the NHS different from a cold storage warehouse or a building site is that we are covered by a national trade union agreement, which sets the going rate for the job. This means whether you signed up at a recruitment fair in the Philippines or you happened to be born in that very hospital itself, you'll get the same. This is important because it protects everyone, equally. 



Migrants have always been a big part of the NHS so we're quite used to working with people from all over the globe. In the context of a chronic global nursing shortage, the NHS has always sought to attract skills from overseas. 

Most recently cuts in student nurse places have exacerbated a shortfall in the number of qualified nurses. The gap is being partially filled by a new crop of colleagues from Spain and Portugal, where the austerity fuelled economic crisis has left a generation of skilled workers very little in the way of prospects. 

And isn't that really the point? Immigration is a by-product of global capitalism. When the madness of the free market causes entire national economies to fail, the casualties will inevitably seek a better life elsewhere. 

Workers of the world have far more in common with each-other than with the billionaire we happen to be born on the same bit of land as. We should unite- it's not like we've got anything to loose...other than our chains ;-) 



PS: If you think immigrants are undermining your pay, my advice: 
1) stop scape-goating your co-workers 
2) join a union 
3) get all your workmates to do the same (including the foreign ones) 
4) collectively bargain for better wages for everyone. 

Capeesh?

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