But maybe not in the ways that the FT and the Economist expect...
Poles are bringing solidarity back into fashion in Britain
Employers who use east European migrants to undercut their existing workforces now face an organised challenge
migrant workers are often the most exploited and the lowest paid, and the only way they can change that is to get organised. Events in Britain in the last few weeks indicate that that is just what may be happening here now. For the first time since the second world war a trade union branch consisting entirely of migrant workers has been formed in Britain. The creation of Polish branches in Southampton and Glasgow, with others to be launched across the country in the next few weeks, could have a profound and revitalising effect on the union movement in Britain and help to break down the barriers between the new arrivals and those who have voiced suspicions that they are being used mainly to undercut the existing workforce.
(...)
Trade unions were formed because employers were otherwise able to threaten individual workers with the sack if they complained, to divide and rule and to exploit the weakest parts of a workforce. When Solidarnosc first flexed its muscles in Poland in the early 80s, it was seen in Britain as an emblem of anti-communism and applauded by newspapers that usually vilified union activists. Poles are bringing many skills to this country. One of the most valuable could well be their much-needed involvement in the union movement and the part they play in providing just the kind of solidarity that many employers had hoped was now unfashionable.
Priceless.
