‘So far, we have observed the drive towards the extension
of the working day, and the werewolf-like hunger for surplus labour, in an area
where capital’s monstrous outrages, unsurpassed, according to an English
bourgeois economist, by the cruelties of the Spaniards to the American
red-skins.’ Karl Marx Capital Vol. 1
UNFORTUNATELY FOR us wage-earners, capitalists consider labour to be just
another cost of production. To them, our work, bodies and lives are just
another commodity to be bought and sold on the market, just another cost to be
brought down by ‘innovation’. They use all kinds of tricks to get more profits from our unpaid labour and in
Britain the poorest workers, women, young workers and ethnic minorities are
often the hardest hit.
Ethnic minorities make up a big part of the migrant work
force and often fill low paid, low skill or temporary positions, despite often
being educated and substantially skilled workers like teachers and accountants
in their country of origin. They come here for many reasons but low wages, high
unemployment and scarce job opportunities in their country of origin are the
usual culprits.
In Britain they can usually earn a better wage and send
money home to their families even if it is in low-skilled work compared with
what they can do at home.
Most survive on the national minimum wage, currently £5.75 per hour. Many are
forced to work two and even three jobs to support their families. Often, they
are isolated, may not be fluent in English and so are not informed of their
employment rights.
The inherent vulnerability of migrant workers contributes to
the idea of employers and agencies that they are more ‘flexible’ than domestic
labour.
In a 2006 Home Office study, employers were asked why they used migrant labour
and said that the difficulty was finding domestic workers who were willing to
work the flexible hours required. One employer said: “The British want to work
nine to five and to have weekends [free]… The restaurant is open 6.30 a.m. to
11 p.m. seven days a week.”
In the same study, employers also pointed to lower absence
rates amongst migrant workers and several employers in agriculture stressed
their reliability and the fact that they ‘turned up’. And sometimes, it’s no
wonder they ‘turn up’. It was reported by locals that labourers working for the
company S&A Davies have to walk four miles to the shops from the strawberry
fields in Briarley, Herefordshire. Their accommodation is four to a caravan
with shared kitchen and toilet facilities. The entire site is encircled with a
high barbed wire fence and patrolled by a security team for the workers
‘safety’.
Some employers in the Home Office study also mentioned lower
turnover as an advantage of migrant workers. But, this could be down to the
fact that many migrant workers are here on work or study schemes based on
restrictive contracts. It’s very inconvenient for a worker registered on a
programme to change employer, as they would have to go through the entire registration
process from scratch. Workers may be contracted for a fixed period to work for
a specific employer and can’t “just go off and work for someone else” as one
employer said.
Several employers explicitly mentioned that migrant workers
did not mind doing overtime. In the Administration, Business and Management
sector, in East Anglia, employers made comments about the additional hours. One
said that some migrant workers “will work all hours”; another that they “will
work extra hours and do not need paying time and a half”.
One construction employer said that he paid migrant workers
less than domestic workers and that was one of the reasons he liked to use
them: “They are a lot cheaper and a lot more convenient”.
A study by the West Midlands Low Pay Unit (WMLPU) found that
non-payment of the national minimum wage most frequently affects women, young
people and ethnic minorities. Those working in hairdressing, retail, clothing
manufacture, home workers and pieceworkers are the hardest hit. A study on home
working uncovered cases of home workers still being paid as little as 10p an
hour.
Low wages and low qualifications give workers a fragile
position in the labour market, with the result that they are afraid to speak
out about getting their employment rights. A postal survey of low paid workers
conducted by WMLPU suggested that about a quarter had suffered from adverse
changes to their terms and conditions after they did speak out, usually a
reduction in hours or removal of paid breaks, which offset any increase in
wages.
Fighting back – The Mitie cleaners
In London however, things are starting to change. Cleaners
in particular are getting organized and fighting back. The Justice for Cleaners
campaign was initiated by T&G/Unite and won many important wage increases
and improvements for cleaners around the city. Since the campaign was brought
to a close in 2007, cleaners have somewhat been left to fight on their
own. A recent case in point has been
the cleaners at Mitie. They decided to get organized and fight for the London
living wage (£7.45). Management gave them the pay rise but immediately changed
their shifts from 4pm – 11pm to 11pm to 6am. The cleaners protested against the
drastic change in their conditions and refused to work the new shift. All were
then made redundant. Now they have got together with other cleaners around the
city and have organized a series of ‘un-official’ demonstrations outside the
site of Willis Insurance Brokers where they used to work. So far, the union has
not supported these demonstrations. The rumour is that after the noisy Justice
for Cleaners demos, they made an agreement with the business sector to let up.
But, despite this, the Mitie cleaners are determined. They will continue their
demonstrations until they get what they justly deserve – a decent wage and
decent conditions for doing important work.
