The endless divide and rule tactics from the politicians, media and bosses can feel overwhelming. How can ordinary people possibly come together in the face of this onslaught of incitement? The answers are to be found in the lessons of past struggles.
By Hugh Caffrey
In 2008–09, the Blairite Labour government was dying a painful death under Prime Minister Gordon Brown, implementing austerity and adopting ever-more nationalist language. Covertly, the Labour government was colluding with the employers to use EU legislation (the Posted Workers’ Directive) to import and super-exploit entire workforces. ‘Posted’ workers would be paid only the legal minimum, with the most basic employment rights. This came to a head in 2009 at Lindsey Oil Refinery, among the construction workers employed on the site.
Employers’ divide and rule
The construction industry is dominated by business giants but subcontracted to parasitic subsidiary companies. The refinery was owned by oil company Total, with the supply of construction workers subcontracted out. In December 2008, supply of one-third of construction jobs was taken away from the existing company, Shaws, and awarded to an Italian firm named IREM.
The latter would bring up to 300 Italian and Portuguese workers for this job, and would house them on a boat at nearby Grimsby. An equivalent number of the existing workforce were issued with redundancy notices, and IREM specified that it would not hire British workers. Workers were suspicious that the new arrivals would be paid less and with poorer terms and conditions. In other words, the employers would break their national agreement with the unions, and use a segregated group of migrant workers to do so.
When suspicions were confirmed, there was uproar. The union reps advised workers to lodge grievances. This was treated with the derision it deserved – the union reps resigned, and a strike was declared by a thousand workers. A strike committee was elected which included an experienced socialist and industrial militant, Keith Gibson, who was able to draw on his experience and organisation to deal with the complex questions at stake.
“It’s not about where you’re from, it’s about what you get paid”
Every politician, the media and even some union leaders wanted to turn this into a racist strike against foreign nationals, parroting Gordon Brown’s earlier pledge to create “British jobs for British workers”. The neo-Nazi British National Party (BNP) turned up and were told to leave by the strike committee. Yet the actual demand of the strike was: “All workers in the UK to be covered by NAECI Agreement, and all immigrant labour to be unionised”.
Very quickly, the real slogan became: “It’s not about where you’re from, it’s about what you get paid”. This should remain a fundamental principle of the workers’ movement. The Union Jacks and “British jobs” placards present on the first few days of the strike were quickly replaced with placards with class struggle slogans, including slogans in Italian appealing to the migrant workers to join the dispute.
The strike spread like wildfire to similar workplaces across Britain. It remained unofficial, as the union leaders had no intention of actually trying to win it. The government and employers were furious but were disarmed because the strike refused to go down nationalist lines. On one site, Eastern European workers walked out.
To victory
After four weeks, the employers conceded a total victory to the workers. All redundancies were withdrawn, the IREM-supplied workers were put on the same pay and conditions as everyone else, and the union was given the power to check that migrant workers were being paid properly. Naturally, the bosses hated this and six months later tried firing everyone. The response was an even bigger strike, and everyone was hastily re-hired!
Divide and rule is again being ramped up. The establishment has gone even further in hyping up Reform UK than they did when promoting the BNP sixteen years ago. The answers to this poison remain those exemplified by the Lindsey strikers whose successful dispute followed these lines:
- Get rid of useless union “leaders” and elect members willing to fight.
- Use the mass strike, mass picket, and mass demonstrations as the weapon of direct struggle.
- Break the anti-union laws if necessary and possible.
- Spread the strike to all relevant sites and workplaces.
- Come up with clear demands which focus on bringing workers together – never give an inch to nationalism.
In the heat of this struggle, socialist ideas were essential in being able to work out how to do this and develop a strategy to win. These workers’ stunning victories provide a rich and valuable lesson for us all.
