Immigrants at sea (2): Developing internationalist trade unionism

It is about organising wherever there are migrant, precarious, low-paid or marginalised workers willing to unite. It is about fighting outsourcing and structural race discrimination, disregard for workers' rights and mainstream media bias on anti­ exploitation struggles. It is about inspiring young people and making trade union history part of British education.

 As the UVW point out, 'sub-contracting and precarious work have been a constant feature of the labour market for centuries and "new unionism" began in the 19th Century', but neo-liberalist economics has turbo-charged the situation since the 1980s and made it a global threat to workers. Culture and traditions towards trade unions can vary widely between countries. In Sweden the strong tradition of collective bargaining was challenged by the US company Tesla, but the solidarity of the unions makes Elon Musk look like the loser. Recent interviews in The Prisma looked at cases in Belgium and Spain.

In Mexico the situation is very different, in a country plagued by mafia violence brutal methods are commonly used, especially against women and even by fellow workers. Amazon has shown how far employers are willing to go to block unions. The precarious work situation and also the cost of rented accommodation faced by young people have resulted in rising support for right-wing political parties in several European countries. Although younger people are generally less inclined to racism and Islamophobia these parties are like Trojan horses bringing racist ideology into the mainstream.

This interview was first published in The Prisma Multicultural Newspaper where it can be read in full with links and images: https://theprisma.co.uk/2024/01/29/immigrants-at-sea-2-developing-internationalist-trade-unionism/